A machine learning model for the estimation of hourly non-tidal water levels in the Dutch coastal zone: Based on satellite altimetry observations and pressure and wind fields from ERA5

Globally, coastal communities face increasing risks from climate-related hazards such as flooding, shoreline erosion, and salt intrusion. These hazards pose threats to both people and their environment, with extreme sea level events increasing these risks. Satellite altimetry allows for global observation of the sea level, reaching remote...

An Assessment of Predictive Models for Operational Management of a Reservoir in a Data-Scarce Basin: A Case Study of the Black Volta Basin

The Bui Dam, the second-largest hydropower dam in Ghana, plays a significant role in the sustainable energy mix of the country. It is managed by the Bui Power Authority (BPA) and has a capacity of hydro-clean generation of 404MW, contributing to 17% of the country’s total electricity generation. However, decision-making at the dam lacks the use...

Relative Sea Level Trends for the Coastal Areas of Peninsular and East Malaysia Based on Remote and In Situ Observations

Absolute sea-level rise has become an important topic globally due to climate change. In addition, relative sea-level rise due to the vertical land motion in coastal areas can have a big societal impact. Vertical land motion (VLM) in Southeast Asia includes a tectonically induced component: uplift and subsidence in plate boundary zones where...

Altimetry-derived tide model for improved tide and water level forecasting along the European continental shelf

With the continued rise in global mean sea level, operational predictions of tidal height and total water levels have become crucial for accurate estimations and understanding of sea level processes. The Dutch Continental Shelf Model in Delft3D Flexible Mesh (DCSM-FM) is developed at Deltares to operationally estimate the total water levels...

Benefits of fully focused SAR altimetry to coastal wave height estimates: A case study in the North Sea

Estimating the three geophysical variables significant wave height (SWH), sea surface height, and wind speed from satellite altimetry continues to be challenging in the coastal zone because the received radar echoes exhibit significant interference from strongly reflective targets such as sandbanks, sheltered bays, ships etc. Fully focused...

Monitoring Megathrust-Earthquake-Cycle-Induced Relative Sea-Level Changes near Phuket, South Thailand, Using (Space) Geodetic Techniques

Temporal changes in vertical land motion (VLM) in and around Phuket Island in southern Thailand following the great 2004 Sumatra–Andaman megathrust earthquake have impacted the relative sea-level change estimates based on tide-gauge (TG) records. To better monitor the VLM, two new continuous global navigation satellite system (GNSS) stations...

Altimetry for the future: Building on 25 years of progress

In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and...

Separating Long-Term and Short-Term Mass Changes of Antarctic Ice Drainage Basins: A Coupled State Space Analysis of Satellite Observations and Model Products

Satellite gravimetry and altimetry measurements record gravity and elevation changes, respectively, which are useful for determining mass and volume change of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Common methods employ products from regional climate modeling and firn modeling to aid interpretation and to link volume changes to mass changes. Estimating...

Drivers of Interannual Sea Level Variability on the Northwestern European Shelf

Sea level on the northwestern European shelf (NWES) varies substantially from year to year. Removing explained parts of interannual sea level variability from observations helps to improve estimates of long-term sea level trends. To this end, the contributions of different drivers to interannual sea level variability need to be understood and...

Remote sensing waves in data-scarce countries: An analyis of the wave climate along the myanmar coast

The objective of this thesis was analyzing and evaluating different sources of wave data. Wave data from two hindcasts, satellite altimetry and wave buoys were compared with each other in order to validate different data sets. These datasets provided to be useful tools in determining the wave climate along the coast of Myanmar.

Satellite altimetry on Greenland ice sheet mass balances

On this MSc thesis we use two radar altimetry mission data in order to study the evolution oof the Greenland ice sheet during the period 2013-2014. The Throughout Earth’s history the cryosphere, and more specifically its ice sheets, have responded to every major climate change event by expanding or retreating its extension pulled on the...

Estimating Water Balance Components of Lakes and Reservoirs Using Various Open Access Satellite Databases

There are millions of lakes and ten thousands of reservoirs in the world. The number of reservoirs is still increasing through the construction of large dams to meet the growing demand for water resources, hydroelectricity and economic development. Accurate information on the water balance components of lakes and reservoirs is deemed necessary...

Estimation of Reservoir Discharges from Lake Nasser and Roseires Reservoir in the Nile Basin Using Satellite Altimetry and Imagery Data

This paper presents the feasibility of estimating discharges from Roseires Reservoir (Sudan) for the period from 2002 to 2010 and Aswan High Dam/Lake Nasser (Egypt) for the periods 1999–2002 and 2005–2009 using satellite altimetry and imagery with limited in situ data. Discharges were computed using the water balance of the reservoirs. Rainfall...

A decade of ERS satellite orbits and altimetry

The First European Remote Sensing Satellite, ERS-1, was launched in July 1991, fol- lowed by ERS-2 in April 1995. Both satellites carry a radar altimeter to serve oper- ational applications and scientific research in the fields of geodesy, oceanography, glaciology and meteorology. Together, the satellites have now been operating for over twelve...