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Earth and water monitoring and observation systems provide open geo data to scientists and professionals supporting distributed knowledge of major hydromet dynamics and extremes. Mobile technologies, at the same time, are empowering citizens who are nowadays informed and involved in volunteering actions designed and implemented to make our communities more safe and sustainable. Citizen science, as a consequence, is gaining momentum empowering the general public, from the “pleasure of doing science” to complementing observations, increasing scientific literacy, and supporting collaborative behaviour to solve specific water-related challenges. This work illustrates a conceptual transdisciplinary assessment model that was designed with the goal of standardizing the use of citizen science for advancing hydrology. This work was promoted by the Citizens AND HYdrology (CANDHY) Working Group established by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), and that is composed by a diverse group of hydrological, computer and social science experts. A community paper (Nardi et al., in press) presented the conceptualization of this transdisciplinary framework by identifying the shared constituents, interfaces and interlinkages between hydrological sciences and other academic and non-academic disciplines. Particular emphasis was given to the integration of human sensing and behavioural mechanisms into citizen science programs addressing hydrological problems. The proposed CANDHY transdisciplinary framework is here further tested and applied to assess some selected citizen science programs to understand the knowledge gaps and opportunities arising from ongoing citizen science programs. This comparative assessment shows some interesting preliminary results demonstrating the capacity of the proposed framework in homogenizing and accumulating knowledge from the collaboration of diverse participatory programs addressing similar or complementary hydrological challenges.

Nardi F. et al., in press. Citizens AND HYdrology (CANDHY): conceptualizing a transdisciplinary framework for citizen science addressing hydrological challenges. Hydrological Sciences Journal, https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2020.1849707

How to cite: Nardi, F., Cudennec, C., Abrate, T., Annis, A., Assumpção, T. H., Aubert, A. H., Berod, D., Braccini, A. M., Buytaert, W., Dasgupta, A., Hannah, D. M., Mazzoleni, M., Polo, M. J., Sæbø, Ø., Seibert, J., Tauro, F., Teutonico, R., Uhlenbrook, S., Wahrmann Vargas, C., and Grimaldi, S.: Citizens AND HYdrology (CANDHY): on the application of a transdisciplinary framework for assessing citizen science projects addressing hydrological challenges, IAHS-AISH Scientific Assembly 2022, Montpellier, France, 29 May–3 Jun 2022, IAHS2022-528, https://doi.org/10.5194/iahs2022-528, 2022.

A consolidated geomorphology-based approach for discharge Prediction in Ungauged Basins (PUB) through deconvolution of discharge signals from gauged donor catchments, their transposition and their convolution towards target outlets, has been made available online to end-users through a Web Processing Service Application Programming Interface (WPS API)  for the synoptic peninsular region of Brittany, France. In the spirit of hydrological services, the SIMFEN WPS API (https://geosas.fr/simfen, Dallery et al., in press) allows anyone to execute the hydrological modelling package transfR (https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=transfR) online through: (1) Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) interoperability standards; (2) collection and use of public hydrometric data; (3) connection to the pre-existing MNTSurf WPS API for geomorphometric analysis; (4) visualization using a collaboratively developed Mviewer; and (5) innovative WPS API chaining workflows. The ability to model discharge series at any ungauged outlet of the synoptic region is offered to specialists of other disciplines, non-modeller water practitioners and interested citizens to support interdisciplinarity, water monitoring and management, and related science-society-policy debates and actions. This communication will demonstrate how hydroinformatic developments have been made openly available, ergonomy has been designed, and contextual informations are additionally provided to end-users. It will also show thanks to non-academic metrics how the users’ community is actually active; and how it is considering further chaining developments in the spirit of web service interoperability and reusability, towards hydrochemical, hydroecological, and hydroclimatic aspects.

Dallery D. et al., in press. An end-user-friendly hydrological Web Service for hydrograph Prediction in Ungauged Basins. Hydrological Sciences Journal, https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2020.1797045

de Lavenne A., Cudennec C., 2019. Assessment of freshwater discharge into a coastal bay through multi-basin ensemble hydrological modelling. Science of the Total Environment, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.387  

de Lavenne A. et al., 2016. Transferring measured discharge time-series: large-scale comparison of Top-kriging to geomorphology-based inverse modeling. Water Resources Research, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016WR018716

How to cite: Loree, T., Squividant, H., Launay, J., de Lavenne, A., and Cudennec, C.: Service chaining, end-using, and support-to-action of a PUB-hydrograph modelling: the SIMFEN web service API, IAHS-AISH Scientific Assembly 2022, Montpellier, France, 29 May–3 Jun 2022, IAHS2022-473, https://doi.org/10.5194/iahs2022-473, 2022.

