Modelling and monitoring of compound flooding in deltas and estuaries using satellite earth observation

Type of project

M.Sc.

Contact

Monica Coppo Frias (moco@dhigroup.com)

Topic

Recent satellite earth observation missions such as SWOT and ICESat-2 datasets provide continuous water surface elevation datasets across the river-coast-ocean interface in estuaries and river deltas for the first time. Such datasets are extremely valuable for the calibration and validation of integrated hydrodynamic models used to simulate compound flooding events, when flooding is caused by a combination of high river flows, storm surges in the ocean and extreme local precipitation. Low lying deltas, such as the Mekong River delta, are particularly exposed to compound flooding events, events that are expected to be more frequent and harmful with future climate change and sea level rise. At KU-IGN, we explore and exploit the value of these datasets using the Mekong River delta in Vietnam as a case study. This work is funded by an industrial postdoc project carried out in collaboration with DHI.

Relevance to DHI

The project aims to reduce the information gap in coastal-river interaction in compound flooding events, and to integrate new satellite earth observation information into DHI’s hydrodynamic models. We will exploit observations of satellite altimetry missions like Sentinel-3, Cryosat-2, ICESat-2 or SWOT, with a focus on high-resolution altimetry, particularly ICESat-2, which provides additional insights in estuary regions, offering data on river-ocean water surface elevation profiles, water surface elevation slopes, and shallow water bathymetry. In addition, passive microwave satellite EO (SMOS, Aquarius) will be used to map salinity patterns in deltas and estuaries. 

The project outcomes improve DHI’s hydrodynamic models and forecasting capabilities in delta and estuary regions, providing more accurate simulations of compound flooding events. Develop workflows to DHI’s global hydrological data service to enable high-resolution estimates of water level profiles form satellite altimetry spanning from the river to the coastal ocean and to be ingested and integrated into river coastal hydrodynamic models

What is the student's contribution

·    Develop an integrated river-coastal hydrodynamic model in Mike Flood

·    Compare model outputs to spatio-temporally distributed water surface elevation datasets from SWOT and ICESat-2

·    Calibrate and adjust the model to improve the match between simulated and observed water surface elevation in the inland water and coastal domains

·    Use the model to simulate the impact of compound flooding events

·    Simulate how future climate change scenarios and sea level rise will affect compound flooding events

·    Explore strategies and modeling workflows for efficient transfer to other sites