Project Title: SnowBall -„Remote sensing, model and in

Project Title: SnowBall -„Remote sensing,model and in-situ data fusion for snowpackparameters and related hazards in a climatechange perspective”.

Panel title: Projects financed under socialscience & humanities, environmentalprotection & management domains.

International Conference “Achievements and future steps” Bucharest, December 10, 2015

Project summary (1)

Programme RO14 - “Research within Priority Sectors”

Project Promoter: The National Meteorological Administration,Bucharest, Romania.

Project Partners: Norsk Regnesentral Stiftelse (Norwegian Computing

Center), Oslo, Norway. Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest –

Groundwater Engineering Research Center, Bucharest,Romania.

National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management,Bucharest, Romania.

West University of Timisoara – Faculty of Chemistry,Biology and Geography, Timisoara, Romania.

Budget: 1.199.000 Euro Duration: 34 months(30.06.2014 – 30.04.2017)

Conference “Achievements and future steps”

Bucharest, December 10, 2015


Main Objective:

Develop a methodology supporting the vision of a snow service providingnational authorities and the general public with consistent information, in quasi-real time, of the snow cover and associated hazards, in conditions of present andfuture climate, based on in situ and satellite data.

Objectives:

Improve the spatial and temporal resolution of in-situ snowpack parametersmeasurements.

Development of algorithms and implementation of a prototype snowmonitoring system combining Sentinel-1/-3 satellite data, weather stationdata, and hydrological modelling for snowpack parameters estimation.

Define and test a reliable methodology for the snowmelt infiltrationcomponent of the hydro-geological cycle.

Develop and implement a data assimilation procedure for adjusting thesnowpack related state parameters within the snow module of thehydrological forecasting models.

Develop methods for avalanches detection, modelling, and hazardassessment.

Project summary (2)




Project summary (3)

Target groups/end-users of projects results:

Meteorological and hydrological services and Emergency SituationsManagement Inspectorates;

Scientific community;

State and private stakeholders in the domains of water management,agriculture, energy, emergency situations, tourism, media, etc;

Environmental Protection Agencies and NGOs - which play an importantrole raising citizens’ awareness on environmental issues.



Project outcomes (planned vs. achieved) (1)


Planned Outcomes Achieved activities

A reliable ground truth data toimprove the snow parametersassessment and monitoring as wellas for the validation of EO derivedsnow products, as a result of datacollection from a denser in-situsnow measurement network andfrom the field campaigns.

Snow parameters measuring devices (depth, snow

water equivalent, temperature profile) were

designed, assembled and tested.

A portable spectrometer (750 – 1400 nm) for

measuring shaped snow reflectance spectral data

(new powder or wet snow, older deep snowpack, thin

water films and ice) was acquired, laboratory and in

field tested and programmed.

A spatial database managed by dedicated GIS

software was designed and set-up.

A set of high performancealgorithms and prototypeprocessing chains for EO (Sentinel1/3) and hydrological modellingbased snowpack parametersretrieval, including elements of anoperational snow service.

In order to map the wet snow area, a novel modelbased on multi-sensor/multi-temporal wet snow(MWS) algorithm fusing optical and SAR data(Sentinel 1) was elaborated and tested.






Quantitative estimationsof the snowmeltcontribution to the aquiferreplenishment.

In order to develop and test a new methodology to estimate

the aquifer recharge from snowmelt 3 test sites were chosen

and for each a hydrogeological conceptual model was develop

(Bucharest City, Prahova-Teleajen Cone, and Ialomita Upper

Basin).

A TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry) based equipment was

acquired for the in-situ measurements of soil water content,

and the equipment was already used in 2 campaigns

(Bucharest and Ialomita Upper Basin).

Numerical flow model for the unsaturated zone was developed

for Ialomita Upper Basin.

More accurate snowmeltrunoff forecasts based onhigher temporal andspatial resolution of thesnowpack parametersderived from EO data.

Design of data fusion methodology for estimating the SWE, asa gridded product 1 km spatial resolution, using distributedsnow model simulations, ground observations and satelliteproducts.

Design of the algorithms and methodology for dataassimilation of snow pack parameters in the main operationalhydrological forecasting models.






More accurate snowavalanche detection,prediction and hazardassessment using higherspatial and temporalresolution in-situ and EObased snow data,supporting a futureservice providing hind-cast and quasi real-timesnow and avalancheinformation.

Pattern recognition techniques to detect and map the outline

of avalanches, in very high resolution optical satellite data.

Change-detection algorithms of land and snow cover, caused

by avalanches in high resolution satellite data (Sentinel 1

and 2).

An avalanche inventory and the associated geodatabase

regarding morphometric parameters and snow characteristics.

Apply and calibrate the numerical avalanche simulation tool

RAMMS (RApid Mass Movement Simulation) to model the

avalanche trajectories based on DEM’s release areas and

friction parameters.

