GIS Modeling to Climate Change Adaptation by Reducing Evaporation in Water Reservoirs: Smart Location Technique of Minimal Evaporation Reservoirs (GIS-MER)

The ideal emplacement of reservoirs has been traditionally determined by means of GIS tools to prospect large areas applying criteria related to rainfall, substrate impermeability or economic and social viability. More recently, geomorphometric characteristics have been added to determine more suitable locations for dams and reservoirs depending on their dimensions. This study presents a fully automatized ArcGIS Pro model, suitable for working with several digital elevation model resolutions and for evaluating best potential reservoir locations to reduce evaporation losses. Here, a smart location strategy to preserve water resources is used based on the premise that the higher the ratio of water stored to water surface area of the reservoir, the lower the water evaporation. The model was tested in two dissimilar basins in the province of Cadiz (SW Spain) and the results are compared with the nearby existing reservoirs. The methodology presented in this paper allows selecting the most suitable sites where it is possible to build a reservoir with a water surface smaller than other reservoirs but also able to hold an equal or greater volume of water; this also allows reducing the area occupied by the reservoir. As an example, in the first study case presented in this paper, a new reservoir could store 30.7 m(3)/m(2) versus the current 9 m(3)/m(2) stored in the nearby existing reservoir. This may reduce the flooded area from 25.4 to just 6.7 km(2)

Applications of geographic information systems, remote-sensing, and a landscape ecology approach to biodiversity conservation in the Western Ghats

The mountains along the west coast of peninsular India, the Western Ghats, constitute one of the unique biological regions of the world. Rapidly occurring land-cover and land-use change in the Western Ghats has serious implications for the biodiversity of the region. Both landscape changes as well as the distribution of biodiversity are phenomena with strong spatial correlates. Recent developments in remote-sensing technology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow the use of a landscape ecology and spatial analysis approach to the problem of deforestation and biodiversity conservation in the Western Ghats. Applications of this approach include analyses of land-cover and landuse change; estimation of deforestation rates and rates of forest fragmentation; examination of the spatial correlates of forest loss and the socioeconomic drivers of land-use change; modelling of deforestation; analysis of the consequences of land-cover and land-use change in the form of climate change and change in distribution of biodiversity; biomass estimation;gap analysis of the effectiveness of the protected area network in conserving areas of importance for biodiversity conservation; and conservation planning. We present examples from our work in the Western Ghats, in general, and in the Agastyamalai region and Biligiri Rangan Hills, in particular, as well as that of other researchers in India on various aspects of applications of GIS, remote sensing, and 'a landscape ecology approach to biodiversity conservation

Geographic information system algorithms to locate prospective sites for pumped hydro energy storage

Pumped hydro energy storage is capable of large-scale energy time shifting and a range of ancillary services, which can facilitate high levels of photovoltaics and wind integration in electricity grids. This study aims to develop a series of advanced Geographic Information System algorithms to locate prospective sites for off-river pumped hydro across a large land area such as a state or a country. Two typical types of sites, dry-gully and turkey’s nest, are modelled and a sequence of Geographic Information System-based procedures are developed for an automated site search. A case study is conducted for South Australia, where 168 dry-gully sites and 22 turkey’s nest sites have been identified with a total water storage capacity of 441 gigalitres, equivalent to 276 gigawatt-hours of energy storage. This demonstrates the site searching algorithms can work efficiently in the identification of off-river pumped hydro sites, allowing high-resolution assessments of pumped hydro energy storage to be quickly conducted on a broad scale. The sensitivity analysis shows the significant influences of maximum dam wall heights on the number of sites and the total storage capacity. It is noted that the novel models developed in this study are also applicable to the deployments of other types of pumped hydro such as the locations of dry-gully and turkey’s nest sites adjacent to existing water bodies, old mining pits and oceans

Hydrological Research at National Institute of Hydrology, India

The National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) is a premier research Institute in India in the area of hydrology and water resources. The Institute was established in 1978 with the main objective of undertaking, aiding, promoting and coordinating systematic and scientific work in all aspects of hydrology. The Institute has its headquarters at Roorkee (Uttarakhand), four regional centres at Belagavi, Jammu, Kakinada and Bhopal and two centres for flood management studies at Guwahati and Patna. The Institute is well equipped to carry out computer, laboratory and field oriented studies. This article presents an overview of research activities being undertaken by the Institute

The domestic benefits of tropical forests : a critical review emphasizing hydrological functions

