Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Hydrology and Water Management: Applications, Challenges, and Perspectives

Abstract

Global water withdrawal and usage have risen nearly sixfold since 1900. Approximately 69% of water withdrawals are used in agriculture, 19% in industries, and 12% for municipal purposes (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2020). Anthropogenic disturbances and climate change affect the water cycle, water supply and demand, and impose stress on the global water systems (Haddeland et al., 2014). As such, hydrologists, geologists, agronomists, soil scientists, and engineers need reliable tools to monitor and manage surface and groundwater resources, particularly in locations where traditional monitoring is inadequate.Traditional water monitoring and measurement techniques are time-consuming, costly, and typify an inadequate and disproportionate spatial and temporal range. Over the past few decades, airplanes and satellites have been the chief source of remotely sensed water resource data. However, the usefulness of these platforms is mainly restricted to the largest spatial scales. The low frequency of temporal sampling is dictated by logistical costs (aerial imagery) or tasking schedules (satellites; Becker et al., 2009;Xue & Su, 2017). The dearth of finer resolution data and temporal inflexibility of these platforms precludes the possibility of on-demand data acquisition that is often necessary to capture the highly transient processes operating at fine spatial scales necessary for the planning and management of water resources (e.g., freshwater abstraction) and the assessment of hazards (e.g., flood extents). However, with recent advances in sensors, cameras,

The Toolbox for River Velocimetry using Images from Aircraft (TRiVIA)

“…Increasing use of PIV and other image‐based methods such as particle tracking velocimetry (Eltner et al, 2021), space–time image velocimetry (Fujita et al, 2020), and various optical flow algorithms (Perks, 2020) is an example of the broad, eager uptake of remote sensing by the fluvial community (Jolley et al, 2021; Piégay et al, 2020). The widespread adoption of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) across a range of hydrologic subdisciplines (Acharya et al, 2021) has led to a dramatic increase in the availability of image data suitable for PIV. To exploit such data, various image velocimetry algorithms have been incorporated into a number of software packages, as summarized by Jolley et al (2021).…”

Effectiveness of UAV‐based DTM and satellite‐based DEMs for local‐level flood modeling in Jamuna floodplain

“…The UAV can give a DEM more accurate elevations with GCP surveys even in low grass vegetation areas (Coveney & Roberts, 2017). The importance of UAV in hydrology and water management has already been demonstrated (Acharya et al, 2021). A substantial increase in resolution and accuracy of flood information in floodplains can be achieved with UAVbased DTM (Langhammer et al, 2017).…”

Exploration of Undercurrent Path for Hot Springs in Tibet by UAV-based Frequency Electromagnetic Induce Method

“…Meanwhile, the man walking could trample on the land surface. By contrast, the airborne geophysical method (e.g., airborne EMI) is an effective method to get regional survey information from the sub-watershed to basin scales [2]. Compared with piloted aircrafts (e.g., helicopter), the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is more convenient, safer and cheaper.…”