Prospects for discharge estimation through calibrating hydrological model against river width measured from satellites

摘要

The need for calibration limits direct application of hydrological models in ungauged basins. In this study, a methodology that utilizes cross-sectional water surface width measured from remote sensing images for calibration of hydrological models is proposed. Instead of measured discharge, hydrological model is calibrated against river width measured from space based on hydraulic geometry. The present study uses in situ measured cross-sectional width of Pakse gauging station in the Mekong River basin as a substitute of potentially observable water surface width to explore the applicability of proposed methodology. Results of the case study are promising which motivate further studies of using real remotely sensed width data for discharge estimation under the methodology proposed.