EO Data Products for High-Latitude Atmospheric and Hydrological Modeling: The STSE North Hydrology Project
Duguay, Claude1; Gauthier, Yves2; Gustafsson, David3; Malnes, Eirik4; Mattila, Olli-Pekka5; Rontu, Laura6; Rott, Helmut7; Solberg, Rune8; Fernández Prieto, Diego9
1University of Waterloo, CANADA; 2INRS-ETE, CANADA; 3Swedish Meteorological and Hydrology Institute, SWEDEN; 4NORUT, NORWAY; 5Finnish Environment Institute, FINLAND; 6Finnish Meteorological Institute, FINLAND; 7ENVEO, AUSTRIA; 8Norwegian Computing Center, NORWAY; 9European Space Agency-ESRIN, ITALY

The main goal of ESA's STSE North Hydrology project was to support the international efforts coordinated by the Climate and Cryosphere (CliC) project of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) to exploit the use of Earth Observation (EO) technology in order to improve predictions from atmospheric and hydrological models in high-latitude regions. These are regions where ice and snow play a significant role in energy and mass exchange with the overlying atmosphere, and also where rivers are prone to the formation of ice jams and subsequent flooding. To attain the goal of North Hydrology, a portfolio of EO products was developed based on the use of data from ESA (ERS-1/2 and Envisat) and non-ESA satellite missions (RADARSAT, TerraSAR-X). Some of the derived products were then utilized in atmospheric and hydrological modeling experiments to assess whether assimilation of EO products improves model predictions.

In this talk, we will present: (1) the EO products developed and validated during the course of the North Hydrology project (e.g. lake and river ice, lake water surface temperature, ice flow dynamics and mass balance of outlet glaciers); (2) the results from EO data assimilation experiments conducted with operational atmospheric and hydrological models; and (3) a roadmap for future developments of EO-based products in light of the upcoming Sentinel mission and the needs expressed by the atmospheric/hydrological modeling community and the WCRP CliC project.

More information about ESA's STSE North Hydrology project can be found at http://env-ic3-vw2k8.uwaterloo.ca:8080/