Water Resources in Africa: The Role of Earth Observation Data and Hydrodynamic Modeling to Derive River Discharge

• Published in: Surveys in geophysics Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 97 - 122
• Main Authors: Tarpanelli, Angelica, Paris, Adrien, Sichangi, Arthur W., O`Loughlin, Fiachra, Papa, Fabrice
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.02.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Altimetry; Astronomy; Climate change; Climate monitoring; Discharge measurement; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Extreme weather; Flow velocity; Gaging stations; Geophysics/Geodesy; Global warming; Hydrologic models; Hydrology; Modelling; Monitoring; Observations and Techniques; Optical measuring instruments; Radar; Radar altimetry; Radar data; Radio altimeters; River discharge; River flow; Rivers; Satellite data; Stream discharge; Water discharge; Water levels; Water resources; Radar altimetry; Hydrological models; African basins; Hydraulic models; Remote sensing; Discharge
• ISSN: 0169-3298; 1573-0956
• DOI: 10.1007/s10712-022-09744-x

For more than a century, river discharge has been measured indirectly through observations of water level and flow velocity, but recently the number of gauging stations worldwide has decreased and the situation is particularly serious in African countries that suffer more than others from discontinuous and incomplete monitoring. As one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to extreme weather events and global warming, African countries need adequate and reliable monitoring. Decades of available Earth Observations data represent a tool complementary to the hydro-monitoring network and, in recent decades, they have demonstrated their potential, especially for data-poor regions. In this paper, a review of methods for hydrological and hydraulic modeling and for estimating river discharge by the use of satellite data, specifically radar altimetry and optical sensors, is provided, with particular focus on their role in the climate changes monitoring. More emphasis is placed on their relevance on African basins highlighting limits and advantages.