Knowledge of the impactof climate change on thesnow-related waterresources and hazards.

Detailed assessment of snow and other related atmospheric

and hydrologic variable over the domains of interest, under

present (1981-2010) and future climate scenarios (2021-

2050 and 2070-2099) and the associated impact, based on 6

regional climatic EURO-CORDEX models using 2

representative Concentration Pathways Scenarios (RCP 2.6

and RCP-8.5).



Reflections on partnership (1)

Role and contributions to the project of PP/pp:PP: Romanian National Meteorological Administration (NMA): Will benefit from pp4 (UWT) know-how on avalanche simulation and will gain

expertise in snow avalanche detection from high-resolution satellite images,working together with the Norwegian partner in avalanche inventory, release andhazard mapping.

Leads WPs: Project management (WP1), In-situ snow parameters measurements(WP2), Climate change impact on snow (WP4), and Promotion and dissemination(WP8).

Participates in WP3 (Satellite remote sensing, data fusion and modelling of snowparameters), WP6 (Assimilation of snowpack parameters in the National FloodForecasting and Warning System) and WP7 (Develop methods for avalanchedetection, modelling, and hazard assessment).


pp1: Norsk Regnesentral (NR): Leads WP3 on “Satellite remote sensing, data fusion and modelling of snow

parameters”. Participates in WP6 (Assimilation of snowpack parameters in the National Flood

Forecasting and Warning System) and WP7 (Avalanche inventory, release andhazard mapping).



Reflections on partnership (2)

Role and contributions to the project of PP/pp:pp2: Technical University of Civil Engineering (UTCB): Leads WP5 (Modelling of snowmelt impact on groundwater level). Participates in WP4 (Climate change impact on snow).


pp3: National Institute for Hydrology and Water Management (NIHWM): Will benefit from partner’s experience in snow remote sensing (NR, NMA) and data

assimilation (NMA). Leads in WP6 (Assimilation of snowpack parameters in the National Flood Forecasting

and Warning System) Participates in WP2 (In-situ snow parameters measurements), WP3 (Satellite remote

sensing, data fusion and modelling of snow parameters), WP4 (Climate change impacton snow) and WP5 (Modelling of snowmelt impact on groundwater level).

pp4: West University of Timisoara (UWT): Will benefit from Norwegian partner expertise on snow avalanche detection from satellite

images. Will benefit from NMA operational experience in snow avalanches prediction. Leads WP7 on “Avalanche inventory, release and hazard mapping”. Participates in WP2 (In-situ snow parameters measurements), WP3 (Satellite remote

sensing, data fusion and modelling of snow parameters) and WP4 (Climate changeimpact on snow).

Conference “Achievements and future

steps”, Bucharest, December 10, 2015

Reflections on partnership (3) Strong points :

Technology transfer between Romania and Norway.

Better predictions for flooding due to rapid snowmelt.

More accurate snow avalanche warnings and hazard assessment.

Quantitative estimations (for the first time in Romania) of the snowmelt contribution tothe aquifer replenishment.

Pioneering work on a novel wet snow cover product based on a multi-sensor /multi-temporal combination of the new Sentinel 1/3 satellite data.

A number of scientific conference presentations and peer-reviewed papers.

Weak points:

Attract potential customers and generate expectation towards the project results, inorder to prepare its exploitation.

What could be improved:

To ensure an European wide dissemination of the project outcomes to main targetgroup of decision-makers and non-profit parties.

Share the technical results of the project with the scientific community interested tothe topics addressed by the project, in order to promote the research and receiveuseful inputs from other scientists and International Communities.




Future steps (1)

The SnowBall team members will continue to closely cooperate for thesuccessful implementation of all tasks and associated activities, to deliverthe research project to a successful conclusion within the projecttimescale.

Important actions will be focused on:

Promotion the use of tools resulting technologies and applicationsresulting from the project amongst the target groups: snow and watermanagement institutions, the academic and research community,developers and industry;

Creation of two-way communication channels with stakeholders,academic communities and industry for disseminating the projectdeliverables and conclusions;

Identify additional potential application fields, customers and businessopportunities based on the reactions to the dissemination activity.




Future steps (2)

Plans for continuation of collaboration beyond this project in the framework of future R&D programs (e.g.: H2020, EEA grants):

Extending the aim of SnowBall to a pre-operational snow service over theentire Romanian and Norwegian territory, taking full advantage of the nowoperational Sentinel-1 and 2 satellites (and forthcoming Sentinel 3) and thetested algorithms and processing lines and experience gained in the SnowBallproject.

Remote sensing and big data analysis for environmental applications whichrequire high performance computing by using the High PerformanceComputing (HPC) Center of the West University of Timisoara.

Monitoring and estimating the evolution of ice phenomena on rivers.




Thank you for your attention!




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Project Title: SnowBall -„Remote sensing, model and in