Surface Freshwater Storage Variations in the Orinoco Floodplains Using Multi-Satellite Observations

Frappart, Frederic and Papa, Fabrice and Malbeteau, Yoann and Gabriel Leon, Juan and Ramillien, Guillaume and Prigent, Catherine and Seoane, Lucia and Seyler, Frederique and Calmant, Stephane (2015) Surface Freshwater Storage Variations in the Orinoco Floodplains Using Multi-Satellite Observations. In: REMOTE SENSING, 7 (1). pp. 89-110.

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Abstract

Variations in surface water extent and storage are poorly characterized from regional to global scales. In this study, a multi-satellite approach is proposed to estimate the water stored in the floodplains of the Orinoco Basin at a monthly time-scale using remotely-sensed observations of surface water from the Global Inundation Extent Multi-Satellite (GIEMS) and stages from Envisat radar altimetry. Surface water storage variations over 2003-2007 exhibit large interannual variability and a strong seasonal signal, peaking during summer, and associated with the flood pulse. The volume of surface water storage in the Orinoco Basin was highly correlated with the river discharge at Ciudad Bolivar (R = 0.95), the closest station to the mouth where discharge was estimated, although discharge lagged one month behind storage. The correlation remained high (R = 0.73) after removing seasonal effects. Mean annual variations in surface water volume represented similar to 170 km(3), contributing to similar to 45% of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)-derived total water storage variations and representing similar to 13% of the total volume of water that flowed out of the Orinoco Basin to the Atlantic Ocean.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	REMOTE SENSING
Publisher:	MDPI AG
Additional Information:	Copy right for this article belongs to the MDPI AG, POSTFACH, CH-4005 BASEL, SWITZERLAND
Keywords:	Orinoco; floodplains; surface water storage; multi-satellite observations
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Civil Engineering
Date Deposited:	04 Mar 2015 12:49
Last Modified:	18 Oct 2018 13:51
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/50999

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