Assessment of Economic Potential of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion in Indonesia: A Spatial Approach

<b>What are the national and provincial economic potentials of ocean thermal energy conversion in relation to the provincial electricity demand fulfilment in Indonesia?</b> When we are talking about the economic potential of OTEC in Indonesia, we are talking about potential as a result of different possible configurations. On the national level,...

The Potential of Citizen Observatories for Improving Spatial Measurements of Rainfall in Cities

Urban pluvial flooding occurs when the run-off converted rainfall exceeds the capacity of the sewer or stormwater system (Houston et al., 2011). This can result in damage to ecology, infrastructure, disruption to human activities, injuries and in the worst-case scenario, loss of life (Biniyam et al., 2017). With the expected increase in the...

The sound of plastic: A proof-of-concept for detecting suspended riverine macroplastics with echo sounding

Plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems is a global problem. Rivers transport large quantities of litter from land to the oceans. Plastics of different sizes and properties are widely present at various locations in river systems. Concerning macroplastics, previous studies mainly focussed on floating plastics, however, substantial parts of the...

Quantifying flood damage: A case-study in Kumasi, Ghana

In this research, the flood damage caused by heavy rain and plastic blockage in the neighbourhood of Atonsu, Kumasi is quantified. Rapid urbanisation and poor waste management result in floods with an increasing impact in Kumasi, the fastest growing city of Ghana. This rapid growth of the city results in uncontrolled urbanisation of the...

High precision positioning system for Ghana

In this report, the design process of a high precision positioning system for Ghana is described. The system consists of two devices, a base station and a user operated rover. These devices provide precision positioning, using dual frequency receivers and the principle of differential positioning. The high precision positioning system can be...

Early Warning model for Thunderstorms around Lake Victoria

This report describes the development of an early warning model for thunderstorm occurrence around Lake Victoria. It is the first model to use the TAHMO lightning sensor data to predict thunderstorms. This study hopes to contribute to the TWIGA focus area of increasing disaster resilience through forecasting and early warnings and could be used...

Lake and reservoir volume variability from satellite imagery data: An assessment of the usability of high-resolution digital elevation models to extract water levels

Recent research suggested that the digital elevation models can be considered, as an alternative to the altimetry data. However, the water prohibits the ability of monitoring the construction the waterbed, due to the loss of the returning signal. The elevation models have therefore a flat surface, which prohibits the extraction of the water...

Soccer Fields as Rainfall Detectors using Machine Learning: The case of Ghana

Agriculture is an important source of income for many countries in the Global South, where it may account for as much as 25% of GDP. Precipitation is crucial for agriculture in countries like Ghana, where ~95% of farming is rainfed. Accurate rainfall observations are limited in Ghana. The sparse rain gauge network and the lack of weather radars...

The role of water vapor observations in satellite-based rainfall information highlighted by a Deep Learning approach

Rain-fed agriculture is the main source of food in Ghana therefore improving quantitative rainfall estimates is essential for local farmers to predict crop growth using vegetation models. Rainfall dynamics in the tropics is an ongoing topic of research due to their complexity and sub-grid precipitation variability. At the same time, tropical...

Modelleren van Regenbuien in Afrika

Om goed te kunnen voorspellen waar, wanneer en hoeveel het gaat regenen is het belangrijk om satellietbeelden, weermodellen en grondmetingen te combineren. Het in 2007 opgezette project 'The Trans-African Hydro-Meteorological Obsevatory' (TAHMO) heeft de afgelopen jaren 500 goedkope weerstations geplaatst, verspreid over 21 landen in Sub-Sahara...

Identification of Rice Fields in Rwanda with Sentinel-1 in Google Earth Engine: An exploration of remote sensing and rice fields

This article uses Sentinel-1 satellite images to identify rice fields in Rwanda from 2017 to 2021 in an attempt to derive the current status of rice in Muvumba catchment, in the northern part of Rwanda. The timing of rice cultivation in each season in that area was identified as not homogeneous, but generally aligned with the local rainy season....

Investigating the potential role of pumped hydro storage in the Ethiopian energy system using OSeMOSYS

Ethiopia’s energy demand is expected to increase sevenfold in the coming 30 years, resulting in increased variable renewable electricity (VRE) production by solar PV and wind. Energy storage acts as a buffer that mitigates the effects of over- or under-capacity in production by VRE. With 97% of global bulk energy storage, pumped hydro storage is...

Sustaining peri-urban agriculture in rapidly urbanising cities in sub-Saharan Africa: A model and survey based assessment of adaptations to maintain peri-urban agriculture in Kumasi under threat of climate change and urban sprawl

Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, agricultural activities in urban and peri-urban areas are threatened by urban sprawl. These activities are important not just for the livelihoods of those who take part in it, but also for the food security of the city. Historically, in Kumasi 40% of the crops in the city are sourced from urban and peri-urban...

Modelling reservoir dynamics in a data scarce semi-arid region

In order to evaluate measures to increase water availability in and around reservoirs it is necessary to have reliable reservoir water storage models. For that reason, it is necessary to assess the validity of these models. The aim of this research is to do this assessment of two models in data scarce semi- arid regions. The Nakamb ́e catchment...

Energy planning in the Eastern Nile Basin countries: the role of floating solar photovoltaics on hydropower reservoirs

The Eastern Nile Basin is a highly populated region dealing with inadequate energy systems and water scarcity issues. Moreover, its population is expected to increase in the following decades, leading to even higher electricity and water demands. <br/>In order to sustainably meet this demands and guarantee access to electricity and water for all...