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Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa
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Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2014) | Viewed by 224283

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Benjamin Koetz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes, European Space Agency, Via Galileo Galilei, 00044 Frascati, Italy
Interests: remote sensing of ecosystem structure and processes; multi-temporal optical remote sensing for vegetation monitoring; radiative transfer modeling; fusion of multi-source data
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Zoltán Vekerdy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Water Resources, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, Hengelosestraat 99, 7500 AA Enschede, The Netherlands
2. Department of Water Management, Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Szent István University, Páter Károly u. 1., 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Interests: earth observation of hydrological cycle and agriculture; water management; agro-hydrological modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Massimo Menenti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
2. Department of Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, 2628 Delft, The Netherlands
Interests: land surface processes; terrestrial water cycle; water management; optical remote sensing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Diego Fernández-Prieto

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes, European Space Agency, Via Galileo Galilei, 00044 Frascati, Italy
Interests: Earth observation for Earth system science and applications

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Reliable access to water, managing the spatial and temporal variability of water availability, ensuring the quality of freshwater and responding to climatological changes in the hydrological cycle are prerequisites for the development of countries in Africa. Water being an essential input for biomass growth and for renewable energy production (e.g. biofuels and hydropower schemes) plays an integral part in ensuring food and energy security for any nation. Water, as a source of safe drinking water, is furthermore the basis for ensuring the health of citizens and plays an important role in urban sanitation.
The concept of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) is seen as an opportunity to help manage water variability and the wide spread water scarcity in Africa. One key component missing from IWRM in Africa is the limited knowledge of the available extent and quality of water resources at basin level. Earth Observation (EO) technology can help fill this information gap by assessing and monitoring water resources at adequate temporal and spatial scales.
The goal of this Special Issue is to understand and demonstrate the contribution which satellite observations, consistent over space and time, can bring to improve water resource management in Africa. Possible EO products and applications range from catchment characterization, water quality monitoring, soil moisture assessment, water extent and level monitoring, irrigation services, urban and agricultural water demand modeling, evapotranspiration estimation, ground water management, to hydrological modeling and flood mapping/forecasting. Some of these EO applications have already been developed by African scientists within the 10 year lifetime of the TIGER initiative: Looking after Water in Africa (http://www.tiger.esa.int), whose contributions are intended to be the starting point of this Special Issue and is only one example of the wide range of activities in the field. Contributions from the entire African and international scientific community dealing with the challenges of water resource management in Africa are the target of the special issue.
In the years to come, an ever increasing number of international EO missions, such as the Landsat, ALOS, CBERS and RESOURCESAT mission suites, the family of Sentinel missions and the SMAP mission, will provide an unprecedented capacity to observe and monitor the different components of the water cycle. This Special Issue aims also at reviewing the latest developments in terms of new missions as well as related EO products and techniques that will be available in the near future to face some of the major challenges for IWRM in Africa.

Dr. Benjamin Koetz
Dr. Zoltan Vekerdy
Prof. Dr. Massimo Menenti
Prof. Dr. Diego Fernández-Prieto
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • water resource management
  • drought
  • precipitation
  • evapotranspiration
  • flood mapping
  • surface water hydrology
  • soil moisture
  • water quality
  • hydrological modeling

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Published Papers (22 papers)

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Research

73203 KiB  
Article
Inundations in the Inner Niger Delta: Monitoring and Analysis Using MODIS and Global Precipitation Datasets
by Muriel Bergé-Nguyen and Jean-François Crétaux
Remote Sens. 2015, 7(2), 2127-2151; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs70202127 - 16 Feb 2015
Cited by 43 | Viewed by 9329
Abstract
A method of wetland mapping and flood survey based on satellite optical imagery from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra instrument was used over the Inner Niger Delta (IND) from 2000–2013. It has allowed us to describe the phenomenon of inundations in [...] Read more.
A method of wetland mapping and flood survey based on satellite optical imagery from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra instrument was used over the Inner Niger Delta (IND) from 2000–2013. It has allowed us to describe the phenomenon of inundations in the delta and to decompose the flooded areas in the IND into open water and mixture of water and dry land, and that aquatic vegetation is separated from bare soil and “dry” vegetation. An Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis of the MODIS data and precipitation rates from a global gridded data set is carried out. Connections between flood sequence and precipitation patterns from the upstream part of the Niger and Bani river watersheds up to the IND are studied. We have shown that inter-annual variability of flood dominates over the IND and we have estimated that the surface extent of open water varies by a factor of four between dry and wet years. We finally observed an increase in vegetation over the 14 years of study and a slight decrease of open water. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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1595 KiB  
Article
Use of Radarsat-2 and Landsat TM Images for Spatial Parameterization of Manning’s Roughness Coefficient in Hydraulic Modeling
by Joseph Mtamba, Rogier Van der Velde, Preksedis Ndomba, Vekerdy Zoltán and Felix Mtalo
Remote Sens. 2015, 7(1), 836-864; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs70100836 - 14 Jan 2015
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 10296
Abstract
Vegetation resistance influences water flow in floodplains. Characterization of vegetation for hydraulic modeling includes the description of the spatial variability of vegetation type, height and density. In this research, we explored the use of dual polarized Radarsat-2 wide swath mode backscatter coefficients (σ°) [...] Read more.
