Articles | Volume 11, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1583-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1583-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Data description article
| 
22 Oct 2019
Data description article |
| 22 Oct 2019
| 22 Oct 2019
SM2RAIN–ASCAT (2007–2018): global daily satellite rainfall data from ASCAT soil moisture observations
Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection,
National Research Council, Perugia, Italy
Paolo Filippucci
Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection,
National Research Council, Perugia, Italy
Sebastian Hahn
Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria
Luca Ciabatta
Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection,
National Research Council, Perugia, Italy
Christian Massari
Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection,
National Research Council, Perugia, Italy
Stefania Camici
Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection,
National Research Council, Perugia, Italy
Lothar Schüller
European Organisation for the Exploitation of
Meteorological Satellites, Darmstadt, Germany
Bojan Bojkov
European Organisation for the Exploitation of
Meteorological Satellites, Darmstadt, Germany
Wolfgang Wagner
Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria
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Short summary
Short summary
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2851, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2851, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
We developed a new system to map and monitor snow and stored water across large mountain regions using satellite data and computer simulations. Tested in four major European river basins, the system reproduced snow conditions with high accuracy and realistically captured how snow changes with elevation. Because it does not rely on ground measurements, it can help provide consistent information on snow-water resources worldwide, supporting water management and climate adaptation.
Ather Abbas, Yuan Yang, Ming Pan, Yves Tramblay, Chaopeng Shen, Haoyu Ji, Solomon H. Gebrechorkos, Florian Pappenberger, JongCheol Pyo, Dapeng Feng, George Huffman, Phu Nguyen, Christian Massari, Luca Brocca, Jackson Tan, and Hylke E. Beck
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 30, 3399–3423, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-3399-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-3399-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
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ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., X-4-W8-2025, 33–38, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-4-W8-2025-33-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-4-W8-2025-33-2026, 2026
Süleyman Selim Çallı, Kübra Özdemir Çallı, Brahim Akdim, Bruno Arfib, Aleksey Benderev, Sandra Beranger, Avi Burg, Onur Can, Jean-Baptiste Charlier, Mehmet Çelik, Arda Melih Çetin, Fehdi Chemseddine, Miroslava Deliyska, Lucio Di Matteo, Marco Dionigi, Romeo Eftimi, Jutta Eybl, Davide Fronzi, Nico Goldscheider, Ergin Gökkaya, Jorge Jodar, Herve Jourde, Eva Kaminsky, Konstantina Katsanou, Alireza Kavousi, Melike Kaya, David Labat, Tanja Liesch, Peter Malik, Christian Massari, Cyril Mayaud, Naomi Mazzilli, Pavel Pracny, Natasa Ravbar, Nathan Rispal, Simon Seelig, Vianney Sivelle, Marc Steinmann, Daniela Valigi, Gerfried Winkler, Ahmet Kemal Yahşi, and Andreas Hartmann
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-281, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-281, 2026
Revised manuscript under review for ESSD
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Karst groundwater systems are vital but highly sensitive to climate change. Their complex underground flow makes them hard to manage without good data, so we gathered 118 high-quality records of spring discharge across Mediterranean mountain ranges. With an average of 19 years of data – including one nearly century-long record – this collection provides the detailed information needed to better predict water availability and protect these vulnerable groundwater sources.
Louise Busschaert, Michel Bechtold, Sara Modanesi, Christian Massari, Dirk Raes, Sujay V. Kumar, and Gabriëlle J. M. De Lannoy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 30, 2579–2611, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-2579-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-2579-2026, 2026
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Two models, AquaCrop (crop model) and Noah-MP (land surface model), were compared estimating irrigation in Italy's Po Valley. Noah-MP simulated higher water use (434 mm/yr) than AquaCrop (268 mm/yr), mainly due to extra water losses like runoff. Once losses were accounted for, both aligned with basin-scale reports of around 500 to 600 mm/yr. The study highlights how complex irrigation modeling is, and the need for better observational data to validate results.
Oscar M. Baez-Villanueva, Alfredo Crespo-Otero, Sara Modanesi, Pierre Laluet, Sergio Vicente-Serrano, Jaap Schellekens, Jacopo Dari, Hylke E. Beck, Wouter Dorigo, Christian Massari, Chiara Corbari, Joppe Massant, Kwint Delbare, Olivier Bonte, Aaron Boone, Diego Fernández-Prieto, and Diego G. Miralles
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1856, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1856, 2026
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We developed a new method to estimate daily land evaporation at high resolution across the Iberian Peninsula, explicitly accounting for irrigation. By combining satellite and meteorological data, we show that irrigation can strongly increase evaporation in agricultural areas. The results better match ground observations and improve understanding of water use. This approach can support farming decisions and water management at the regional scale, and will be extended to global applications.
Ehsan Modiri, Oldrich Rakovec, Pallav Kumar Shrestha, Almudena García-García, Leandro Avila, Katie Blackford, Elizabeth Cooper, Bram Droppers, Paolo Filippucci, Milan Fischer, Matěj Orság, Pietro Stradiotti, Luca Brocca, Douglas B. Clark, Wouter Dorigo, Stefan Kollet, Jian Peng, Niko Wanders, and Luis Samaniego
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1012, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1012, 2026
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Drought impacts water supply, agriculture, and ecosystems, yet hydrological models often disagree on when and where drought occurs. This study tested whether satellite observations can improve how models represent soil moisture drought in the Rhine River basin. Using several models and major drought events, we show that satellite data improve spatial realism and reveal important differences among models, helping to better understand uncertainty in drought monitoring and early warning.
Sofia Ortenzi, Lucio Di Matteo, Daniela Valigi, Marco Donnini, Marco Dionigi, Davide Fronzi, Josie Geris, Fabio Guadagnano, Ivan Marchesini, Paolo Filippucci, Francesco Avanzi, Daniele Penna, and Christian Massari
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 30, 1755–1778, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1755-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1755-2026, 2026
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The study presents an integrated approach to analyze groundwater–surface water interactions in a Central Italy catchment, combining hydrological, hydrochemical–isotopic, thermal drone, and satellite data. Results indicate that fractured limestone aquifers sustain streamflow, with snowmelt accounting for about 18 % of recharge. The workflow is transferable and suitable for similar data-scarce Mediterranean basins.
Shima Azimi, Manuela Girotto, Riccardo Rigon, Gaia Roati, Silvia Barbetta, and Christian Massari
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-793, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-793, 2026
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Even ground-based precipitation observations, often considered the most reliable, can introduce substantial uncertainty into snow modeling due to sparse gauge coverage at high elevations in mountainous catchments.This challenge motivates the present study, in which we propose a data assimilation framework that integrates satellite-based snow depth into a hydrological model to correct snowfall estimates over the Italian Alps, with implications for water management in data-scarce mountain regions.
Domenico De Santis, Silvia Barbetta, Sumit Sen, Viviana Maggioni, Farhad Bahmanpouri, Ashutosh Sharma, Ankit Agarwal, Sagar Gupta, Francesco Avanzi, and Christian Massari
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1075–1104, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-1075-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-1075-2026, 2026
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A conceptual, semi-distributed hydrological model was tailored to simulate high flows in monsoon-dominated, glacier-influenced and flood-prone Himalayan basins. Multi-data calibration using satellite-based glacier mass loss and evapotranspiration estimates improved process realism in data-scarce environments. The proposed modelling approach captured key streamflow features despite significant input uncertainties, proving to be a useful tool for exploring the local hydrological response dynamics.
Senna Bouabdelli, Martin Morlot, Christian Massari, and Giuseppe Formetta
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-464, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-464, 2026
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Drought is becoming more common in the Alps as warmer winters reduce snow and alter river flow. We used hydrological model simulations in the Adige basin to understand when and why droughts occur. Results show that droughts are happening earlier, becoming more intense, and increasingly driven by lack of rain instead of melting snow at high elevations. This shift toward lower-elevation river behaviour calls for new strategies to manage water for hydropower, agriculture, and tourism.
Dariela A. Vázquez Rodríguez, Pavan Muguda Sanjeevamurthy, Wolfgang Wagner, Sebastian Hahn, and Fabiola D. Yépez-Rincón
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., X-3-W3-2025, 101–108, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-3-W3-2025-101-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-3-W3-2025-101-2026, 2026
Paolo Filippucci, Luca Brocca, Luca Ciabatta, Hamidreza Mosaffa, Francesco Avanzi, and Christian Massari
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 5221–5258, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-5221-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-5221-2025, 2025
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Accurate rainfall data is essential, yet measuring daily precipitation worldwide is challenging. This research presents HYdroclimatic PERformance-enhanced Precipitation (HYPER-P), a dataset combining satellite, ground, and reanalysis data to estimate precipitation at a 1 km scale from 2000 to 2022. HYPER-P improves accuracy, especially in areas with few rain gauges. This dataset supports scientists and decision-makers in understanding and managing water resources more effectively.
