CoAuthors

Omid Elmi (University of Stuttgart, Institute of Geodesy, Germany); Yasin Shafaghi (University of Stuttgart, Institute of Geodesy, Germany); Nico Sneeuw (University of Stuttgart, Institute of Geodesy, Germany)

Against the backdrop of global change, both in terms of climate and demography, there is an increasing need for monitoring the global water cycle. The publicly available global database is very limited in its spatial and temporal coverage worldwide. Moreover, the acquisition of in situ data and their delivery to the database are on the decline since the late 1970s be it for economical, political or other reasons. Given the insufficient monitoring from in situ gauge networks, and without any outlook of improvement, spaceborne approaches are currently being investigated. Satellite-based Earth observations with their global coverage and homogeneous accuracy have been demonstrated to be a potential alternative to in situ measurements. The Institute of Geodesy at University of Stuttgart (GIS) has a long-standing expertise, both theoretically and practically, in dynamic satellite geodesy. In recent years, GIS initiated and participated in studies and projects on the application of spaceborne geodetic sensors for hydrological studies. The results of these studies and projects are now available at HydroSat website http://hydrosat.gis.uni-stuttgart.de. HydroSat aims to provide continental waters using spaceborne geodetic sensors. The website provides
• Surface water extent of inland water bodies from satellite imagery
• Water level time series of inland water bodies from satellite altimetry
• Continental water storage changes from satellite gravimetry
• River discharge from satellite altimetry, imagery or gravimetry
The website will be available in a beta version until the end of October and it will be officially launched in November.