Vegetation resistance influences water flow in floodplains. Characterization of vegetation for hydraulic modeling includes the description of the spatial variability of vegetation type, height and density. In this research, we explored the use of dual polarized Radarsat-2 wide swath mode backscatter coefficients (σ°) and Landsat 5 TM to derive spatial hydraulic roughness. The spatial roughness parameterization included four steps: (i) land use classification from Landsat 5 TM; (ii) establishing a relationship between σ° statistics and vegetation parameters; (iii) relative surface roughness (Ks) determination from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) backscatter temporal variability; (iv) derivation of the spatial distribution of the spatial hydraulic roughness both from Manning’s roughness coefficient look up table (LUT) and relative surface roughness. Hydraulic simulations were performed using the FLO-2D hydrodynamic model to evaluate model performance under three different hydraulic modeling simulations results with different Manning’s coefficient parameterizations, which includes SWL1, SWL2 and SWL3. SWL1 is simulated water levels with optimum floodplain roughness (np) with channel roughness nc = 0.03 m−1/3/s; SWL2 is simulated water levels with calibrated values for both floodplain roughness np = 0.65 m−1/3/s and channel roughness nc = 0.021 m−1/3/s; and SWL3 is simulated water levels with calibrated channel roughness nc and spatial Manning’s coefficients as derived with aid of relative surface roughness. The model performance was evaluated using Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient (E) and coefficient of determination (R2), based on water levels measured at a gauging station in the wetland. The overall performance of scenario SWL1 was characterized with E = 0.75 and R2 = 0.95, which was improved in SWL2 to E = 0.95 and R2 = 0.99. When spatially distributed Manning values derived from SAR relative surface values were parameterized in the model, the model also performed well and yielding E = 0.97 and R2 = 0.98. Improved model performance using spatial roughness shows that spatial roughness parameterization can support flood modeling and provide better flood wave simulation over the inundated riparian areas equally as calibrated models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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9444 KiB  
Article
Hydrological Impacts of Urbanization of Two Catchments in Harare, Zimbabwe
by Webster Gumindoga, Tom Rientjes, Munyaradzi Davis Shekede, Donald Tendayi Rwasoka, Innocent Nhapi and Alemseged Tamiru Haile
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(12), 12544-12574; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs61212544 - 12 Dec 2014
Cited by 42 | Viewed by 12156
Abstract
By increased rural-urban migration in many African countries, the assessment of changes in catchment hydrologic responses due to urbanization is critical for water resource planning and management. This paper assesses hydrological impacts of urbanization on two medium-sized Zimbabwean catchments (Mukuvisi and Marimba) for [...] Read more.
By increased rural-urban migration in many African countries, the assessment of changes in catchment hydrologic responses due to urbanization is critical for water resource planning and management. This paper assesses hydrological impacts of urbanization on two medium-sized Zimbabwean catchments (Mukuvisi and Marimba) for which changes in land cover by urbanization were determined through Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images for the years 1986, 1994 and 2008. Impact assessments were done through hydrological modeling by a topographically driven rainfall-runoff model (TOPMODEL). A satellite remote sensing based ASTER 30 metre Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was used to compute the Topographic Index distribution, which is a key input to the model. Results of land cover classification indicated that urban areas increased by more than 600 % in the Mukuvisi catchment and by more than 200 % in the Marimba catchment between 1986 and 2008. Woodlands decreased by more than 40% with a greater decrease in Marimba than Mukuvisi catchment. Simulations using TOPMODEL in Marimba and Mukuvisi catchments indicated streamflow increases of 84.8 % and 73.6 %, respectively, from 1980 to 2010. These increases coincided with decreases in woodlands and increases in urban areas for the same period. The use of satellite remote sensing data to observe urbanization trends in semi-arid catchments and to represent catchment land surface characteristics proved to be effective for rainfall-runoff modeling. Findings of this study are of relevance for many African cities, which are experiencing rapid urbanization but often lack planning and design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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3171 KiB  
Article
A Life-Size and Near Real-Time Test of Irrigation Scheduling with a Sentinel-2 Like Time Series (SPOT4-Take5) in Morocco
by Michel Le Page, Jihad Toumi, Saïd Khabba, Olivier Hagolle, Adrien Tavernier, M. Hakim Kharrou, Salah Er-Raki, Mireille Huc, Mohamed Kasbani, Abdelilah El Moutamanni, Mohamed Yousfi and Lionel Jarlan
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(11), 11182-11203; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs61111182 - 11 Nov 2014
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 9435
Abstract
This paper describes the setting and results of a real-time experiment of irrigation scheduling by a time series of optical satellite images under real conditions, which was carried out on durum wheat in the Haouz plain (Marrakech, Morocco), during the 2012/13 agricultural season. [...] Read more.
This paper describes the setting and results of a real-time experiment of irrigation scheduling by a time series of optical satellite images under real conditions, which was carried out on durum wheat in the Haouz plain (Marrakech, Morocco), during the 2012/13 agricultural season. For the purpose of this experiment, the irrigation of a reference plot was driven by the farmer according to, mainly empirical, irrigation scheduling while test plot irrigations were being managed following the FAO-56 method, driven by remote sensing. Images were issued from the SPOT4 (Take5) data set, which aimed at delivering image time series at a decametric resolution with less than five-day satellite overpass similar to the time series ESA Sentinel-2 satellites will produce in the coming years. With a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 0.91mm per day, the comparison between daily actual evapotranspiration measured by eddy-covariance and the simulated one is satisfactory, but even better at a five-day integration (0.59mm per day). Finally, despite a chaotic beginning of the experiment—the experimental plot had not been irrigated to get rid of a slaking crust, which prevented good emergence—our plot caught up and yielded almost the same grain crop with 14% less irrigation water. This experiment opens up interesting opportunities for operational scheduling of flooding irrigation sectors that dominate in the semi-arid Mediterranean area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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5744 KiB  
Article
Sentinel-1 for Monitoring Reservoirs: A Performance Analysis
by Donato Amitrano, Gerardo Di Martino, Antonio Iodice, Francesco Mitidieri, Maria Nicolina Papa, Daniele Riccio and Giuseppe Ruello
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(11), 10676-10693; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs61110676 - 4 Nov 2014
Cited by 64 | Viewed by 10790
Abstract
In this paper we explore the performances and the opportunities provided by the European satellite Sentinel-1 for water resource management applications in low-income countries. The analysis is supported by a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) simulator, which allowed the quantification of the expected characteristics [...] Read more.
