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Extending global river gauge records using satellite observations

Riggs, Ryan M, Allen, George H, Wang, Jida, Pavelsky, Tamlin M, Gleason, Colin J, David, Cédric H, Durand, Michael·2023·Environmental Research Letters
DOI 10.1088/1748-9326/acd407
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Abstract

Long-term, continuous, and real-time streamflow records are essential for understanding and managing freshwater resources. However, we find that 37% of publicly available global gauge records ( N = 45 837) are discontinuous and 77% of gauge records do not contain real-time data. Historical periods of social upheaval are associated with declines in gauge data availability. Using river width observations from Landsat and Sentinel-2 satellites, we fill in missing records at 2168 gauge locations worldwide with more than 275 000 daily discharge estimates. This task is accomplished with a river width-based rating curve technique that optimizes measurement location and rating function (median relative bias = 1.4%, median Kling-Gupta efficiency = 0.46). The rating curves presented here can be used to generate near real-time discharge measurements as new satellite images are acquired, improving our capabilities for monitoring and managing river resources.

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Metadata

Authors
Riggs, R. M., Allen, G. H., Wang, J., Pavelsky, T. M., Gleason, C. J., David, C. H., & Durand, M.
ORCID
Venue
Environmental Research Letters
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Published
2023-05-26
Volume
18
Issue
6
Pages
064027
ISSN
1748-9326
DOI
10.1088/1748-9326/acd407
Cited by
43
References
1
Licence
Funders
  • NASA’s Terrestrial Hydrology Program (NNH17ZDA001N-THP)
  • NASA SWOT Science Team (NNH19ZDA001N-SWOTST)
  • NASA SWOT Project Office
  • Texas A&M Presidential Excellence Fund
  • Texas Space Grant Consortium

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Riggs, R. M., Allen, G. H., Wang, J., Pavelsky, T. M., Gleason, C. J., David, C. H., & Durand, M. (2023). Extending global river gauge records using satellite observations. Environmental Research Letters. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd407

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