Mobilization Towards an Integrated Research Network for Studying Runoff, Sediment Transport and Climate of the Paraiba do Sul Basin

The article describes the fundamentals associated with the construction of an integrated computational code to model the Paraiba do Sul River basin, considering specificities that are intrinsic to the basin's hydrology and the impact of external aspects related to weather forecasting, climatology and silting. With an area of 60 thousand km2, the basin is located in the south-eastern region of Brazil, covering the three most industrialized states in the country (Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais). The proposal for this hydrometeorological model integrates complementary efforts by research groups from three universities and an energy concessionaire responsible for the operation of the hydroelectric complex powered by waters from the studied basin. The proposed modelling was mainly motivated by the absence an integrated modelling able to carry out a reliable hydro-meteorological forecast. Among the results stand out: (i) the construction of a consistent knowledge base capable of guiding strategic decision making in the operation of the hydrological system and in the simulation of environmental events; (ii) the establishment of a cause-effect relationship capable of explaining the increase in silting up, guiding the water reservoir manager to establish a policy aiming at its mitigation. As results, the project will offer an integrated approach capable of ensuring forecast periods of up to 7 days, with hourly output, in places of interest in the river basin. Unlike the available models, it incorporates the history of variation in the silting up of the reservoirs that integrate the hydrological complex.