The authors critically review the literature on the net domestic (within-country) economic benefits of protecting tropical forests, focusing on hydrological benefits and the production of nontimber forest products. (The review does not consider other important classes of benefits, including global benefits of all kinds, ecological benefits which do not have instrumental economic value, and the existence value of forests.) Their main conclusions: (1)The level of net domestic benefits from forest preservation is highly sensitive to the alternative land use and to local climatic, biological, geological, and economic circumstances. When the alternative use is agroforestry or certain types of tree crops, the preservation of natural forests may yield no instrumental domestic benefits. (2)The hydrological benefits from forest preservation are poorly understood and likely to be highly variable. They may also be fewer than popularly assumed: Deforestation has not been shown to be associated with large-scale flooding. Tropicaldeforestation is generally associated with higher, not lower, dry season flows. Although it is plausible that deforestation should affect local precipitation, the magnitude and even the direction of the effects are unknown, except in the special case of cloud forests that"harvest"passing moisture. The link between deforestation and downstream sediment damage is sensitive to the basic topography and geology. Where sediment transport is slow - as in large, low-gradient basins - downstream impacts may manifest themselves in the distant future, so that the net present value of damage is small. Steep basins near reservoirs or marine fisheries, on the other hand, can cause substantial damage if land cover is severely disturbed. But only a few pioneering studies have examined the economics of reservoir sedimentation, and improved models of both sediment transport and dam function are needed. (3) The most impressive point estimates of forest value based on nontimber forest products are often based on atypical cases of faulty analysis. Where domesticated or synthetic substitutes exist, the nontimber forest product-related rents for natural forests will usually be driven toward zero.Water Conservation,Roads&Highways,Wetlands,Hydrology,Environmental Economics&Policies,Water Resources Assessment,Forestry,Hydrology,Roads&Highways,Wetlands

Response of terrestrial net primary productivity (NPPT) in the Wujiang catchment (China) to the construction of cascade hydropower stations

The damming of rivers results in hydrological modifications that not only affect the aquatic ecosystem but also adjoining terrestrial systems. Thirteen dams commissioned along the Wujiang River have induced ecological problems, including decreased water turbidity and loss of biodiversity, which potentially influence ecosystem net primary production (NPP) and hence the sequestration, transformation, and storage of carbon. We used terrestrial NPP (NPPT) as a bioindicator to assess the impact of dams on carbon storage in the Wujiang catchment. MODIS satellite and meteorological data were used as inputs to the CASA model to calculate annual NPPT from 2000 to 2014. NPPT was calculated at the catchment and landscape scale to quantify the impact of dams on surrounding terrestrial ecosystems. Mean NPPT was calculated for concentric buffer zones covering a range of spatial extents (0–10 km) from the reservoir shoreline. We found a negligible impact from construction of a single dam on NPPT at the catchment scale. By contrast, the impact of dam construction was scale-dependent, with a stronger landscape-scale effect observed at short distances (i.e., 0–1 km) from the reservoir. Decreases in NPPT were mainly ascribed to the loss of vegetated land resulting from dam impoundment and subsequent urbanization of the surrounding area

Impact of Gurara Dam on Land Cover in the Surrounding Communities of Kaduna State, Nigeria

This research focuses on the impact of Gurara Dam on land cover in the surrounding communities of Kaduna state Nigeria. The aim of the study is to assess changes land cover condition in communities surrounding Gurara Dam as a result of the Dam construction. This was achieved by analysing the land cover changes between pre-dam (2000) and the post-dam (2013) in terms of spatial extent and percentage coverage.To assess the impact, Landsat (ETM, TM and MSS) covering the area for 2000 (pre-dam period) and 2013 (post-dam period) was obtained. To interpret and verify the accuracy of the satellite imagery; ground truth observation was conducted on the land cover of the study area. Using ArcGIS 10.0 and AutoCAD Map 2013 software, different image processing techniques and analysis were undertaken to produce land cover maps of the study area for pre-dam and post dam period. The extent of area coverage of each land use/land cover was calculated in hectares and express in percentages. The study discovers that in the post-dam period (between 2000 and 2013) the impact of Gurara dam has resulted in substantial changes in the land cover, with losses in fadama land. Forestry, arable land and Rock outcrop by 58%, 9%, 7%, and 12% respectively. Whereas gains occurred in bare land (26%), water bodies (42%), circulation (28%).  Modern irrigation also witnessed gain by 100% and built up area 26%. It is there recommended that, modern technology (Geographic Information System) be provided as mitigation measure to land cover problems in communities surrounding Gurara Dam. Keywords: Dam Construction, Geographic Information System, land cover, Upstream and Spatial Exten