Rainfall varies strongly in space and time. Capturing this variability is essential for hydrology and water management, particularly in rapidly responding urban areas. Traditional dedicated rain gauge networks are often too sparse for hydrological applications. This is especially the case in cities, where gauges often cannot be installed according to official requirements. This is where citizen science can come to the rescue.

Many citizens have an interest in their living environment, notably in the amount of rain falling in their city, neighbourhood, street or backyard. We took advantage of this intrinsic motivation by inviting inhabitants of the Dutch city of Delft to participate in rainfall measurement campaigns for two years in a row. Both in 2020 and in 2021 some 100 citizens installed simple funnel type rain gauges we provided to them in their backyards or on the roofs of their houses. This allowed them to take daily measurements from late summer to early fall (August – October).

After initial quality control, rainfall was found to vary strongly across the city. Readings by citizens were found to match well with official measurements of a KNMI station. This indicated that observed spatial variations could be attributed to real rainfall variability rather than to instrumental artefacts. The nearest automatic gauge from KNMI is operated 10 kilometres south of Delft. The general tendency of the daily accumulations measured by the citizens matched well with that from the KNMI gauge. However, for some days, appreciable differences were found. These could be attributed to spatial rainfall variability, as detected by the KNMI weather radars.

During the 2021 campaign, we also provided 10 citizens with automatic tipping bucket gauges. Rainfall accumulations from the tipping buckets were found to be in close correspondence with those from the funnel gauges. Although automatic gauges are more expensive than simple manual gauges, they can provide rainfall information at higher temporal resolutions. That is why we hope to be able to deploy more automatic gauges next year. This would allow us to study spatial rainfall variability across a range of temporal scales. Systematic comparisons with radar measurements are another objective for next year.

How to cite: Uijlenhoet, R., ten Veldhuis, M.-C., de Vries, S., Bogert, M., Timori, I., Chen, K., and van Beek, R.: Delft Measures Rain – sharing experiences from two rainfall measurement campaigns by citizens, IAHS-AISH Scientific Assembly 2022, Montpellier, France, 29 May–3 Jun 2022, IAHS2022-457, https://doi.org/10.5194/iahs2022-457, 2022.

In this contribution main concepts, tools and methods that distinguish citizen science are discussed in order to build a theoretical framework applicable to empirical cases study. The term citizen science refers to a set of methodological approaches for the engagement of volunteered participants in scientific research activities mainly related to environmental monitoring and assessment and spatial planning. The distinctive character of citizen science is transdisciplinarity. This concept indicates the integration of different scientific backgrounds and methods for science-driven solution-oriented applications to solve a specific problem that requires support and engagement of a wide range of potential non expert users and actors.
The theoretical insights deriving from the review are tested at an empirical level on a pilot case study for estimating water levels in small basins, where the use of traditional monitoring tools is a real challenge due to the unstable morphological conditions of the riverbeds and the difficult-to-access environments of ephemeral and intermittent streams. In order to overcome such practical limitations, recently a technique based on image analysis was introduced, based on a white pole and its pictures taken by a phototrap (i.e. named stage-cam sensor). To calibrate such tool, the contribution of non-expert volunteers is fundamental. Indeed, they are recruited to perform a visual analysis of a continuous series of images to create a set of observations to use as benchmark for the image-analysis algorithm calibration. The study is based on the pilot case of the secondary basin of Montecalvello, located in the municipality of Graffignano (Viterbo Province), about 100 km north of Rome. The volunteers have been recruited by the student community of the University of Tuscia. Preliminary results presented here show the significant opportunities as well as the challenges of citizen engagement for water monitoring in remote areas. The presented transdisciplinary framework is also discussed, as linked to the presented preliminary results, underlying the multiple benefits of general public volunteering in similar research projects, paving the way for increased awareness, science literacy, engagement and distributed participation for environmental sustainability and safety.

How to cite: Spasiano, A., Grimaldi, S., Nardi, F., Noto, S., and Braccini, A. M.: Application of theoretical principles of citizen science in the estimation of water levels in small basins through images from photo traps. The pilot case study of Montecalvello in Viterbo Province (Central Italy), IAHS-AISH Scientific Assembly 2022, Montpellier, France, 29 May–3 Jun 2022, IAHS2022-624, https://doi.org/10.5194/iahs2022-624, 2022.

