ABSTRACT

This chapter introduces the motivation for integrating multiple data sources in hydrological modelling and explains why ensemble prediction methods were identified as the promising means to achieve this integration. The integration framework can be applied in operational decision support systems for planning and design, hydrological forecasting, early warning, and water system control services. Precipitation data, for example, can be obtained from rain gauges, weather radar, satellites, or outputs from numerical weather models. Land-use data can be obtained from land survey, satellite imagery, or a combination of the two. Estimates from each data source vary in magnitude or temporal and spatial variability, and have some degree of uncertainty. Earth observation (EO) data have been used in hydrological studies for a long time. EO is able to capture the details of spatial and temporal processes that may be missed by ground stations. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.