Franck Timouk

Accuracy assessment of SRTM v4 and ASTER GDEM v2 over the Altiplano watershed using ICESat/GLAS data

The new Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM v2) has been available since 17 October 2011. With a resolution of approximately 30 m, this model should provide more accurate information than the latest version of Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM v4) with a resolution of 90 m outside of the USA. The accuracies of these two recently released digital elevation models (DEMs) were assessed over the Altiplano watershed in South America using ICESat/GLAS data (Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite/Geoscience Laser Altimeter System). On the global scale, GDEM v2 is more accurate than SRTM v4, which presents a negative bias of approximately 8.8 m. Strong correlations between the DEMs’ accuracies and mean slope values occurred. Regarding land cover, SRTM v4 could be more accurate or easier to correct on a smaller scale than GDEM v2. Finally, a merged and corrected DEM that considers all of these observations was built to provide more accurate information for this region. The new model featured lower absolute mean errors, standard deviations, and root mean square errors relative to SRTM v4 or GDEM v2.

Role of Climate Variability and Human Activity on Poopó Lake Droughts between 1990 and 2015 Assessed Using Remote Sensing Data

In 2015, an emergency state was declared in Bolivia when Poopo Lake dried up. Climate variability and the increasing need for water are potential factors responsible for this situation. Because field data are missing over the region, no statements are possible about the influence of mentioned factors. This study is a preliminary step toward the understanding of Poopo Lake drought using remote sensing data. First, atmospheric corrections for Landsat (FLAASH and L8SR), seven satellite derived indexes for extracting water bodies, MOD16 evapotranspiration, PERSIANN-CDR and MSWEP rainfall products potentiality were assessed. Then, the fluctuations of Poopo Lake extent over the last 26 years are presented for the first time jointly, with the mean regional annual rainfall. Three main droughts are highlighted between 1990 and 2015: two are associated with negative annual rainfall anomalies in 1994 and 1995 and one associated with positive annual rainfall anomaly in 2015. This suggests that other factors than rainfall influenced the recent disappearance of the lake. The regional evapotranspiration increased by 12.8% between 2000 and 2014. Evapotranspiration increase is not homogeneous over the watershed but limited over the main agriculture regions. Agriculture activity is one of the major factors contributing to the regional desertification and recent disappearance of Poopo Lake.

Comparative Assessments of the Latest GPM Mission’s Spatially Enhanced Satellite Rainfall Products over the Main Bolivian Watersheds

The new IMERG and GSMaP-v6 satellite rainfall estimation (SRE) products from the Global Precipitation Monitoring (GPM) mission have been available since January 2015. With a finer grid box of 0.1°, these products should provide more detailed information than their latest widely-adapted (relatively coarser spatial scale, 0.25°) counterpart. Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) and Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation version 6 (GSMaP-v6) assessment is done by comparing their rainfall estimations with 247 rainfall gauges from 2014 to 2016 in Bolivia. The comparisons were done on annual, monthly and daily temporal scales over the three main national watersheds (Amazon, La Plata and TDPS), for both wet and dry seasons to assess the seasonal variability and according to different slope classes to assess the topographic influence on SREs. To observe the potential enhancement in rainfall estimates brought by these two recently released products, the widely-used TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) product is also considered in the analysis. The performances of all the products increase during the wet season. Slightly less accurate than TMPA, IMERG can almost achieve its main objective, which is to ensure TMPA rainfall measurements, while enhancing the discretization of rainy and non-rainy days. It also provides the most accurate estimates among all products over the Altiplano arid region. GSMaP-v6 is the least accurate product over the region and tends to underestimate rainfall over the Amazon and La Plata regions. Over the Amazon and La Plata region, SRE potentiality is related to topographic features with the highest bias observed over high slope regions. Over the TDPS watershed, the high rainfall spatial variability with marked wet and arid regions is the main factor influencing SREs.