Dynamic patterns of land-surface characteristics related to water/energy fluxes at the hillslope and small catchment scale using remote sensing

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Karsten Schulz, since 7/2013; Professor Dr. Thomas Udelhoven
• Subject Area: Hydrogeology, Hydrology, Limnology, Urban Water Management, Water Chemistry, Integrated Water Resources Management
• Term: from 2011 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 182331427

The main objective of this sub-project is to improve the retrieval of land surface characteristics that are related to individual components of the hydrological cycle and relevant at the hillslope and mesoscale via remote sensing techniques. Research activities will include the use of satellite as well as aircraft and drone based optical, microwave and thermal sensors and their joint analysis including model inversion techniques. The aim is to derive dynamic and spatially distributed information about vegetation and plant physiological characteristics, topographic, soil moisture and water and energy fluxes at the hillslope and catchment scale. In addition, we will quantify dynamic changes of these patterns with methods from mathematical morphology to characterize structures and topologies in order to analyze their relations to and impact on surface and subsurface water, solute and energy fluxes.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 1598: From Catchments as Organised Systems to Models based on Dynamic Functional Units - CAOS
• International Connection: Austria, Luxembourg
• Major Instrumentation: LAS Larger-Area-Scintillometer plus evapotranspiration
• Instrumentation Group: 8690 Sonstige Meßgeräte für thermische Größen (außer 860-868)
• Participating Person: Dr. Matthias Bernhardt
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Ralf Ludwig, from 3/2013 until 7/2013