Hydrological models need continuous streamflow data for calibration, however these data are not always available due to the lack of monitoring stations or properly functioning ones. Mobile Crowdsensing (MCS) can help alleviate this problem. MCS relies on data collection from mobile sensing devices, it is inexpensive and its spatial coverage can be outstanding. Moreover, it can be an effective way of increasing local and citizen awareness of socio-environmental issues.

Herein, we introduce the MCS strategy developed in SMARTLAGOON, a H2020 project (grant agreement No. 10101786). The main study area of the project is the Mar Menor in Spain, which is the largest hypersaline coastal lagoon in Europe, it is under many pressures which are compromising the ecosystem stability. A SWAT model will be built which needs streamflow data for calibration. It is expected that DischargeApp (http://photrack.ch/dischargeapp.html) can provide some of the lacking information. DischargeApp is a user-friendly smart-phone application which provide fast and accurate volumetric flow measurements in rivers and canals. For this, citizens are invited to use their mobile devices to voluntarily monitor stream flow.

Fisrt, users located potential sites through the watershed and uploaded the calculated pixel displacement to the cloud using the DischargeApp. A selection of final sites was done based on the flow velocity (pixel displacement) and the cross section. Finally, those sites were fully setup for participatory discharge measurements. Additionally, the DischargeApp is connected to a cloud data-based which can be accessed via a web platform, any user can see the data recorded making the data transparent to everyone.

We also propose the use of social sensing to leverage user-contributed data from social media. This mode of MCS considers participants as “social sensors”, i.e., agents that provide information about their environment through social-media. We use sensingTools.com, a framework for the development of applications based on social sensing. The main objective of using this strategy is threefold; to obtain videos of affected areas in the Mar Menor for discharge measurements, to locate sites of interest to subsequently in situ infrastructures and to identify potential users who can collaborate in citizen science activities.

How to cite: Peña-Haro, S., Cecilia, J. M., Blanco-Gómez, P., Prandi, C., and Senent-Aparicio, J.: Site identification and discharge measurements through Mobile Crowdsensing in the Mar Menor region, IAHS-AISH Scientific Assembly 2022, Montpellier, France, 29 May–3 Jun 2022, IAHS2022-196, https://doi.org/10.5194/iahs2022-196, 2022.

Increasing levels of mismanagement of plastic waste are causing concern about plastic pollution of freshwater ecosystems globally. In particular, the magnitude, sources, spatial distributions, and time scales of microplastic (particles <5mm in size) and how they are transported, transformed and potentially accumulated in river catchments are still poorly understood. Emerging field-based evidence is often hard or impossible to compare due to a wide range of different field sampling, particle extraction and lab analytical techniques for analysis being used. Similarly, mathematical models that start predicting microplastic fate and transport from small (plot) to large (river basin) and even global scales are based on different source term assumptions and representations of particle transport mechanisms, and therefore frequently don't agree with each other or field observations. 

We here present the first results of a participatory approach adopted in the global 100 Plastic Rivers Programme that has over the last 3 years attempted to develop a first global baseline of microplastic pollution in rivers and their catchments across the world, using standardised sampling, extraction, and analysis protocols. Findings of global riverine microplastic contamination levels with identified spatial patterns and hotspots of microplastic pollution are complemented with detailed observations of the longitudinal evolution of microplastic concentrations along selected large river systems. The findings of our global and local sampling campaigns are compared with process-based mechanistic local and global microplastic fate and transport models. Our results reveal the existence of distinct spatial patterns of microplastic pollution in streambed sediments that in many cases can not only be related to suspected pollution sources and their time-variant contributions but are even more so affected by hydrodynamic controls on microplastic transport, deposition, and resuspension as well as the advective forcing of in particular smallest microplastic fractions into streambed sediments by hyporheic exchange flow processes. Our analyses also reveal that streambed sediments represent hotspots of microplastic accumulation where large quantities of these emerging pollutants can be stored for a long time and create a pollution legacy for centuries to come. Our results demonstrate the potential of participatory approaches to overcome challenges in global sampling and comparative analyses.

How to cite: Krause, S., Nel, H., Schneidewind, U., Lynch, I., Sambrook Smith, G., Drummond, J., and Gomez-Velez, J.: The 100 Plastic Rivers Programme – A Participatory Approach to Analysing Global River Microplastic Pollution, IAHS-AISH Scientific Assembly 2022, Montpellier, France, 29 May–3 Jun 2022, IAHS2022-92, https://doi.org/10.5194/iahs2022-92, 2022.

