Use of SAR data for hydro-morphological characterization in sub-Saharan Africa: a case study

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Résumé

In this paper we present the rationale and the preliminary results of a research project devoted to the appropriate and
innovative use of remotely sensed data for water management in semi-arid regions. The study area is the district of
Yatenga, northern Burkina Faso in the sub- Saharan belt of West Africa, where extreme climate conditions cause several
problems: drought, floods, soil erosion. The data comes from the Italian Space Agency (ASI) Cosmo-Skymed program,
which provides high resolution (1 meter) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. Crucial peculiarity of the project is
the use of open source software for data processing and hydrological modeling. Two different hydrological models have
been selected. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to be employed for the design of appropriate water
management plans and soil erosion mitigation measures. The Width Function Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph (WFIUH D )
model can to employed for the prevision of flood events and therefore for the planning of risk mitigation. The paper
shows the preliminary results of the project obtained by the processing of the first available high resolution SAR data. In
particular, the first step is the realization of a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). GIS tools have been set up for the DEMprocessing
in order to derive the needed hydro-morphological basin attributes to support the geo-morphological rainfall-
runoff (WFIUH D ) modeling.

Mots-clés

Synthetic aperture radar, Digital elevation model, Hydrograph, Environmental science, Remote sensing, Hydrological modelling, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, Flood myth, Hydrology (agriculture), Surface runoff, Water resource management, Geography, Geology, Climatology