HR: 1340h
AN: H23E-1175    [Abstracts]
TI: Near-Real Time Monitoring of Global Lakes and Reservoirs
AU: * Beckley, B D
EM: brianb@nemo.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Raytheon ITSS, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Oceans and Ice Branch Code 971, Greebelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Birkett, C M
EM: cmb@nemo.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) University of Maryland at College Park, 2207 Computer and Space Sciences Building, College Park, MD 20742 United States
AU: Doorn, B
EM: doorn@fas.usda.gov
AF: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 6053, South Building Stop 1045, Washington D.C., 20250 United States
AU: Reynolds, C
EM: reynoldsc@fas.usda.gov
AF: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 6053, South Building Stop 1045, Washington D.C., 20250 United States
AU: Baldwin, B
EM: baldwin@fas.usda.gov
AF: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 6053, South Building Stop 1045, Washington D.C., 20250 United States
AB: Satellite radar altimetry has the ability to monitor variations in surface water height (stage) for large lakes and reservoirs. A clear advantage is the provision of data where traditional gauges are lacking or where there is restricted access to ground-based measurements. As part of a new USDA-funded program, near-real time altimetric monitoring of the largest lakes and reservoirs in the world is taking place. Data ingestion and manipulation, to some degree, follows the concepts of the NASA Ocean Altimeter Pathfinder although extra provisions have to be made regarding these smaller targets. Archived data from the TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) mission are utilized to provide a historical time series of height variations from 1992-2002. Near-real time stage measurements with respect to the T/P historical mean reference are derived from incoming data from the Jason-1 mission. The project utilizes the IGDR Jason-1 data with its $<$5 cm orbit accuracy and delivery time of $<$4 days after satellite overpass. A USDA maintained web site (http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/global_reservoir) provides free access to new measurements to the public about a week to ten days after the satellite passes over. Currently there are stage levels from 70 lakes/reservoirs worldwide being made available. As the project progresses, other data from the ERS and ENVISAT missions will also be included. The Foreign Agricultural Service's, Precipitation Estimation and Crop Assessment Division utilize these observations to note potential flood/drought conditions, and to estimate reservoir volume and irrigation potential. In this presentation we demonstrate the current capabilities and limitations of ocean radar altimetry for inland water level monitoring.
UR: http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/global_reservoir
DE: 1821 Floods
DE: 1836 Hydrologic budget (1655)
DE: 1860 Runoff and streamflow
DE: 1890 Wetlands
DE: 1894 Instruments and techniques
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting