Articles | Volume 27, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4335-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4335-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Investigating sources of variability in closing the terrestrial water balance with remote sensing
Claire I. Michailovsky
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands
Bert Coerver
IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands
now at: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy
Marloes Mul
IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands
Graham Jewitt
IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
Centre for Water Resources Research, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS).
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Some droughts develop so quickly that soils dry out, and crops can be damaged before existing methods notice them. These effects are especially harmful in dryland regions, where crops rely on rainfall and farmers often have limited resources. This study defines drought alert points that indicate when soils dry quickly enough to affect crops. By tailoring these alerts to each soil type and crop stage, they become more reliable, helping farmers and planners act in time to reduce crop damage.
Bich Ngoc Tran, Johannes van der Kwast, Solomon Seyoum, Remko Uijlenhoet, Graham Jewitt, and Marloes Mul
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4505–4528, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4505-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4505-2023, 2023
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Satellite data are increasingly used to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) or the amount of water moving from plants, soils, and water bodies into the atmosphere over large areas. Uncertainties from various sources affect the accuracy of these calculations. This study reviews the methods to assess the uncertainties of such ET estimations. It provides specific recommendations for a comprehensive assessment that assists in the potential uses of these data for research, monitoring, and management.
Afua Owusu, Jazmin Zatarain Salazar, Marloes Mul, Pieter van der Zaag, and Jill Slinger
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The construction of two dams in the Lower Volta River, Ghana, adversely affected downstream riverine ecosystems and communities. In contrast, Ghana has enjoyed vast economic benefits from the dams. Herein lies the challenge; there exists a trade-off between water for river ecosystems and water for anthropogenic water demands such hydropower. In this study, we quantify these trade-offs and show that there is room for providing environmental flows under current and future climatic conditions.
Abebe D. Chukalla, Marloes L. Mul, Pieter van der Zaag, Gerardo van Halsema, Evaristo Mubaya, Esperança Muchanga, Nadja den Besten, and Poolad Karimi
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2759–2778, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2759-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2759-2022, 2022
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New techniques to monitor the performance of irrigation schemes are vital to improve land and water productivity. We developed a framework and applied the remotely sensed FAO WaPOR dataset to assess uniformity, equity, adequacy, and land and water productivity at the Xinavane sugarcane estate, segmented by three irrigation methods. The developed performance assessment framework and the Python script in Jupyter Notebooks can aid in such irrigation performance analysis in other regions.
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Short summary
Many remote sensing products for precipitation, evapotranspiration, and water storage variations exist. However, when these are used with in situ runoff data in water balance closure studies, no single combination of products consistently outperforms others. We analyzed the water balance closure using different products in catchments worldwide and related the results to catchment characteristics. Our results can help identify the dataset combinations best suited for use in different catchments.
Many remote sensing products for precipitation, evapotranspiration, and water storage variations...