Global monitoring of runoff and lake storage:

- important elements of Integrated Global Observing Systems

- integral parts of water resources management including prevention of water-induced disasters

New Project, facilitated by GEO:Hydrological Applications – Runoff Project

(HARON)Basic Rationale of the Initiative

IGWCOIGWCO GCOSGCOS

Provision of near real-time monitoring data and products of large scale rivers and lakes from:

•in-situ gauge observations, and •satellite observations (based on developing altimetry technology)

Will fulfill goal of observing / analyzing surface runoff and lake storage variations over time.

IGWCOIGWCO GCOSGCOS

HARON: Basic Rationale (cont.)

• Development of new in-situ and remote sensing sensors for water cycle measurements

• Near real-time regional and global computation of the water balance, as input for climate models and seasonal forecasting

• Validation of large-area precipitation fields against basin-wide hydrological records to validate GCMs

• Detection of climate variability signal in changing hydrological patterns of river runoff on seasonal and inter-annual scales

• Estimation of bio-geochemical fluxes from continents into world oceans

•Variation of freshwater fluxes from the continents and influence on thermohaline circulation / ocean currents

HARON Project: Raison HARON Project: Raison d’êtred’être

Main Goals • Support water resources management while contributing in a cross-cutting fashion to all societal benefit areas of GEO

• Improve & support the closure of the global water budget, in line with requirements of GCOS and the Global Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX)

Main ObjectiveIntegrate, in a phased approach, dedicated river gauging networks of existing hydrological stations into a global runoff observation network

Goals & ObjectivesGoals & Objectives

Strengthening of in-situ and satellite monitoring networks of estuaries, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and groundwater levels

Expected ResultsExpected Results

PHASE I – Upgrade & sustained maintenance of major global run-off stations, monitoring continental freshwater fluxes into the world’s oceans

PHASE II – Integration of hydro-meteorological and related in-situ components with satellite observations

PHASE III – Consolidation of integrated hydrological observation network development and application of user-oriented information products made available by HARON

Production of an implementation plan for a broad global water cycle data integration system, combining water cycle in-situ, satellite, and model output data

Implementation PhasesImplementation Phases

Global Terrestrial Network - Global Terrestrial Network - RunoffRunoff

Network consists of 380 gauging stations worldwide

…….Complement terrestrial with .Complement terrestrial with satellite (radar altimetry) satellite (radar altimetry)

observationsobservations

…….Arriving at multi-platform integrated .Arriving at multi-platform integrated observations…observations…

Red indicates area where NRT products are currently generated

Blue indicates area where products may be generated in the future.

Source: ESA, De Montford University, UK

Main Global Groundwater Regions

Phase 2 (example I)Phase 2 (example I)

Establishment of phased connections with relevant existing or proposed networks

GEMS-Water Stations: Global Distribution

Establishment of phased connections with relevant existing or proposed networks

Phase 2 (example II)Phase 2 (example II)

Rehabilitation of the in-situ observational infrastructure

• Technical upgrade, as required, of the major run-off stations which monitor continental freshwater fluxes into the world’s oceans of the GTN – R network

Linkage with relevant research and development activities

• Use of satellite altimeters to measure inland water heights for major rivers - relevant research issue to supplement in-situ observations for the derivation of discharge data

• Continuous follow-up on results of national and regional initiatives for application during project implementation

Main ElementsMain Elements