Water runoff monitoring in arid areas using integrated remote sensing and GIS techniques

Discusses the proposed methodology for the implementation of a monitoring tool for surface water run-off in (semi-)arid areas. This tool is being developed as part of a two year multi-disciplinary shared cost project supported by the European Union AVICENNE initiative. The tool aims at supporting decision making and planning in water run-off management for sustainable development of water resources for human settlement and regeneration of desertification-prone areas in the arid climate zone. The initial phase of the project (1995) consists of the testing of various remote sensing products for DTM generation and surface characterization. Both SPOT stereo pairs and interferometric ERS-1 SAR products will be assessed on their potential to generate useful DTM information over the study area. SPOT spectral data and multi-temporal ERS-1 backscattering signatures will be used to characterize local vegetation covers, surface type and moisture contents. Remote sensing data and extensive ground truth data are combined with a hydrological network model in a geographical information system. The design of the GIS will be intended to both support algorithmic combination of the various input layers and to generate thematic end products in support of the monitoring and planning of selected watersheds. The GIS will also form the interface to the end-user.