Global Estimates of River Flow Wave Travel Times and Implications for Low‐Latency Satellite Data. Issue 15 (30th April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Allen, George H.; David, Cédric H.; Andreadis, Konstantinos M.; Hossain, Faisal; Famiglietti, James S.
• Is Part Of: Geophysical research letters. Volume 45:Issue 15(2018)
• Page Start: 7551
• Page End: 7560
• Publication Date: 2018-04-30
• Subjects: celerity -- flood wave -- data latency -- early flood warning systems -- SWOT; Geophysics -- Periodicals; Planets -- Periodicals; Lunar geology -- Periodicals; 550
• DOI: 10.1029/2018GL077914
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0094-8276

Abstract

Abstract: Earth‐orbiting satellites provide valuable observations of upstream river conditions worldwide. These observations can be used in real‐time applications like early flood warning systems and reservoir operations, provided they are made available to users with sufficient lead time. Yet the temporal requirements for access to satellite‐based river data remain uncharacterized for time‐sensitive applications. Here we present a global approximation of flow wave travel time to assess the utility of existing and future low‐latency/near‐real‐time satellite products, with an emphasis on the forthcoming SWOT satellite mission. We apply a kinematic wave model to a global hydrography data set and find that global flow waves traveling at their maximum speed take a median travel time of 6, 4, and 3 days to reach their basin terminus, the next downstream city, and the next downstream dam, respectively. Our findings suggest that a recently proposed ≤2‐day data latency for a low‐latency SWOT product is potentially useful for real‐time river applications. Plain Language Summary: Satellites can provide upstream conditions for early flood warning systems, reservoir operations, and other river management applications. This information is most useful for time‐sensitive applications if it is made available before an observed upstream flood reaches a downstream point of interest, like a basin outlet, city, or dam. Here we characterize the time it takes floods to travel down Earth's rivers in an effort to assess the time required for satellite data to be downloaded, processed, and made accessible to users. We find that making satellite data available within a recently proposed ≤2‐day time period will make the data potentially useful for flood mitigation and other water management applications. Key Points: We present the first global estimate of latency requirements for satellite observations of rivers for time‐sensitive management decisions Global flow waves moving at max speed reach their basin outlet, the next city, and the next dam in a median of 6, 4, and 3 days, respectively A recently proposed ≤2‐day latency for a low‐latency SWOT data product is potentially useful for real‐time river management applications