Estimating River Discharge With Swath Altimetry: A Proof of Concept Using AirSWOT Observations

Abstract The forthcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission will provide global measurements of the free surface of large rivers, providing new opportunities for remote sensing‐derived estimates of river discharge in gaged and ungaged basins. SWOT discharge algorithms have b...

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Main Authors: S. Tuozzolo, G. Lind, B. Overstreet, J. Mangano, M. Fonstad, M. Hagemann, R. P. M. Frasson, K. Larnier, P.‐A. Garambois, J. Monnier, M. Durand
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-02-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080771
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author S. Tuozzolo
G. Lind
B. Overstreet
J. Mangano
M. Fonstad
M. Hagemann
R. P. M. Frasson
K. Larnier
P.‐A. Garambois
J. Monnier
M. Durand
author_facet S. Tuozzolo
G. Lind
B. Overstreet
J. Mangano
M. Fonstad
M. Hagemann
R. P. M. Frasson
K. Larnier
P.‐A. Garambois
J. Monnier
M. Durand
author_sort S. Tuozzolo
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The forthcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission will provide global measurements of the free surface of large rivers, providing new opportunities for remote sensing‐derived estimates of river discharge in gaged and ungaged basins. SWOT discharge algorithms have been developed and benchmarked using synthetic data but remain untested on real‐world swath altimetry observations. We present the first discharge estimates from AirSWOT, a SWOT‐like airborne Ka‐band radar, using 6 days of measurements over a 40‐km segment of the Willamette River in Oregon, USA. The three evaluated discharge algorithms estimated discharge with normalized root‐mean‐square errors of 10–31% when compared with in situ gage data but were sensitive to an initial estimate of mean annual discharge. Our results show that these discharge algorithms provide reliable discharge estimates on remotely sensed data at SWOT‐like spatial scales while highlighting the need for further algorithm sensitivity tests.
format Article
id doaj-art-528a9d5c4cdf4081a5ffc133acacf87b
institution OA Journals
issn 0094-8276
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language English
publishDate 2019-02-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-528a9d5c4cdf4081a5ffc133acacf87b2025-08-20T01:51:45ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072019-02-014631459146610.1029/2018GL080771Estimating River Discharge With Swath Altimetry: A Proof of Concept Using AirSWOT ObservationsS. Tuozzolo0G. Lind1B. Overstreet2J. Mangano3M. Fonstad4M. Hagemann5R. P. M. Frasson6K. Larnier7P.‐A. Garambois8J. Monnier9M. Durand10Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Ohio State University Columbus OH USAUSGS Oregon Water Science Center Portland OR USAUSGS Oregon Water Science Center Portland OR USAUSGS Oregon Water Science Center Portland OR USADepartment of Geography University of Oregon Eugene OR USAByrd Polar and Climate Research Center Ohio State University Columbus OH USAByrd Polar and Climate Research Center Ohio State University Columbus OH USACS Corporation, Business Unit Espace Toulouse FranceINSA Strasbourg Strasbourg FranceInstitut de Mathématiques de Toulouse Toulouse FranceByrd Polar and Climate Research Center Ohio State University Columbus OH USAAbstract The forthcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission will provide global measurements of the free surface of large rivers, providing new opportunities for remote sensing‐derived estimates of river discharge in gaged and ungaged basins. SWOT discharge algorithms have been developed and benchmarked using synthetic data but remain untested on real‐world swath altimetry observations. We present the first discharge estimates from AirSWOT, a SWOT‐like airborne Ka‐band radar, using 6 days of measurements over a 40‐km segment of the Willamette River in Oregon, USA. The three evaluated discharge algorithms estimated discharge with normalized root‐mean‐square errors of 10–31% when compared with in situ gage data but were sensitive to an initial estimate of mean annual discharge. Our results show that these discharge algorithms provide reliable discharge estimates on remotely sensed data at SWOT‐like spatial scales while highlighting the need for further algorithm sensitivity tests.https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080771AirSWOTfluvial hydrologyremote sensingdischarge algorithms
spellingShingle S. Tuozzolo
G. Lind
B. Overstreet
J. Mangano
M. Fonstad
M. Hagemann
R. P. M. Frasson
K. Larnier
P.‐A. Garambois
J. Monnier
M. Durand
Estimating River Discharge With Swath Altimetry: A Proof of Concept Using AirSWOT Observations
Geophysical Research Letters
AirSWOT
fluvial hydrology
remote sensing
discharge algorithms
title Estimating River Discharge With Swath Altimetry: A Proof of Concept Using AirSWOT Observations
title_full Estimating River Discharge With Swath Altimetry: A Proof of Concept Using AirSWOT Observations
title_fullStr Estimating River Discharge With Swath Altimetry: A Proof of Concept Using AirSWOT Observations
title_full_unstemmed Estimating River Discharge With Swath Altimetry: A Proof of Concept Using AirSWOT Observations
title_short Estimating River Discharge With Swath Altimetry: A Proof of Concept Using AirSWOT Observations
title_sort estimating river discharge with swath altimetry a proof of concept using airswot observations
topic AirSWOT
fluvial hydrology
remote sensing
discharge algorithms
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080771
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