Hydrology is chronically data limited, especially when it comes to spatially distributed observations. In this respect, citizen science observations can potentially complement existing monitoring networks. Engaging the public can help to overcome the lack of data in hydrology. So far, most hydrological citizen science projects have used different instruments or installations. Here, we present an evaluation of the CrowdWater smartphone app that allows hydrological data collection without any physical installation or specialized instruments. With the help of the free app, citizens can report the stream level, soil moisture conditions, the presence of water in temporary streams, plastic pollution in streams and on streambanks, as well as general information on streams. The approach is similar to geocaching, except that instead of finding treasures, hydrological measurement sites are set up. The initiator or other citizen scientists can find these sites on a map in the smartphone app at a later time and take additional measurements. A virtual staff gauge approach is used for the water level measurements instead of a physical staff gauge. A picture of a staff gauge is digitally inserted into a photo of a stream bank or a bridge pillar when the site is set up and serves as a reference. At the later visits to the site, the stream level is compared to the virtual staff gauge on the first picture to determine the new water level class. In this presentation, we discuss experiences from the CrowdWater project with regard to the app-based data collection and evaluate these data. We also highlight methods to ensure data quality and illustrate how these water level data can be used in hydrological model calibration. Additionally, we will give an update on new activities in the CrowdWater project.

How to cite: Seibert, J., Blanco, S., Scheller, M., Schwarzenbach, F., Wang, Z., and van Meerveld, I.: How well can citizens observe water levels and other hydrological variables using a smartphone app?, IAHS-AISH Scientific Assembly 2022, Montpellier, France, 29 May–3 Jun 2022, IAHS2022-448, https://doi.org/10.5194/iahs2022-448, 2022.

Nepal is a mountainous country and it lies at the center and the southern edge of the Hindu-Kush Himalayan Region (HKH), which is the youngest geological formation in the world. So, floods and landslides are common in this region.

This study has considered the technical as well as societal aspects in order to manage water for its optimum beneficial use in one of the least developed countries, Nepal. This study has emphasized the importance of citizens’ perspectives in order to implement integrated flood management (IFM) for sustainable use of water resources.

In Nepal, from the records of 1971-2018, flood is the biggest cause for affecting more number of families including house damage. Studies have shown that there were severe flood induced disasters (FIDs) many times. In 1993, FIDs were the major reason for the casualties of 1,336 people in a single year.

It is identified that the local citizens/communities near by the flood originated areas have to face the severe effects of flood induced disasters. However, in many cases, local citizens/communities may not be capable of flood management works. Therefore, a holistic approach is required for the implementation of IFM to reduce casualties and losses from the yearly occurring FIDs. It is also necessary to adopt best strategies as structural or non-structural or a combination of both for flood management works. Therefore, active participation and cooperation among local citizens, communities and concerned agencies should be promoted in order to implement IFM works to reduce flood induced disasters in Nepal.

How to cite: Gautam, N. P.: Flood disasters and integrated flood management especially from citizens’ perspectives in Nepal, IAHS-AISH Scientific Assembly 2022, Montpellier, France, 29 May–3 Jun 2022, IAHS2022-730, https://doi.org/10.5194/iahs2022-730, 2022.

Hydrological data are limited spatially and temporally due to the limited resources of national and local hydrological services. The lack of streamflow data may be critical in some regions of the world, headwater or urban catchments, or ephemeral streams for instance. Low-cost, easy-to-operate streamgauging techniques may help involve less specialized operators, including professionals or simple citizens, to extend the range of streamflow observations. The velocity-head rod has been revisited since the beginning of this century and proves to be an efficient low-cost tool for discharge measurements in wadable streams with velocity greater than 20 cm/s over most of the cross-section. We have validated the velocity rating of the literature and discharge measurements within 10% of the reference. We have also brought a number of practical improvements (while keeping the manufacturing cost around 100€), proposed an estimation of velocity measurement uncertainties, and issued a field procedure and spreadsheet for velocity and flow measurements. We have trained and helped operators from diverse backgrounds in different countries. The technique is quick and easy but possible operator effects must be minimized. The velocity-head rod is useful for rapid discharge estimation, teaching or demonstration, citizen-science programmes and cooperation with resource-limited services.