In this paper we explore the performances and the opportunities provided by the European satellite Sentinel-1 for water resource management applications in low-income countries. The analysis is supported by a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) simulator, which allowed the quantification of the expected characteristics of Sentinel-1 products in three applications: interferometric digital elevation models (DEMs) generation, land cover mapping and estimation of water volumes retained by small reservoirs. The obtained results quantitatively show that Sentinel-1 data characteristics are fully suitable for most of the application already explored in the recent SAR literature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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22048 KiB  
Article
Earth Observation Based Assessment of the Water Production and Water Consumption of Nile Basin Agro-Ecosystems
by Wim G.M. Bastiaanssen, Poolad Karimi, Lisa-Maria Rebelo, Zheng Duan, Gabriel Senay, Lal Muthuwatte and Vladimir Smakhtin
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(11), 10306-10334; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs61110306 - 24 Oct 2014
Cited by 53 | Viewed by 13245
Abstract
The increasing competition for water resources requires a better understanding of flows, fluxes, stocks, and the services and benefits related to water consumption. This paper explains how public domain Earth Observation data based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Second Generation Meteosat (MSG), [...] Read more.
The increasing competition for water resources requires a better understanding of flows, fluxes, stocks, and the services and benefits related to water consumption. This paper explains how public domain Earth Observation data based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Second Generation Meteosat (MSG), Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) and various altimeter measurements can be used to estimate net water production (rainfall (P) > evapotranspiration (ET)) and net water consumption (ET > P) of Nile Basin agro-ecosystems. Rainfall data from TRMM and the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS-NET) RainFall Estimates (RFE) products were used in conjunction with actual evapotranspiration from the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) and ETLook models. Water flows laterally between net water production and net water consumption areas as a result of runoff and withdrawals. This lateral flow between the 15 sub-basins of the Nile was estimated, and partitioned into stream flow and non-stream flow using the discharge data. A series of essential water metrics necessary for successful integrated water management are explained and computed. Net water withdrawal estimates (natural and humanly instigated) were assumed to be the difference between net rainfall (Pnet) and actual evapotranspiration (ET) and some first estimates of withdrawals—without flow meters—are provided. Groundwater-dependent ecosystems withdraw large volumes of groundwater, which exceed water withdrawals for the irrigation sector. There is a strong need for the development of more open-access Earth Observation databases, especially for information related to actual ET. The fluxes, flows and storage changes presented form the basis for a global framework to describe monthly and annual water accounts in ungauged river basins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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1030 KiB  
Article
Application of a Remote Sensing Method for Estimating Monthly Blue Water Evapotranspiration in Irrigated Agriculture
by Mireia Romaguera, Maarten S. Krol, Mhd. Suhyb Salama, Zhongbo Su and Arjen Y. Hoekstra
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(10), 10033-10050; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs61010033 - 21 Oct 2014
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 8395
Abstract
In this paper we show the potential of combining actual evapotranspiration (ETactual) series obtained from remote sensing and land surface modelling, to monitor community practice in irrigation at a monthly scale. This study estimates blue water evapotranspiration (ETb) in [...] Read more.
In this paper we show the potential of combining actual evapotranspiration (ETactual) series obtained from remote sensing and land surface modelling, to monitor community practice in irrigation at a monthly scale. This study estimates blue water evapotranspiration (ETb) in irrigated agriculture in two study areas: the Horn of Africa (2010–2012) and the province of Sichuan (China) (2001–2010). Both areas were affected by a drought event during the period of analysis, but are different in terms of water control and storage infrastructure. The monthly ETb results were separated by water source—surface water, groundwater or conjunctive use—based on the Global Irrigated Area Map and were analyzed per country/province. The preliminary results show that the temporal signature of the total ETb allows seasonal patterns to be distinguished within a year and inter-annual ETb dynamics. In Ethiopia, ETb decreased during the dry year, which suggests that less irrigation water was applied. Moreover, an increase of groundwater use was observed at the expense of surface water use. In Sichuan province, ETb in the dry year was of similar magnitude to the previous years or increased, especially in the month of August, which points to a higher amount of irrigation water used. This could be explained by the existence of infrastructure for water storage and water availability, in particular surface water. The application presented in this paper is innovative and has the potential to assess the existence of irrigation, the source of irrigation water, the duration and variability in time, at pixel and country scales, and is especially useful to monitor irrigation practice during periods of drought. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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5112 KiB  
Article
Water Level Fluctuations in the Congo Basin Derived from ENVISAT Satellite Altimetry
by Mélanie Becker, Joecila Santos Da Silva, Stéphane Calmant, Vivien Robinet, Laurent Linguet and Frédérique Seyler
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(10), 9340-9358; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6109340 - 29 Sep 2014
Cited by 55 | Viewed by 10498
Abstract
In the Congo Basin, the elevated vulnerability of food security and the water supply implies that sustainable development strategies must incorporate the effects of climate change on hydrological regimes. However, the lack of observational hydro-climatic data over the past decades strongly limits the [...] Read more.
