MODELLING THE HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE OF RIVER BASINS USING HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE INFORMATION

Abstract

The results of modelling the hydrological cycle (HC) for river basins using satellite-based land surface temperature (LST) fields are presented. The HC model describes vertical moisture and heat transfer in the soil-plant-atmosphere system, as well as overland flow formation and flow in river networks, and allows one to estimate the effect of large- and small-scale land surface heterogeneities. It is applied to the Seim River basin with a watershed area of 7460 km2 situated in the forest-steppe zone of Central Russia (Kursk Region). The satellite LST estimates were used to validate the model and to specify the initial conditions. The retrieval of LST fields from cloud-free NOAA-AVHRR data is performed using a technique which is based on the split-window method. It is shown that using satellite LST retrievals provides improved model results.