A multitemporal remote sensing approach to parsimonious streamflow modeling in a southcentral Texas watershed, USA

International audienceSoil moisture condition plays a vital role in a watershed's hydrologic response to a precipitation event and is thus parameterized in most, if not all, rainfall-runoff models. Yet the soil moisture condition antecedent to an event has proven difficult to quantify both spatially and temporally. This study assesses the potential to parameterize a parsimonious streamflow prediction model solely utilizing precipitation records and multi-temporal remotely sensed biophysical variables (i.e.~from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)/Terra satellite). This study is conducted on a 1420 km2 rural watershed in the Guadalupe River basin of southcentral Texas, a basin prone to catastrophic flooding from convective precipitation events. A multiple regression model, accounting for 78% of the variance of observed streamflow for calendar year 2004, was developed based on gauged precipitation, land surface temperature, and enhanced vegetation Index (EVI), on an 8-day interval. These results compared favorably with streamflow estimations utilizing the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) curve number method and the 5-day antecedent moisture model. This approach has great potential for developing near real-time predictive models for flood forecasting and can be used as a tool for flood management in any region for which similar remotely sensed data are available

An Ice Thickness Study Utilizing Ground Penetrating Radar on the Lower Jamapa Glacier of Citlaltepetl (El Pico de Orizaba), Mexico

Citlalt6petl (Pico de Orizaba) is a dormant stratovolcano located at the eastern end of the trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt at approximately 19 degrees of latitude. It is one of the largest stratovolcanos in the world and at 5,630 meters above sea level, the highest mountain in Mexico and the third highest in North America. Situated on the summit cone and north face of the volcano is a permanent ice cap known as the Jamapa Glacier. Recent and historical studies of Citlaltepetl have been based primarily on volcanic risk assessment, in particular stability assessments of the summit cone. Relatively little work has been directed toward the glacial environment of the mountain, possibly due in part to its high altitude, steep slopes, and general inaccessibility. In addition to this glacier's potential to contribute to a better understanding of climate change, the Jamapa glacier and its environmental, cryologic and geologic setting could also serve as a valuable terrestrial analog to studies of Martian geology, hydrology, and subsurface ice

Thick and deformed Antarctic sea ice mapped with autonomous underwater vehicles

Satellites have documented trends in Antarctic sea-ice extent and its variability for decades, but estimating sea-ice thickness in the Antarctic from remote sensing data remains challenging. In situ observations needed for validation of remote sensing data and sea-ice models are limited; most have been restricted to a few point measurements on selected ice floes, or to visual shipboard estimates. Here we present three-dimensional (3D) floe-scale maps of sea-ice draft for ten floes, compiled from two springtime expeditions by an autonomous underwater vehicle to the near-coastal regions of the Weddell, Bellingshausen, and Wilkes Land sectors of Antarctica. Mean drafts range from 1.4 to 5.5 m, with maxima up to 16 m. We also find that, on average, 76% of the ice volume is deformed ice. Our surveys indicate that the floes are much thicker and more deformed than reported by most drilling and ship-based measurements of Antarctic sea ice. We suggest that thick ice in the near-coastal and interior pack may be under-represented in existing in situ assessments of Antarctic sea ice and hence, on average, Antarctic sea ice may be thicker than previously thought

The retreat of mountain glaciers since the Little Ice Age: A spatially explicit database

Most of the world’s mountain glaciers have been retreating for more than a century in response to climate change. Glacier retreat is evident on all continents, and the rate of retreat has accelerated during recent decades. Accurate, spatially explicit information on the position of glacier margins over time is useful for analyzing patterns of glacier retreat and measuring reductions in glacier surface area. This information is also essential for evaluating how mountain ecosystems are evolving due to climate warming and the attendant glacier retreat. Here, we present a non-comprehensive spatially explicit dataset showing multiple positions of glacier fronts since the Little Ice Age (LIA) maxima, including many data from the pre-satellite era. The dataset is based on multiple historical archival records including topographical maps; repeated photographs, paintings, and aerial or satellite images with a supplement of geochronology; and own field data. We provide ESRI shapefiles showing 728 past positions of 94 glacier fronts from all continents, except Antarctica, covering the period between the Little Ice Age maxima and the present. On average, the time series span the past 190 years. From 2 to 46 past positions per glacier are depicted (on average: 7.8)