Uncertainty in remote sensing of streams using noncontact radars

Mushfiqur Rahman Khan; Jonathan J. Gourley; Jorge A. Duarte; Humberto Vergara; Daniel Wasielewski; Pierre-Alain Ayral; John W. Fulton

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126809

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Uncertainty in remote sensing of streams using noncontact radars

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Uncertainty in remote sensing of streams using noncontact radars

Mushfiqur Rahman Khan, Jonathan J. Gourley, Jorge A. Duarte, Humberto Vergara, Daniel Wasielewski, Pierre-Alain Ayral and John W. Fulton

Journal of hydrology (Amsterdam), Vol.603(Part A), p.126809

12/01/2021

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126809

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Abstract

•Potential stage biases caused by the thermal expansion and contraction of supporting structures due to diurnal temperature changes were examined.•Noncontact radar-based discharge estimates can be as accurate as in-situ, conventional streamgauges.•There was a notable phase sequencing between the surface velocity and stage, indicative of unsteady flows.•Real-time alerting capabilities of an impending flash flood are demonstrated in a vulnerable, ungauged basin. Accounting for freshwater resources and monitoring floods are vital functions for societies throughout the world. Remote-sensing methods offer great prospects to expand stream monitoring in developing countries and to smaller, headwater streams that are largely ungauged worldwide. This study evaluates the potential to estimate discharge using eight radar units that have been installed over streams in diverse hydrologic and hydraulic settings across the United States. The research highlights error characteristics associated with the measurements of stage using pulsed wave radars, mean channel velocity from continuous wave Doppler radars, and their combined use to estimate discharge at sites that were collocated with conventional streamgauges. Potential stage biases caused by the thermal expansion and contraction of supporting structures due to diurnal temperature changes were examined. A dry concrete, flume showed the temperature-dependent stage variations were no more than 2 cm. Surface velocity retrievals needed to be adjusted to represent the mean channel velocity when estimating discharge. Different approaches were evaluated and application of two different, depth-dependent adjustment factors was found to yield the most accurate estimates. This study found that it is possible to get accurate discharge estimates from noncontact radar measurements, providing cost-effective solutions for remote sensing of ungauged streams. Lastly, radar measurements of the raw variables (i.e., stage and surface velocity) can be used in an early alerting context to detect flash floods in ungauged streams.

Flash floods

Noncontact streamgauging

Remote sensing

Uncertainty estimation

Details

Title: Subtitle: Uncertainty in remote sensing of streams using noncontact radars
Creators: Mushfiqur Rahman Khan - University of Oklahoma
Jonathan J. Gourley - NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory
Jorge A. Duarte - Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies
Humberto Vergara - NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory
Daniel Wasielewski - NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory
Pierre-Alain Ayral - Laboratoire HydroSciences Montpellier
John W. Fulton - United States Geological Survey
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of hydrology (Amsterdam), Vol.603(Part A), p.126809
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126809
ISSN: 0022-1694
eISSN: 1879-2707
Publisher: Elsevier B.V
Language: English
Date published: 12/01/2021
Academic Unit: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Record Identifier: 9984446268402771

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