We investigate the deformation induced by water pressure variations in hydrologicallyactive natural fractures, and recorded by tiltmeters and strainmeters. The deformation associated with a single fracture is derived using finite-element modeling (FEM). A range in fracture geometries is explored, first to highlight the sensitivity of each geometrical parameter to the deformation, and secondly t...

The meridional freshwater flux in the atmosphere, and hence the strength of the hydrological cycle, undergoes variations on glacial–interglacial as well as on some shorter timescales. A significant portion of these changes to the hydrological cycle are due to the temperature–precipitation feedback according to which there is more precipitation over the higher latitudes during warm periods when ...

The paper compares two independent approaches to estimate soil moisture at the regional scale over a 4625 km2 catchment (Liebenbergsvlei, South Africa). The first estimate is derived from a physically-based hydrological model (TOPKAPI). The second estimate is derived from the scatterometer on board the European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS). Results show a good correspondence between the model...

The understanding of landscape controls on the natural variability of hydrologic processes is an important research question of the PUB (Predictions in Ungauged Basins) initiative. Quantitative landscape ecology, which aims at understanding the relationships of patterns and processes in dynamic heterogeneous landscapes, may greatly 5 contribute to this research effort by assisting the coupling ...

Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are the digital representation of natural topographic as well as man-made features located on the surface of the earth. For the last few decades, DEMs are widely used for resource management, urban planning, transportation planning, earth sciences, environmental assessments, and Geographic Information System (GIS) applications. The hydrologic community is also mo...

Topics such as the sustainability and vulnerability of land management practices on water quality and quantity are very important in these days both for decision makers and for citizens. The enviroGRIDS FP7 project addresses some of these topics in the Black Sea Catchment area. One of the software tools developed in this project is gSWAT. It allows the calibration of SWAT hydrological models in...

The quality of hydrological modelling is limited due to the restricted availability of high resolution temporal and spatial input data such as temperature, global radiation, and precipitation. Radar-based rain measurements provide good spatial information. On the other hand, using radar data is accompanied by basic difficulties such as clutter, shielding, variations of Z/R-relationships, beam-r...

In order to estimate the effect of an anthropogenic influence on the water balance in the Volta Basin, located in West Africa, joint regional climate–hydrology simulations were performed using the mesoscale meteorological model MM5 and the hydrological model WaSiM. The regional climate simulations show a decrease in rainfall at the beginning of the rainy season, an increase at the height of the...

Achieving a successful long-term strategy for sustainable water resource management of the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) involves improving our understanding of the integrated hydrological system and assessing the impacts of land use and climate change upon this system. A methodology is currently being developed with the potential for addressing these issues by way of a new satellite technology sy...

The Indus basin heavily depends on its upstream mountainous part for the downstream supply of water while downstream demands are high. Since downstream demands will likely continue to increase, accurate hydrological projections for the future supply are important. We use an ensemble of statistically downscaled CMIP5 General Circulation Model outputs for RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 to force a cryospheric-...