In the Congo Basin, the elevated vulnerability of food security and the water supply implies that sustainable development strategies must incorporate the effects of climate change on hydrological regimes. However, the lack of observational hydro-climatic data over the past decades strongly limits the number of studies investigating the effects of climate change in the Congo Basin. We present the largest altimetry-based dataset of water levels ever constituted over the entire Congo Basin. This dataset of water levels illuminates the hydrological regimes of various tributaries of the Congo River. A total of 140 water level time series are extracted using ENVISAT altimetry over the period of 2003 to 2009. To improve the understanding of the physical phenomena dominating the region, we perform a K-means cluster analysis of the altimeter-derived river level height variations to identify groups of hydrologically similar catchments. This analysis reveals nine distinct hydrological regions. The proposed regionalization scheme is validated and therefore considered reliable for estimating monthly water level variations in the Congo Basin. This result confirms the potential of satellite altimetry in monitoring spatio-temporal water level variations as a promising and unprecedented means for improved representation of the hydrologic characteristics in large ungauged river basins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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4933 KiB  
Article
Enabling the Use of Earth Observation Data for Integrated Water Resource Management in Africa with the Water Observation and Information System
by Radoslaw Guzinski, Steve Kass, Silvia Huber, Peter Bauer-Gottwein, Iris Hedegaard Jensen, Vahid Naeimi, Marcela Doubkova, Andreas Walli and Christian Tottrup
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(8), 7819-7839; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6087819 - 21 Aug 2014
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 14566
Abstract
The Water Observation and Information System (WOIS) is an open source software tool for monitoring, assessing and inventorying water resources in a cost-effective manner using Earth Observation (EO) data. The WOIS has been developed by, among others, the authors of this paper under [...] Read more.
The Water Observation and Information System (WOIS) is an open source software tool for monitoring, assessing and inventorying water resources in a cost-effective manner using Earth Observation (EO) data. The WOIS has been developed by, among others, the authors of this paper under the TIGER-NET project, which is a major component of the TIGER initiative of the European Space Agency (ESA) and whose main goal is to support the African Earth Observation Capacity for Water Resource Monitoring. TIGER-NET aims to support the satellite-based assessment and monitoring of water resources from watershed to cross-border basin levels through the provision of a free and powerful software package, with associated capacity building, to African authorities. More than 28 EO data processing solutions for water resource management tasks have been developed, in correspondence with the requirements of the participating key African water authorities, and demonstrated with dedicated case studies utilizing the software in operational scenarios. They cover a wide range of themes and information products, including basin-wide characterization of land and water resources, lake water quality monitoring, hydrological modeling and flood forecasting and mapping. For each monitoring task, step-by-step workflows were developed, which can either be adjusted by the user or largely automatized to feed into existing data streams and reporting schemes. The WOIS enables African water authorities to fully exploit the increasing EO capacity offered by current and upcoming generations of satellites, including the Sentinel missions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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2949 KiB  
Article
Evaluating MERIS-Based Aquatic Vegetation Mapping in Lake Victoria
by Elijah K. Cheruiyot, Collins Mito, Massimo Menenti, Ben Gorte, Roderik Koenders and Nadia Akdim
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(8), 7762-7782; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6087762 - 20 Aug 2014
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 8232
Abstract
Delineation of aquatic plants and estimation of its surface extent are crucial to the efficient control of its proliferation, and this information can be derived accurately with fine resolution remote sensing products. However, small swath and low observation frequency associated with them may [...] Read more.
Delineation of aquatic plants and estimation of its surface extent are crucial to the efficient control of its proliferation, and this information can be derived accurately with fine resolution remote sensing products. However, small swath and low observation frequency associated with them may be prohibitive for application to large water bodies with rapid proliferation and dynamic floating aquatic plants. The information can be derived from products with large swath and high observation frequency, but with coarse resolution; and the quality of so derived information must be eventually assessed using finer resolution data. In this study, we evaluate two methods: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) slicing and maximum likelihood in terms of delineation; and two methods: Gutman and Ignatov’s NDVI-based fractional cover retrieval and linear spectral unmixing in terms of area estimation of aquatic plants from 300 m Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) data, using as reference results obtained with 30 m Landsat-7 ETM+. Our results show for delineation, that maximum likelihood with an average classification accuracy of 80% is better than NDVI slicing at 75%, both methods showing larger errors over sparse vegetation. In area estimation, we found that Gutman and Ignatov’s method and spectral unmixing produce almost the same root mean square (RMS) error of about 0.10, but the former shows larger errors of about 0.15 over sparse vegetation while the latter remains invariant. Where an endmember spectral library is available, we recommend the spectral unmixing approach to estimate extent of vegetation with coarse resolution data, as its performance is relatively invariant to the fragmentation of aquatic vegetation cover. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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11268 KiB  
Article
Seven Years of Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) Global Monitoring (GM) of Surface Soil Moisture over Africa
by Alena Dostálová, Marcela Doubková, Daniel Sabel, Bernhard Bauer-Marschallinger and Wolfgang Wagner
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(8), 7683-7707; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6087683 - 19 Aug 2014
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 8235
Abstract
A surface soil moisture (SSM) product at a 1-km spatial resolution derived from the Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) Global Monitoring (GM) mode data was evaluated over the entire African continent using coarse spatial resolution SSM acquisitions from the Advanced Microwave Scanning [...] Read more.
