UNESCO-IHE and EARS introduce satellite flow forecasting system for Yellow River

The presentation took place in Zhengzhou and was witnessed by representatives from both Chinese and Dutch governments and many water experts.

Project leader and EARS director Andries Rosema introduced the satellite monitoring technique and explained how the system had to be adapted to perform well in the Upper Reach, where temperatures are low and altitudes high. He also presented the results of the advanced instrumentation that was used to validate the system.

Raymond Venneker of UNESCO-IHE explained the development of the “Large Scale Hydrological Model” (LSHM) and discussed the quality of the simulated river discharges at several parts of the basin.

The introduction of the system marks an important step for further application in China and elsewhere in the world. New projects are already in preparation for the Niger River in Africa and the Yangtze Basin in China.

For the Yangtze Basin ideas are formulated to provide data supporting the large scale water translocation from this river to the dry and often drought-hit agricultural areas in the north of China, the so-called “South to North Water Diversion”.

Energy and Water Balance Monitoring System

The drought monitoring and flow forecasting system is based on a climate monitoring system which is developed by EARS.

This “Energy and Water Balance Monitoring System” (EWBMS) makes use of the Chinese FengYun-2 satellite to measure the temperature and reflection of clouds and the earth-surface and processes this information to daily maps of precipitation, radiation and evaporation.

UNESCO-IHE developed a dedicated hydrological model that uses these data to simulate and forecast the river flow. Also drought maps and crop yield forecasts can be produced with the EWBMS.