How to cite: Le Coz, J., Lagouy, M., Pernot, F., Buffet, A., and Berni, C.: Extending streamgauging thanks to low-cost velocity-head rods, IAHS-AISH Scientific Assembly 2022, Montpellier, France, 29 May–3 Jun 2022, IAHS2022-98, https://doi.org/10.5194/iahs2022-98, 2022.

The moving-boat Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) gauging method has been extensively used to measure the discharge of rivers and canals. To assess the quality of the data produced for all gauging situations, it is necessary to conduct an uncertainty analysis. It indicates to the operator the sources of error which contribute the most to the final uncertainty, in order to optimize the measurement process. To quantify measurement uncertainties in hydrometry, two approaches can be considered: the analytical propagation method of uncertainties, which makes it possible to "calculate" the uncertainty of a measurement result, and the inter-laboratory experiment method, which makes it possible to “measure” the uncertainty of a measurement method in the conditions of the experiment. The evaluation of the uncertainty is however a difficult task because of the complexity of the ADCP data workflow and the lack of discharge reference in rivers.

The OURSIN method has been developed according to the GUM framework. The uncertainty of discharges extrapolated in unmeasured areas is estimated from sensitivity calculations. The uncertainty due to transect-to-transect flow variability is computed from the coefficient of variation of single-transect discharges. This coefficient of variation is estimated through Bayesian inference to supplement the limited observational information with prior information. To evaluate and validate the OURSIN method, two inter-laboratory experiments were conducted in the Rhône River at Génissiat (2010) and the Taurion River at Chauvan (2016). These experiments, consisting of 634 and 574 ADCP gaugings respectively, cover different measuring conditions in terms of sites and flow ranges (from approximately 14 to 440 m3/s).

For each experiment, uncertainty results using the OURSIN method were compared to the empirical uncertainty estimates obtained using the inter-laboratory method, ranging from 4% to 13%, at the 95% probability level. The comparison shows that the OURSIN uncertainty estimates are similar to the empirical uncertainty results. The decomposition of uncertainty sources is relevant to the conditions observed on site. The OURSIN uncertainty calculation is now implemented in the QRevInt quality assurance software. This allows a wider use of this method while continuing the research on the quantification of the most complex uncertainty components.

How to cite: Calmel, B., Le Coz, J., Despax, A., and Hauet, A.: Uncertainty analysis of moving-boat ADCP discharge measurements, IAHS-AISH Scientific Assembly 2022, Montpellier, France, 29 May–3 Jun 2022, IAHS2022-437, https://doi.org/10.5194/iahs2022-437, 2022.

How to cite: Post, C., Mayyan, M., Merritt, J., Cook, C., Sammeta, D., Isaac, A., Modi, V., Minerva, P., and Mikhailova, E.: A Low-Cost Sensor Network System for Reliable Small Stream Monitoring, IAHS-AISH Scientific Assembly 2022, Montpellier, France, 29 May–3 Jun 2022, IAHS2022-306, https://doi.org/10.5194/iahs2022-306, 2022.

While the interest in ephemeral and intermittent streams increased in the last few decades, monitoring such watercourses remains a major challenge in hydrology. Direct field observations are best to detect spatial patterns of flow persistence, but they are time and labour intensive and may be impractical in difficult-to-access environments. Moreover, instrumentation deployed in the riverbed can provide information about the presence/absence of water, nevertheless these methods lack in streamflow quantification. Motivated by latest advancements in computer vision hardware and software, we proposed the development and application of a stage-camera system to monitor the water level in ungauged headwater streams. This system encompasses a camera with near infrared (NIR) night vision capabilities and a pole that serves as reference object in the collected images. To evaluate the efficacy of this system in the detection of river dynamics, a set of 22 stage-camera stations was installed along the entire river network at the 4 km² Montecalvello catchment, near Viterbo (VT, Italy). Time-lapse imagery was processed through a computationally inexpensive algorithm featuring simple image-based operations. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated through a set of benchmark measurements obtained from a supervised procedure. Preliminary evaluations are encouraging and support the usability of this approach in monitoring ephemeral and intermittent streams dynamics.

How to cite: Noto, S., Tauro, F., Botter, G., and Grimaldi, S.: Time-lapse imagery to monitor ephemeral and intermittent streams, IAHS-AISH Scientific Assembly 2022, Montpellier, France, 29 May–3 Jun 2022, IAHS2022-334, https://doi.org/10.5194/iahs2022-334, 2022.