A surface soil moisture (SSM) product at a 1-km spatial resolution derived from the Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) Global Monitoring (GM) mode data was evaluated over the entire African continent using coarse spatial resolution SSM acquisitions from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) and the Noah land surface model from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS-NOAH). The evaluation was performed in terms of relative soil moisture values (%), as well as anomalies from the seasonal cycle. Considering the high radiometric noise of the ASAR GM data, the SSM product exhibits a good ability (Pearson correlation coefficient (R) = ~0.6 for relative soil moisture values and root mean square difference (RMSD) = 11% when averaged to 5-km resolution) to monitor temporal soil moisture variability in regions with low to medium density vegetation and yearly rainfall >250 mm. The findings agree with previous evaluation studies performed over Australia and further strengthen the understanding of the quality of the ASAR GM SSM product and its potential for data assimilation. Problems identified in the ASAR GM algorithm over arid regions were explained by azimuthal effects. Diverse backscatter behavior over different soil types was identified. The insights gained about the quality of the data were used to establish a reliable masking of the existing ASAR GM SSM product and the identification of areas where further research is needed for the future Sentinel-1-derived SSM products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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2420 KiB  
Article
Estimation of Reservoir Discharges from Lake Nasser and Roseires Reservoir in the Nile Basin Using Satellite Altimetry and Imagery Data
by Eric Muala, Yasir A. Mohamed, Zheng Duan and Pieter Van der Zaag
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(8), 7522-7545; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6087522 - 13 Aug 2014
Cited by 76 | Viewed by 13366
Abstract
This paper presents the feasibility of estimating discharges from Roseires Reservoir (Sudan) for the period from 2002 to 2010 and Aswan High Dam/Lake Nasser (Egypt) for the periods 1999–2002 and 2005–2009 using satellite altimetry and imagery with limited in situ data. Discharges were [...] Read more.
This paper presents the feasibility of estimating discharges from Roseires Reservoir (Sudan) for the period from 2002 to 2010 and Aswan High Dam/Lake Nasser (Egypt) for the periods 1999–2002 and 2005–2009 using satellite altimetry and imagery with limited in situ data. Discharges were computed using the water balance of the reservoirs. Rainfall and evaporation data were obtained from public domain data sources. In situ measurements of inflow and outflow (for validation) were obtained, as well. The other water balance components, such as the water level and surface area, for derivation of the change of storage volume were derived from satellite measurements. Water levels were obtained from Hydroweb for Roseires Reservoir and Hydroweb and Global Reservoir and Lake Monitor (GRLM) for Lake Nasser. Water surface areas were derived from Landsat TM/ETM+ images using the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI). The water volume variations were estimated by integrating the area-level relationship of each reservoir. For Roseires Reservoir, the water levels from Hydroweb agreed well with in situ water levels (RMSE = 0.92 m; R2 = 0.96). Good agreement with in situ measurements were also obtained for estimated water volume (RMSE = 23%; R2 = 0.94) and computed discharge (RMSE = 18%; R2 = 0.98). The accuracy of the computed discharge was considered acceptable for typical reservoir operation applications. For Lake Nasser, the altimetry water levels also agreed well with in situ levels, both for Hydroweb (RMSE = 0.72 m; R2 = 0.81) and GRLM (RMSE = 0.62 m; R2 = 0.96) data. Similar agreements were also observed for the estimated water volumes (RMSE = 10%–15%). However, the estimated discharge from satellite data agreed poorly with observed discharge, Hydroweb (RMSE = 70%; R2 = 0.09) and GRLM (RMSE = 139%; R2 = 0.36). The error could be attributed to the high sensitivity of discharge to errors in storage volume because of the immense reservoir compared to inflow/outflow series. It may also be related to unaccounted spills into the Toshka Depression, overestimation of water inflow and errors in open water evaporation. Therefore, altimetry water levels and satellite imagery data can be used as a source of information for monitoring the operation of Roseires Reservoir with a fairly low uncertainty, while the errors of Lake Nasser are too large to allow for the monitoring of its operation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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2849 KiB  
Article
Validation of Global Evapotranspiration Product (MOD16) using Flux Tower Data in the African Savanna, South Africa
by Abel Ramoelo, Nobuhle Majozi, Renaud Mathieu, Nebo Jovanovic, Alecia Nickless and Sebinasi Dzikiti
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(8), 7406-7423; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6087406 - 11 Aug 2014
Cited by 138 | Viewed by 11547
Abstract
Globally, water is an important resource required for the survival of human beings. Water is a scarce resource in the semi-arid environments, including South Africa. In South Africa, several studies have quantified evapotranspiration (ET) in different ecosystems at a local scale. Accurate spatially [...] Read more.
