Application of the Regional Water Mass Variations from GRACE Satellite Gravimetry to Large-Scale Water Management in Africa

Remote Sensing

Guillaume Ramillien²  Frຝéric Frappart¹ 

[1] Groupe de Recherche en Géodésie Spatiale (GRGS), 14, Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France;Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), GET-UMR5563 CNRS/IRD/UPS, 14, Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France

关键词: GRACE satellite mission;    regional water mass solutions;    water resource management;    NWSAS drought;    African monsoon;   

DOI  :  10.3390/rs6087379

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Time series of regional 2° × 2° Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) solutions of surface water mass change have been computed over Africa from 2003 to 2012 with a 10-day resolution by using a new regional approach. These regional maps are used to describe and quantify water mass change. The contribution of African hydrology to actual sea level rise is negative and small in magnitude (i.e., −0.1 mm/y of equivalent sea level (ESL)) mainly explained by the water retained in the Zambezi River basin. Analysis of the regional water mass maps is used to distinguish different zones of important water mass variations, with the exception of the dominant seasonal cycle of the African monsoon in the Sahel and Central Africa. The analysis of the regional solutions reveals the accumulation in the Okavango swamp and South Niger. It confirms the continuous depletion of water in the North Sahara aquifer at the rate of −2.3 km³/y, with a decrease in early 2008. Synergistic use of altimetry-based lake water volume with total water storage (TWS) from GRACE permits a continuous monitoring of sub-surface water storage for large lake drainage areas. These different applications demonstrate the potential of the GRACE mission for the management of water resources at the regional scale.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland