SATELLITE MONITORING FOR WATER STORAGE VARIATIONS IN LARGE RESERVOIRS

Abstract

The method for monitoring the variation of reservoir storage is presented. Satellite observations are used to estimate the change of storage volume of the reservoirs, where satellite images are applied to detection of water surface and satellite altimetry is used to measure the change of water level. This method has potential to be used for monitoring reservoir storage without in-situ observations, and it could be applied to ungauged or data poor basins.
The case studies are conducted in 3 large reservoirs in Africa (Akosombo, Victoria and Nasel), and the results of case studies show that the presented method can provide seasonal to inter-annual variability of reservoir storage. In addition, the relation between change of reservoir storage and precipitation is also investigated in these 3 large reservoirs.