Geomatic monitoring of environmental hazards in technogenic-loaded territories

It was noted that the territory of Eastern Ukraine is saturated with potentially dangerous industrial facilities and areas with geodynamic processes that require constant control and monitoring to detect deformations. Geomatic methods and tools were proposed for a comprehensive assessment of deformations, indicators of environmental threats in technogenically loaded territories. The choice of the geomatic monitoring system depends on the type of environment and the direction of research. Visualization of the content of chemical substances, gas concentration, temperature, humidity, precipitation can be carried out through the interfaces of the Giovanni platform. Landsat, Sentinel-2, MODIS space images are processed to classify land cover objects, change their boundaries, monitor vegetation cover, analyze the geological structure, identify the dynamics of water and wetland objects, the scale of floods and inundation; SIR - C/X - SAR radar images are processed to determine the location of urban areas and individual buildings, to emphasize the relief of mountainous areas, to control the pollution of water bodies' surfaces; SRTM digital terrain models are processed to determine terrain characteristics. Observation of the deformation of the Earth's surfaces and construction of displacement maps is performed by the InSAR satellite radar method, which is based on the use of space images from the Sentinel-1 spacecraft. To clarify the identified problem areas, it is necessary to jointly use the ground-based geodetic methods of monitoring the deformations of man-made territories. Processing of the received data is carried out in various geoinformation systems ArcGIS, QGIS, Google Earth, Digital; the land subsidence estimation using Sentinel-1 Data in SNAP, the landslides detection using Sentinel-1. The article states that geomatics monitoring is carried out to neutralize threats, to restore natural resource potential, to ensure geopolitical, ecological, security and military stability. Keywords: deformation of the earth’s surface, geoinformation systems, geomatics, monitoring, satellite radar, technogenic-loaded territories

Estimating the concentration of physico chemical parameters in hydroelectric power plant reservoir

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines the amazon region and adjacent areas, such as the Pantanal, as world heritage territories, since they possess unique flora and fauna and great biodiversity. Unfortunately, these regions have increasingly been suffering from anthropogenic impacts. One of the main anthropogenic impacts in the last decades has been the construction of hydroelectric power plants. As a result, dramatic altering of these ecosystems has been observed, including changes in water levels, decreased oxygenation and loss of downstream organic matter, with consequent intense land use and population influxes after the filling and operation of these reservoirs. This, in turn, leads to extreme loss of biodiversity in these areas, due to the large-scale deforestation. The fishing industry in place before construction of dams and reservoirs, for example, has become much more intense, attracting large populations in search of work, employment and income. Environmental monitoring is fundamental for reservoir management, and several studies around the world have been performed in order to evaluate the water quality of these ecosystems. The Brazilian Amazon, in particular, goes through well defined annual hydrological cycles, which are very importante since their study aids in monitoring anthropogenic environmental impacts and can lead to policy and decision making with regard to environmental management of this area. The water quality of amazon reservoirs is greatly influenced by this defined hydrological cycle, which, in turn, causes variations of microbiological, physical and chemical characteristics. Eutrophication, one of the main processes leading to water deterioration in lentic environments, is mostly caused by anthropogenic activities, such as the releases of industrial and domestic effluents into water bodies. Physico-chemical water parameters typically related to eutrophication are, among others, chlorophyll-a levels, transparency and total suspended solids, which can, thus, be used to assess the eutrophic state of water bodies. Usually, these parameters must be investigated by going out to the field and manually measuring water transparency with the use of a Secchi disk, and taking water samples to the laboratory in order to obtain chlorophyll-a and total suspended solid concentrations. These processes are time- consuming and require trained personnel. However, we have proposed other techniques to environmental monitoring studies which do not require fieldwork, such as remote sensing and computational intelligence. Simulations in different reservoirs were performed to determine a relationship between these physico-chemical parameters and the spectral response. Based on the in situ measurements, empirical models were established to relate the reflectance of the reservoir measured by the satellites. The images were calibrated and corrected atmospherically. Statistical analysis using error estimation was used to evaluate the most accurate methodology. The Neural Networks were trained by hydrological cycle, and were useful to estimate the physicalchemical parameters of the water from the reflectance of visible bands and NIR of satellite images, with better results for the period with few clouds in the regions analyzed. The present study shows the application of wavelet neural network to estimate water quality parameters using concentration of the water samples collected in the Amazon reservoir and Cefni reservoir, UK. Sattelite imagens from Landsats and Sentinel-2 were used to train the ANN by hydrological cycle. The trained ANNs demonstrated good results between observed and estimated after Atmospheric corrections in satellites images. The ANNs showed in the results are useful to estimate these concentrations using remote sensing and wavelet transform for image processing. Therefore, the techniques proposed and applied in the present study are noteworthy since they can aid in evaluating important physico-chemical parameters, which, in turn, allows for identification of possible anthropogenic impacts, being relevant in environmental management and policy decision-making processes. The tests results showed that the predicted values have good accurate. Improving efficiency to monitor water quality parameters and confirm the reliability and accuracy of the approaches proposed for monitoring water reservoirs. This thesis contributes to the evaluation of the accuracy of different methods in the estimation of physical-chemical parameters, from satellite images and artificial neural networks. For future work, the accuracy of the results can be improved by adding more satellite images and testing new neural networks with applications in new water reservoirs