Paper/Poster/Presentation Title
Using Remote Sensing and Radar MET Data to Support Watershed Assessments Comprising IEM
Keywords
Stage IV NEXRAD; MPE; NLDAS; scale; spatiotemporal
Location
Session E1: Data Acquisition, Management and Processing for Sustainability Appraisal
Start Date
17-6-2014 9:00 AM
End Date
17-6-2014 10:20 AM
Abstract
Meteorological (MET) data required by watershed assessments that comprise Integrated Environmental Modeling (IEM) have traditionally been provided by land-based weather (gauge) stations; although these data may not be most appropriate for describing adequate spatial and temporal resolution if the MET stations are too few, too far away, or operating improperly. To complement land-based stations, remote sensing and radar satellite data are being increasingly used in obtaining synoptic data with the spatial and temporal resolution required for site-specific and/or event-based assessments. This study compares and contrasts the viability of automating the use of radar satellite data and land-based gauge stations to support MET data collection for IEM applications, especially at those locations where gauge stations prove to be inadequate. Specifically, the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) and NEXRAD (NEXt generation RADar) Multisensor Precipitation Estimates (MPE) are compared with gauge data at Milwaukee and Manitowoc, Wisconsin USA NLDAS contains automatic quality control (QC), uses hourly gauge station data and modeled precipitation, provides estimates at hourly intervals with a 1/8th-degree resolution, and provides time series at specified locations. MPE contains data QC'ed by human forecasters, combines radar-based estimates with hourly gauge station data on a 4-km grid, provides all spatial data by time increment, and is based on newer algorithms than NLDAS. Results of the comparison showed excellent correlation between gauge and radar data at Milwaukee, while the Manitowoc results strongly suggested using radar over gauge data.
Included in
Civil Engineering Commons, Data Storage Systems Commons, Environmental Engineering Commons, Hydraulic Engineering Commons, Other Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons
Using Remote Sensing and Radar MET Data to Support Watershed Assessments Comprising IEM
Session E1: Data Acquisition, Management and Processing for Sustainability Appraisal
Meteorological (MET) data required by watershed assessments that comprise Integrated Environmental Modeling (IEM) have traditionally been provided by land-based weather (gauge) stations; although these data may not be most appropriate for describing adequate spatial and temporal resolution if the MET stations are too few, too far away, or operating improperly. To complement land-based stations, remote sensing and radar satellite data are being increasingly used in obtaining synoptic data with the spatial and temporal resolution required for site-specific and/or event-based assessments. This study compares and contrasts the viability of automating the use of radar satellite data and land-based gauge stations to support MET data collection for IEM applications, especially at those locations where gauge stations prove to be inadequate. Specifically, the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) and NEXRAD (NEXt generation RADar) Multisensor Precipitation Estimates (MPE) are compared with gauge data at Milwaukee and Manitowoc, Wisconsin USA NLDAS contains automatic quality control (QC), uses hourly gauge station data and modeled precipitation, provides estimates at hourly intervals with a 1/8th-degree resolution, and provides time series at specified locations. MPE contains data QC'ed by human forecasters, combines radar-based estimates with hourly gauge station data on a 4-km grid, provides all spatial data by time increment, and is based on newer algorithms than NLDAS. Results of the comparison showed excellent correlation between gauge and radar data at Milwaukee, while the Manitowoc results strongly suggested using radar over gauge data.