Xiangmei Liu, Peng Shen, Jiaqi Chen, David Andrew Barry, Christian Massari, Jiansheng Chen, Mingming Feng, Xi Zhang, Fenyan Ma, Fei Yang, and Haixia Jin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4263, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4263, 2025
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Our research in the Songnen Basin of Northeast China has revealed why numerous lakes remain unfrozen during winter. By studying Lake Chagan, we discovered that deep groundwater sustains these lakes, likely flowing through subterranean channels from the Tibetan Plateau. When earthquakes disrupt these conduits, water rises along fault lines to replenish the lakes. This finding challenges the theory that graben lakes primarily depend on local precipitation.
Jaime Gaona, Davide Bavera, Guido Fioravanti, Sebastian Hahn, Pietro Stradiotti, Paolo Filippucci, Stefania Camici, Luca Ciabatta, Hamidreza Mosaffa, Silvia Puca, Nicoletta Roberto, and Luca Brocca
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 3865–3888, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3865-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3865-2025, 2025
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Soil moisture is crucial for the water cycle since it is at the front line of drought. Satellite, model and in situ data help identify soil moisture stress but are challenged by data uncertainties. This study evaluates trends and data coherence of common active/passive microwave sensors and model-based soil moisture data against in situ stations across Europe from 2007 to 2022. Data reliability is increasing, but combining data types improves soil moisture monitoring capabilities.
Ling Zhang, Yanhua Xie, Xiufang Zhu, Qimin Ma, and Luca Brocca
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 5207–5226, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5207-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5207-2024, 2024
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This study presented new annual maps of irrigated cropland in China from 2000 to 2020 (CIrrMap250). These maps were developed by integrating remote sensing data, irrigation statistics and surveys, and an irrigation suitability map. CIrrMap250 achieved high accuracy and outperformed currently available products. The new irrigation maps revealed a clear expansion of China’s irrigation area, with the majority (61%) occurring in the water-unsustainable regions facing severe to extreme water stress.
Louise Busschaert, Michel Bechtold, Sara Modanesi, Christian Massari, Dirk Raes, Sujay V. Kumar, and Gabrielle J. M. De Lannoy
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4974019, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4974019, 2024
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This study estimates irrigation in the Po Valley using AquaCrop and Noah-MP models with sprinkler irrigation. Noah-MP shows higher annual rates than AquaCrop due to more water losses. After adjusting, both align with reported irrigation ranges (500–600 mm/yr). Soil moisture estimates from both models match satellite data, though both have limitations in vegetation and evapotranspiration modeling. The study emphasizes the need for observations to improve irrigation estimates.
Jacopo Dari, Paolo Filippucci, and Luca Brocca
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2651–2659, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2651-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2651-2024, 2024
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We have developed the first operational system (10 d latency) for estimating irrigation water use from accessible satellite and reanalysis data. As a proof of concept, the method has been implemented over an irrigated area fed by the Kakhovka Reservoir, in Ukraine, which collapsed on June 6, 2023. Estimates for the period 2015–2023 reveal that, as expected, the irrigation season of 2023 was characterized by the lowest amounts of irrigation.
Søren Julsgaard Kragh, Jacopo Dari, Sara Modanesi, Christian Massari, Luca Brocca, Rasmus Fensholt, Simon Stisen, and Julian Koch
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 441–457, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-441-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-441-2024, 2024
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This study provides a comparison of methodologies to quantify irrigation to enhance regional irrigation estimates. To evaluate the methodologies, we compared various approaches to quantify irrigation using soil moisture, evapotranspiration, or both within a novel baseline framework, together with irrigation estimates from other studies. We show that the synergy from using two equally important components in a joint approach within a baseline framework yields better irrigation estimates.
Shima Azimi, Christian Massari, Giuseppe Formetta, Silvia Barbetta, Alberto Tazioli, Davide Fronzi, Sara Modanesi, Angelica Tarpanelli, and Riccardo Rigon
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4485–4503, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4485-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4485-2023, 2023
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We analyzed the water budget of nested karst catchments using simple methods and modeling. By utilizing the available data on precipitation and discharge, we were able to determine the response lag-time by adopting new techniques. Additionally, we modeled snow cover dynamics and evapotranspiration with the use of Earth observations, providing a concise overview of the water budget for the basin and its subbasins. We have made the data, models, and workflows accessible for further study.