Globally, water is an important resource required for the survival of human beings. Water is a scarce resource in the semi-arid environments, including South Africa. In South Africa, several studies have quantified evapotranspiration (ET) in different ecosystems at a local scale. Accurate spatially explicit information on ET is rare in the country mainly due to lack of appropriate tools. In recent years, a remote sensing ET product from the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MOD16) has been developed. However, its accuracy is not known in South African ecosystems. The objective of this study was to validate the MOD16 ET product using data from two eddy covariance flux towers, namely; Skukuza and Malopeni installed in a savanna and woodland ecosystem within the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Eight day cumulative ET data from the flux towers was calculated to coincide with the eight day MOD16 products over a period of 10 years from 2000 to 2010. The Skukuza flux tower results showed inconsistent comparisons with MOD16 ET. The Malopeni site achieved a poorer comparison with MOD16 ET compared to the Skukuza, and due to a shorter measurement period, data validation was performed for 2009 only. The inconsistent comparison of MOD16 and flux tower-based ET can be attributed to, among other things, the parameterization of the Penman-Monteith model, flux tower measurement errors, and flux tower footprint vs. MODIS pixel. MOD16 is important for global inference of ET, but for use in South Africa's integrated water management, a locally parameterized and improved product should be developed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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10006 KiB  
Article
Application of the Regional Water Mass Variations from GRACE Satellite Gravimetry to Large-Scale Water Management in Africa
by Guillaume Ramillien, Frédéric Frappart and Lucia Seoane
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(8), 7379-7405; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6087379 - 7 Aug 2014
Cited by 63 | Viewed by 11673
Abstract
Time series of regional 2° × 2° Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) solutions of surface water mass change have been computed over Africa from 2003 to 2012 with a 10-day resolution by using a new regional approach. These regional maps are used [...] Read more.
Time series of regional 2° × 2° Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) solutions of surface water mass change have been computed over Africa from 2003 to 2012 with a 10-day resolution by using a new regional approach. These regional maps are used to describe and quantify water mass change. The contribution of African hydrology to actual sea level rise is negative and small in magnitude (i.e., −0.1 mm/y of equivalent sea level (ESL)) mainly explained by the water retained in the Zambezi River basin. Analysis of the regional water mass maps is used to distinguish different zones of important water mass variations, with the exception of the dominant seasonal cycle of the African monsoon in the Sahel and Central Africa. The analysis of the regional solutions reveals the accumulation in the Okavango swamp and South Niger. It confirms the continuous depletion of water in the North Sahara aquifer at the rate of −2.3 km3/y, with a decrease in early 2008. Synergistic use of altimetry-based lake water volume with total water storage (TWS) from GRACE permits a continuous monitoring of sub-surface water storage for large lake drainage areas. These different applications demonstrate the potential of the GRACE mission for the management of water resources at the regional scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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16330 KiB  
Article
Towards the Improvement of Blue Water Evapotranspiration Estimates by Combining Remote Sensing and Model Simulation
by Mireia Romaguera, Mhd. Suhyb Salama, Maarten S. Krol, Arjen Y. Hoekstra and Zhongbo Su
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(8), 7026-7049; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6087026 - 29 Jul 2014
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6587
Abstract
The estimation of evapotranspiration of blue water (ETb) from farmlands, due to irrigation, is crucial to improve water management, especially in regions where water resources are scarce. Large scale ETb was previously obtained, based on the differences between remote sensing [...] Read more.
The estimation of evapotranspiration of blue water (ETb) from farmlands, due to irrigation, is crucial to improve water management, especially in regions where water resources are scarce. Large scale ETb was previously obtained, based on the differences between remote sensing derived actual ET and values simulated from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS). In this paper, we improve on the previous approach by enhancing the classification scheme employed so that it represents regions with common hydrometeorological conditions. Bias between the two data sets for reference areas (non-irrigated croplands) were identified per class, and used to adjust the remote sensing products. Different classifiers were compared and evaluated based on the generated bias curves per class and their variability. The results in Europe show that the k-means classifier was better suited to identify the bias curves per class, capturing the dynamic range of these curves and minimizing their variability within each corresponding class. The method was applied in Africa and the classification and bias results were consistent with the findings in Europe. The ETb results were compared with existing literature and provided differences up to 50 mm/year in Europe, while the comparison in Africa was found to be highly influenced by the assigned cover type and the heterogeneity of the pixel. Although further research is needed to fully understand the ETb values found, this paper shows a more robust approach to classify and characterize the bias between the two sets of ET data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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621 KiB  
Article
Effect of Bias Correction of Satellite-Rainfall Estimates on Runoff Simulations at the Source of the Upper Blue Nile
by Emad Habib, Alemseged Tamiru Haile, Nazmus Sazib, Yu Zhang and Tom Rientjes
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(7), 6688-6708; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6076688 - 22 Jul 2014
Cited by 99 | Viewed by 10287
Abstract
Results of numerous evaluation studies indicated that satellite-rainfall products are contaminated with significant systematic and random errors. Therefore, such products may require refinement and correction before being used for hydrologic applications. In the present study, we explore a rainfall-runoff modeling application using the [...] Read more.
Results of numerous evaluation studies indicated that satellite-rainfall products are contaminated with significant systematic and random errors. Therefore, such products may require refinement and correction before being used for hydrologic applications. In the present study, we explore a rainfall-runoff modeling application using the Climate Prediction Center-MORPHing (CMORPH) satellite rainfall product. The study area is the Gilgel Abbay catchment situated at the source basin of the Upper Blue Nile basin in Ethiopia, Eastern Africa. Rain gauge networks in such area are typically sparse. We examine different bias correction schemes applied locally to the CMORPH product. These schemes vary in the degree to which spatial and temporal variability in the CMORPH bias fields are accounted for. Three schemes are tested: space and time-invariant, time-variant and spatially invariant, and space and time variant. Bias-corrected CMORPH products were used to calibrate and drive the Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning (HBV) rainfall-runoff model. Applying the space and time-fixed bias correction scheme resulted in slight improvement of the CMORPH-driven runoff simulations, but in some instances caused deterioration. Accounting for temporal variation in the bias reduced the rainfall bias by up to 50%. Additional improvements were observed when both the spatial and temporal variability in the bias was accounted for. The rainfall bias was found to have a pronounced effect on model calibration. The calibrated model parameters changed significantly when using rainfall input from gauges alone, uncorrected, and bias-corrected CMORPH estimates. Changes of up to 81% were obtained for model parameters controlling the stream flow volume. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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1375 KiB  
Article
Evaporative Fraction as an Indicator of Moisture Condition and Water Stress Status in Semi-Arid Rangeland Ecosystems
by Francesco Nutini, Mirco Boschetti, Gabriele Candiani, Stefano Bocchi and Pietro Alessandro Brivio
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(7), 6300-6323; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6076300 - 7 Jul 2014
Cited by 35 | Viewed by 10000
Abstract
Rangeland monitoring services require the capability to investigate vegetation condition and to assess biomass production, especially in areas where local livelihood depends on rangeland status. Remote sensing solutions are strongly recommended, where the systematic acquisition of field data is not feasible and does [...] Read more.
