Sustainable water management is one of the important priorities set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, which calls for efficient use of natural resources. Efficient water management nowadays depends a lot upon simulation models. However, the availability of limited hydro-meteorological data together with limited data sharing practices prohibits simulation modelling and consequently efficient flood risk management of sparsely gauged basins. Advances in remote sensing has significantly contributed to carrying out hydrological studies in ungauged or sparsely gauged basins. In particular, the global datasets of remote sensing observations (e.g., rainfall, evaporation, temperature, land use, terrain, etc.) allow to develop hydrological and hydraulic models of sparsely gauged catchments. In this research, we have considered large scale hydrological and hydraulic modelling, using freely available global datasets, of the sparsely gauged trans-boundary Brahmaputra basin, which has an enormous potential in terms of agriculture, hydropower, water supplies and other utilities. A semi-distributed conceptual hydrological model was developed using HEC-HMS (Hydrologic Modelling System from Hydrologic Engineering Centre). Rainfall estimates from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) was compared with limited gauge data and used in the simulation. The Nash Sutcliffe coefficient of the model with the uncorrected rainfall data in calibration and validation were 0.75 and 0.61 respectively whereas the similar values with the corrected rainfall data were 0.81 and 0.74. The output of the hydrological model was used as a boundary condition and lateral inflow to the hydraulic model. Modelling results obtained using uncorrected and corrected remotely sensed products of rainfall were compared with the discharge values at the basin outlet (Bahadurabad) and with altimetry data from Jason-2 satellite. The simulated flood inundation maps of the lower part of the Brahmaputra basin showed reasonably good match in terms of the probability of detection, success ratio and critical success index. Overall, this study demonstrated that reliable and robust results can be obtained in both hydrological and hydraulic modelling using remote sensing data as the only input to large scale and sparsely gauged basins.
Limited hydro-meteorological and sediment data of the Brahmaputra basin is available and as a result, water resources management of the basin is a challenge. Advances in remote sensing provide opportunities to access alternative data, which can be used in characterising the basin. We present hydrological and erosion models of the basin developed using remotely sensed data. In particular a hydrological model using HEC-HMS was developed using the elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM). The hydrology of the basin was simulated using rainfall data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). Evapotranspiration, temperature, soil and landuse were collected from remotely sensed data sources. The uncertainty in the model parameters due to the uncertainty of the downstream rating curve used in the calibration of the model was estimated. Another hydrological model using SWAT was also developed to simulate the erosion pattern in the basin. A hydraulic model of the Brahmaputra River was developed using HEC-RAS. Simulated flood maps were compared with satellite imageries. A conclusion was reached that the models are able to simulate the hydrological and hydraulic processes in the basin with reasonable accuracy. Due to the lack of data the erosion model could not be validated.
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