J. Zhao, F. Roth, B. Bauer-Marschallinger, W. Wagner, M. Chini, and X. X. Zhu
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., X-1-W1-2023, 911–918, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-1-W1-2023-911-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-1-W1-2023-911-2023, 2023
Florian Roth, Bernhard Bauer-Marschallinger, Mark Edwin Tupas, Christoph Reimer, Peter Salamon, and Wolfgang Wagner
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3305–3317, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3305-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3305-2023, 2023
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In August and September 2022, millions of people were impacted by a severe flood event in Pakistan. Since many roads and other infrastructure were destroyed, satellite data were the only way of providing large-scale information on the flood's impact. Based on the flood mapping algorithm developed at Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien), we mapped an area of 30 492 km2 that was flooded at least once during the study's time period. This affected area matches about the total area of Belgium.
Jacopo Dari, Luca Brocca, Sara Modanesi, Christian Massari, Angelica Tarpanelli, Silvia Barbetta, Raphael Quast, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Vahid Freeman, Anaïs Barella-Ortiz, Pere Quintana-Seguí, David Bretreger, and Espen Volden
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1555–1575, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1555-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1555-2023, 2023
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Irrigation is the main source of global freshwater consumption. Despite this, a detailed knowledge of irrigation dynamics (i.e., timing, extent of irrigated areas, and amounts of water used) are generally lacking worldwide. Satellites represent a useful tool to fill this knowledge gap and monitor irrigation water from space. In this study, three regional-scale and high-resolution (1 and 6 km) products of irrigation amounts estimated by inverting the satellite soil moisture signals are presented.
Kunlong He, Wei Zhao, Luca Brocca, and Pere Quintana-Seguí
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 169–190, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-169-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-169-2023, 2023
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In this study, we developed a soil moisture-based precipitation downscaling (SMPD) method for spatially downscaling the GPM daily precipitation product by exploiting the connection between surface soil moisture and precipitation according to the soil water balance equation. Based on this physical method, the spatial resolution of the daily precipitation product was downscaled to 1 km and the SMPD method shows good potential for the development of the high-resolution precipitation product.
Riccardo Rigon, Giuseppe Formetta, Marialaura Bancheri, Niccolò Tubini, Concetta D'Amato, Olaf David, and Christian Massari
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4773–4800, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4773-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4773-2022, 2022
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The
Digital Earth(DE) metaphor is very useful for both end users and hydrological modelers. We analyse different categories of models, with the view of making them part of a Digital eARth Twin Hydrology system (called DARTH). We also stress the idea that DARTHs are not models in and of themselves, rather they need to be built on an appropriate information technology infrastructure. It is remarked that DARTHs have to, by construction, support the open-science movement and its ideas.
Sara Modanesi, Christian Massari, Michel Bechtold, Hans Lievens, Angelica Tarpanelli, Luca Brocca, Luca Zappa, and Gabriëlle J. M. De Lannoy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4685–4706, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4685-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4685-2022, 2022
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Given the crucial impact of irrigation practices on the water cycle, this study aims at estimating irrigation through the development of an innovative data assimilation system able to ingest high-resolution Sentinel-1 radar observations into the Noah-MP land surface model. The developed methodology has important implications for global water resource management and the comprehension of human impacts on the water cycle and identifies main challenges and outlooks for future research.
Stefania Camici, Gabriele Giuliani, Luca Brocca, Christian Massari, Angelica Tarpanelli, Hassan Hashemi Farahani, Nico Sneeuw, Marco Restano, and Jérôme Benveniste
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 6935–6956, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-6935-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-6935-2022, 2022
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This paper presents an innovative approach, STREAM (SaTellite-based Runoff Evaluation And Mapping), to derive daily river discharge and runoff estimates from satellite observations of soil moisture, precipitation, and terrestrial total water storage anomalies. Potentially useful for multiple operational and scientific applications, the added value of the STREAM approach is the ability to increase knowledge on the natural processes, human activities, and their interactions on the land.
M. Tupas, C. Navacchi, F. Roth, B. Bauer-Marschallinger, F. Reuß, and W. Wagner
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-4-W1-2022, 495–502, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-4-W1-2022-495-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-4-W1-2022-495-2022, 2022
Angelica Tarpanelli, Alessandro C. Mondini, and Stefania Camici
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2473–2489, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2473-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2473-2022, 2022
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We analysed 10 years of river discharge data from almost 2000 sites in Europe, and we extracted flood events, as proxies of flood inundations, based on the overpasses of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites to derive the percentage of potential inundation events that they were able to observe. Results show that on average 58 % of flood events are potentially observable by Sentinel-1 and only 28 % by Sentinel-2 due to the obstacle of cloud coverage.
