Calculating river discharge coupling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and
satellite remote sensing in ungauged basins
Abstract
How to get the discharge information of the river becomes a hot topic in
global research. However, most river discharge measurement methods
involve long cycles, low efficiency, and transdisciplinary expertise.
This makes it impossible to assess river flows in ungauged basin
rapidly. With the improvement of accuracy of hydrological parameters and
variables, the data obtained by remote sensing method can not satisfy
the hydrological calculation. This study presents a new method to
rapidly assessing river discharge coupling remote sensing images and
UAVs. We selected eight typical river-course cross-sections in Bortala
river and Jing river to calculate river discharge. Construction of river
cross-section shape by UAV data combined with groundwater level
monitoring. Dividing the reach and generalizing the relationship of
hydraulic geometry of the reach. By extracting the river width, the
river discharge of river cross-section was estimated. The results showed
that the calculated results were consistent with the measured data and
the accuracy was above 90%. This paper discusses the application of
this method in satellite remote sensing. The results compared with the
measured daily data of hydrological station, and the accuracy of the
calculated results can reach above 85%. The method used in this study
for calculating river discharge based on a combination of UAV and
satellite remote sensing can effectively promote research progress into
basin river discharge, and provide an important reference for river
discharge monitoring in ungauged basins.