Altenau E. H., Pavelsky T. M., Moller D., Lion C., Pitcher L. H., Allen G. H., Bates P. D., Calmant Stéphane, Durand M., Smith L. C. (2017). AirSWOT measurements of river water surface elevation and slope : Tanana River, AK. Geophysical Research Letters, 44 (1), p. 181-189. ISSN 0094-8276.
Titre du document
AirSWOT measurements of river water surface elevation and slope : Tanana River, AK
Année de publication
2017
Auteurs
Altenau E. H., Pavelsky T. M., Moller D., Lion C., Pitcher L. H., Allen G. H., Bates P. D., Calmant Stéphane, Durand M., Smith L. C.
Source
Geophysical Research Letters, 2017,
44 (1), p. 181-189 ISSN 0094-8276
Fluctuations in water surface elevation (WSE) along rivers have important implications for water resources, flood hazards, and biogeochemical cycling. However, current in situ and remote sensing methods exhibit key limitations in characterizing spatiotemporal hydraulics of many of the world's river systems. Here we analyze new measurements of river WSE and slope from AirSWOT, an airborne analogue to the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission aimed at addressing limitations in current remotely sensed observations of surface water. To evaluate its capabilities, we compare AirSWOT WSEs and slopes to in situ measurements along the Tanana River, Alaska. Root-mean-square error is 9.0cm for WSEs averaged over 1km(2) areas and 1.0cm/km for slopes along 10km reaches. Results indicate that AirSWOT can accurately reproduce the spatial variations in slope critical for characterizing reach-scale hydraulics. AirSWOT's high-precision measurements are valuable for hydrologic analysis, flood modeling studies, and for validating future SWOT measurements.
Plan de classement
Hydrologie [062]
;
Télédétection [126]
Description Géographique
ETATS UNIS ; ALASKA ; TANANA COURS D'EAU
Localisation
Fonds IRD [F B010069258]
Identifiant IRD
fdi:010069258