Lorenzo Alfieri, Francesco Avanzi, Fabio Delogu, Simone Gabellani, Giulia Bruno, Lorenzo Campo, Andrea Libertino, Christian Massari, Angelica Tarpanelli, Dominik Rains, Diego G. Miralles, Raphael Quast, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Huan Wu, and Luca Brocca
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 3921–3939, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3921-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3921-2022, 2022
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This work shows advances in high-resolution satellite data for hydrology. We performed hydrological simulations for the Po River basin using various satellite products, including precipitation, evaporation, soil moisture, and snow depth. Evaporation and snow depth improved a simulation based on high-quality ground observations. Interestingly, a model calibration relying on satellite data skillfully reproduces observed discharges, paving the way to satellite-driven hydrological applications.
Ashwini Petchiappan, Susan C. Steele-Dunne, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Sebastian Hahn, Wolfgang Wagner, and Rafael Oliveira
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2997–3019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2997-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2997-2022, 2022
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This study investigates spatial and temporal patterns in the incidence angle dependence of backscatter from the ASCAT C-band scatterometer and relates those to precipitation, humidity, and radiation data and GRACE equivalent water thickness in ecoregions in the Amazon. The results show that the ASCAT data record offers a unique perspective on vegetation water dynamics exhibiting sensitivity to moisture availability and demand and phenological change at interannual, seasonal, and diurnal scales.
Paolo Filippucci, Luca Brocca, Raphael Quast, Luca Ciabatta, Carla Saltalippi, Wolfgang Wagner, and Angelica Tarpanelli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2481–2497, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2481-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2481-2022, 2022
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A high-resolution (1 km) rainfall product with 10–30 d temporal resolution was obtained starting from SM data from Sentinel-1. Good performances are achieved using observed data (gauge and radar) over the Po River Valley, Italy, as a benchmark. The comparison with a product characterized by lower spatial resolution (25 km) highlights areas where the high spatial resolution of Sentinel-1 has great benefits. Possible applications include water management, agriculture and index-based insurances.
Christian Massari, Francesco Avanzi, Giulia Bruno, Simone Gabellani, Daniele Penna, and Stefania Camici
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1527–1543, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1527-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1527-2022, 2022
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Droughts are a creeping disaster, meaning that their onset, duration and recovery are challenging to monitor and forecast. Here, we provide further evidence of an additional challenge of droughts, i.e. the fact that the deficit in water supply during droughts is generally much more than expected based on the observed decline in precipitation. At a European scale we explain this with enhanced evapotranspiration, sustained by higher atmospheric demand for moisture during such dry periods.
Sara Modanesi, Christian Massari, Alexander Gruber, Hans Lievens, Angelica Tarpanelli, Renato Morbidelli, and Gabrielle J. M. De Lannoy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 6283–6307, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-6283-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-6283-2021, 2021
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Worldwide, the amount of water used for agricultural purposes is rising and the quantification of irrigation is becoming a crucial topic. Land surface models are not able to correctly simulate irrigation. Remote sensing observations offer an opportunity to fill this gap as they are directly affected by irrigation. We equipped a land surface model with an observation operator able to transform Sentinel-1 backscatter observations into realistic vegetation and soil states via data assimilation.
