Large scale surface water and snow cover extent dynamics and error quantification as input for WaterGAP Global Hydrology Model (WGHM)

A key prerequisite for achieving the overarching goal of the research unit (RU) is the availability of high quality Earth observation (EO) products on water and snow cover extents including uncertainty information that are suitable for integration into the C/DA approach. Within the first phase of the research project, the foci were on subsequent development of sound uncertainty information for water and snow cover for two existing satellite EO time series products (DLR Global WaterPack and DLR Global SnowPack), as well as their integration via C/DA approaches into the hydrological model WaterGAP. Within the second phase, we will conduct the processing of the developed approaches to provide the RU with required datasets on global scale. Simultaneously, we will focus on improving the accuracy of the water extent estimation by developing and implementing new data fusion strategies, following the hypothesis that both, model outputs and EO based datasets can be enhanced, and thus contribute to a better understanding of the global freshwater system.

DFG Programme Research Units

Subproject of FOR 2630:  Understanding the global freshwater system by combining geodetic and remote sensing information with modelling using a calibration/data assimilation approach (GlobalCDA)

Co-Investigator Dr. Felix Bachofer