Rangeland monitoring services require the capability to investigate vegetation condition and to assess biomass production, especially in areas where local livelihood depends on rangeland status. Remote sensing solutions are strongly recommended, where the systematic acquisition of field data is not feasible and does not guarantee properly describing the spatio-temporal dynamics of wide areas. Recent research on semi-arid rangelands has focused its attention on the evaporative fraction (EF), a key factor to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) in the energy balance (EB) algorithm. EF is strongly linked to the vegetation water status, and works conducted on eddy covariance towers used this parameter to increase the performances of satellite-based biomass estimation. In this work, a method to estimate EF from MODIS products, originally developed for evapotranspiration estimation, is tested and evaluated. Results show that the EF estimation from low spatial resolution over wide semi-arid area is feasible. Estimated EF resulted in being well correlated to field ET measurements, and the spatial patterns of EF maps are in agreement with the well-known climatic and landscape Sahelian features. The preliminary test on rangeland biomass production shows that satellite-retrieved EF as a water availability factor significantly increased the capacity of a remote sensing operational product to detect the variability of the field biomass measurements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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1597 KiB  
Article
Evapotranspiration Variability and Its Association with Vegetation Dynamics in the Nile Basin, 2002–2011
by Henok Alemu, Gabriel B. Senay, Armel T. Kaptue and Valeriy Kovalskyy
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(7), 5885-5908; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6075885 - 25 Jun 2014
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 8988
Abstract
Evapotranspiration (ET) is a vital component in land-atmosphere interactions. In drylands, over 90% of annual rainfall evaporates. The Nile Basin in Africa is about 42% dryland in a region experiencing rapid population growth and development. The relationship of ET with climate, vegetation and [...] Read more.
Evapotranspiration (ET) is a vital component in land-atmosphere interactions. In drylands, over 90% of annual rainfall evaporates. The Nile Basin in Africa is about 42% dryland in a region experiencing rapid population growth and development. The relationship of ET with climate, vegetation and land cover in the basin during 2002–2011 is analyzed using thermal-based Simplified Surface Energy Balance Operational (SSEBop) ET, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)-based MODIS Terrestrial (MOD16) ET, MODIS-derived NDVI as a proxy for vegetation productivity and rainfall from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). Interannual variability and trends are analyzed using established statistical methods. Analysis based on thermal-based ET revealed that >50% of the study area exhibited negative ET anomalies for 7 years (2009, driest), while >60% exhibited positive ET anomalies for 3 years (2007, wettest). NDVI-based monthly ET correlated strongly (r > 0.77) with vegetation than thermal-based ET (0.52 < r < 0.73) at p < 0.001. Climate-zone averaged thermal-based ET anomalies positively correlated (r = 0.6, p < 0.05) with rainfall in 4 of the 9 investigated climate zones. Thermal-based and NDVI-based ET estimates revealed minor discrepancies over rainfed croplands (60 mm/yr higher for thermal-based ET), but a significant divergence over wetlands (440 mm/yr higher for thermal-based ET). Only 5% of the study area exhibited statistically significant trends in ET. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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1956 KiB  
Article
Monitoring of Irrigation Schemes by Remote Sensing: Phenology versus Retrieval of Biophysical Variables
by Nadia Akdim, Silvia Maria Alfieri, Adnane Habib, Abdeloihab Choukri, Elijah Cheruiyot, Kamal Labbassi and Massimo Menenti
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(6), 5815-5851; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6065815 - 20 Jun 2014
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 9764
Abstract
The appraisal of crop water requirements (CWR) is crucial for the management of water resources, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where irrigation represents the largest consumer of water, such as the Doukkala area, western Morocco. Simple and (semi) empirical approaches have been [...] Read more.