Wouter Dorigo, Irene Himmelbauer, Daniel Aberer, Lukas Schremmer, Ivana Petrakovic, Luca Zappa, Wolfgang Preimesberger, Angelika Xaver, Frank Annor, Jonas Ardö, Dennis Baldocchi, Marco Bitelli, Günter Blöschl, Heye Bogena, Luca Brocca, Jean-Christophe Calvet, J. Julio Camarero, Giorgio Capello, Minha Choi, Michael C. Cosh, Nick van de Giesen, Istvan Hajdu, Jaakko Ikonen, Karsten H. Jensen, Kasturi Devi Kanniah, Ileen de Kat, Gottfried Kirchengast, Pankaj Kumar Rai, Jenni Kyrouac, Kristine Larson, Suxia Liu, Alexander Loew, Mahta Moghaddam, José Martínez Fernández, Cristian Mattar Bader, Renato Morbidelli, Jan P. Musial, Elise Osenga, Michael A. Palecki, Thierry Pellarin, George P. Petropoulos, Isabella Pfeil, Jarrett Powers, Alan Robock, Christoph Rüdiger, Udo Rummel, Michael Strobel, Zhongbo Su, Ryan Sullivan, Torbern Tagesson, Andrej Varlagin, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Jeffrey Walker, Jun Wen, Fred Wenger, Jean Pierre Wigneron, Mel Woods, Kun Yang, Yijian Zeng, Xiang Zhang, Marek Zreda, Stephan Dietrich, Alexander Gruber, Peter van Oevelen, Wolfgang Wagner, Klaus Scipal, Matthias Drusch, and Roberto Sabia
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5749–5804, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5749-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5749-2021, 2021
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The International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) is a community-based open-access data portal for soil water measurements taken at the ground and is accessible at https://ismn.earth. Over 1000 scientific publications and thousands of users have made use of the ISMN. The scope of this paper is to inform readers about the data and functionality of the ISMN and to provide a review of the scientific progress facilitated through the ISMN with the scope to shape future research and operations.
Daniele Masseroni, Stefania Camici, Alessio Cislaghi, Giorgio Vacchiano, Christian Massari, and Luca Brocca
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5589–5601, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5589-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5589-2021, 2021
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We evaluate 63 years of changes in annual streamflow volume across Europe, using a data set of more than 3000 stations, with a special focus on the Mediterranean basin. The results show decreasing (increasing) volumes in the southern (northern) regions. These trends are strongly consistent with the changes in temperature and precipitation.
Cited articles
Abera, W., Formetta, G., Brocca, L., and Rigon, R.: Modeling the water budget of the Upper Blue Nile basin using the JGrass-NewAge model system and satellite data, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3145–3165, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3145-2017, 2017.
Beck, H. E., Vergopolan, N., Pan, M., Levizzani, V., van Dijk, A. I. J. M., Weedon, G. P., Brocca, L., Pappenberger, F., Huffman, G. J., and Wood, E. F.: Global-scale evaluation of 22 precipitation datasets using gauge observations and hydrological modeling, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 6201–6217, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-6201-2017, 2017.
Brocca, L.: SM2RAIN test dataset with ASCAT satellite soil moisture (Version
1.0) [Data set], Zenodo, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2580285, 2019.
Brocca, L., Hasenauer, S., Lacava, T., Melone, F., Moramarco, T., Wagner,
W., Dorigo, W., Matgen, P., Martínez-Fernández, J., Llorens, P.,
Latron, J., Martin, C., and Bittelli, M.: Soil moisture estimation through ASCAT
and AMSR-E sensors: an intercomparison and validation study across Europe,
Remote Sens. Environ., 115, 3390–3408, 2011.
Brocca, L., Melone, F., Moramarco, T., and Wagner, W.: A new method for rainfall
estimation through soil moisture observations, Geophys. Res. Lett.,
40, 853–858, 2013a.
Brocca, L., Melone, F., Moramarco, T., Wagner, W., and Albergel, C.: Scaling and
filtering approaches for the use of satellite soil moisture observations,
in: Remote Sensing of Energy Fluxes and Soil
Moisture Content, edited by: Petropoulos, G. P., CRC Press 2013, chap. 17, 411–426, 2013b.
Brocca, L., Ciabatta, L., Massari, C., Moramarco, T., Hahn, S., Hasenauer,
S., Kidd, R., Dorigo, W., Wagner, W., and Levizzani, V.: Soil as a natural rain
gauge: estimating global rainfall from satellite soil moisture data, J.
Geophys. Res., 119, 5128–5141, 2014.
Brocca, L., Massari, C., Ciabatta, L., Moramarco, T., Penna, D., Zuecco, G.,
Pianezzola, L., Borga, M., Matgen, P., and Martínez-Fernández, J.:
Rainfall estimation from in situ soil moisture observations at several sites
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Short summary
SM2RAIN–ASCAT is a new 12-year (2007–2018) global-scale rainfall dataset obtained by applying the SM2RAIN algorithm to ASCAT soil moisture data. The dataset has a spatiotemporal sampling resolution of 12.5 km and 1 d. Results show that the new dataset performs particularly well in Africa and South America, i.e. in the continents in which ground observations are scarce and the need for satellite rainfall data is high. SM2RAIN–ASCAT is available at http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.340556.
SM2RAIN–ASCAT is a new 12-year (2007–2018) global-scale rainfall dataset obtained by applying...
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