The appraisal of crop water requirements (CWR) is crucial for the management of water resources, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where irrigation represents the largest consumer of water, such as the Doukkala area, western Morocco. Simple and (semi) empirical approaches have been applied to estimate CWR: the first one is called Kc-NDVI method, based on the correlation between the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the crop coefficient (Kc); the second one is the analytical approach based on the direct application of the Penman-Monteith equation with reflectance-based estimates of canopy biophysical variables, such as surface albedo (r), leaf area index (LAI) and crop height (hc). A time series of high spatial resolution RapidEye (REIS), SPOT4 (HRVIR1) and Landsat 8 (OLI) images acquired during the 2012/2013 agricultural season has been used to assess the spatial and temporal variability of crop evapotranspiration ETc and biophysical variables. The validation using the dual crop coefficient approach (Kcb) showed that the satellite-based estimates of daily ETc were in good agreement with ground-based ETc, i.e., R2 = 0.75 and RMSE = 0.79 versus R2 = 0.73 and RMSE = 0.89 for the Kc-NDVI, respective of the analytical approach. The assessment of irrigation performance in terms of adequacy between water requirements and allocations showed that CWR were much larger than allocated surface water for the entire area, with this difference being small at the beginning of the growing season. Even smaller differences were observed between surface water allocations and Irrigation Water Requirements (IWR) throughout the irrigation season. Finally, surface water allocations were rather close to Net Irrigation Water Requirements (NIWR). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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1644 KiB  
Article
FAO-56 Dual Model Combined with Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing for Regional Evapotranspiration Estimations
by Rim Amri, Mehrez Zribi, Zohra Lili-Chabaane, Camille Szczypta, Jean Christophe Calvet and Gilles Boulet
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(6), 5387-5406; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6065387 - 11 Jun 2014
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7497
Abstract
The main goal of this study is to evaluate the potential of the FAO-56 dual technique for the estimation of regional evapotranspiration (ET) and its constituent components (crop transpiration and soil evaporation), for two classes of vegetation (olives trees and cereals) in the [...] Read more.
The main goal of this study is to evaluate the potential of the FAO-56 dual technique for the estimation of regional evapotranspiration (ET) and its constituent components (crop transpiration and soil evaporation), for two classes of vegetation (olives trees and cereals) in the semi-arid region of the Kairouan plain in central Tunisia. The proposed approach combines the FAO-56 technique with remote sensing (optical and microwave), not only for vegetation characterization, as proposed in other studies but also for the estimation of soil evaporation, through the use of satellite moisture products. Since it is difficult to use ground flux measurements to validate remotely sensed data at regional scales, comparisons were made with the land surface model ISBA-A-gs which is a physical SVAT (Soil–Vegetation–Atmosphere Transfer) model, an operational tool developed by Météo-France. It is thus shown that good results can be obtained with this relatively simple approach, based on the FAO-56 technique combined with remote sensing, to retrieve temporal variations of ET. The approach proposed for the daily mapping of evapotranspiration at 1 km resolution is approved in two steps, for the period between 1991 and 2007. In an initial step, the ISBA-A-gs soil moisture outputs are compared with ERS/WSC products. Then, the output of the FAO-56 technique is compared with the output generated by the SVAT ISBA-A-gs model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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11149 KiB  
Article
Applicability of Multi-Frequency Passive Microwave Observations and Data Assimilation Methods for Improving NumericalWeather Forecasting in Niger, Africa
by Mohamed Rasmy, Toshio Koike and Xin Li
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(6), 5306-5324; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6065306 - 6 Jun 2014
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6563
Abstract
The development of satellite-based forecasting systems is one of the few affordable solutions for developing regions (e.g., West Africa) that cannot afford ground-based observation networks. Although low-frequency passive microwave data have been used extensively for land surface monitoring, the use of high-frequency passive [...] Read more.
The development of satellite-based forecasting systems is one of the few affordable solutions for developing regions (e.g., West Africa) that cannot afford ground-based observation networks. Although low-frequency passive microwave data have been used extensively for land surface monitoring, the use of high-frequency passive microwave data that contain cloud information is very limited over land because of strong heterogeneous land surface emissions. The Coupled Atmosphere and Land Data Assimilation System (CALDAS) was developed by merging soil moisture information estimated from low-frequency data with corresponding high-frequency data to estimate cloud information and, thus, improve weather forecasting over Niger, West Africa. The results showed that the assimilated soil moisture and cloud distributions were reasonably comparable to satellite retrievals of soil moisture and cloud observations. However, assimilating soil moisture alone within a mesoscale model produced only marginal improvements in the forecast, whereas the assimilation of both soil moisture and cloud distributions improved the simulation of temperature and humidity profiles. Rainfall forecasts from CALDAS also correlated well with satellite retrievals. This indicates the potential use of CALDAS as a reliable forecasting tool for developing regions. Further developments of CALDAS and the inclusion of data from several other sensors will be researched in future studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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12276 KiB  
Article
Remotely Sensed Monitoring of Small Reservoir Dynamics: A Bayesian Approach
by Dirk Eilander, Frank O. Annor, Lorenzo Iannini and Nick Van de Giesen
Remote Sens. 2014, 6(2), 1191-1210; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6021191 - 29 Jan 2014
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 9538
Abstract
Multipurpose small reservoirs are important for livelihoods in rural semi-arid regions. To manage and plan these reservoirs and to assess their hydrological impact at a river basin scale, it is important to monitor their water storage dynamics. This paper introduces a Bayesian approach [...] Read more.
Multipurpose small reservoirs are important for livelihoods in rural semi-arid regions. To manage and plan these reservoirs and to assess their hydrological impact at a river basin scale, it is important to monitor their water storage dynamics. This paper introduces a Bayesian approach for monitoring small reservoirs with radar satellite images. The newly developed growing Bayesian classifier has a high degree of automation, can readily be extended with auxiliary information and reduces the confusion error to the land-water boundary pixels. A case study has been performed in the Upper East Region of Ghana, based on Radarsat-2 data from November 2012 until April 2013. Results show that the growing Bayesian classifier can deal with the spatial and temporal variability in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) backscatter intensities from small reservoirs. Due to its ability to incorporate auxiliary information, the algorithm is able to delineate open water from SAR imagery with a low land-water contrast in the case of wind-induced Bragg scattering or limited vegetation on the land surrounding a small reservoir. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth Observation for Water Resource Management in Africa)
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