Instrumental platform and sensor package for hybrid monitoring of rivers

• Subject Area: Hydrogeology, Hydrology, Limnology, Urban Water Management, Water Chemistry, Integrated Water Resources Management
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 514067591

The vessel as a measuring device platform consists of a catamaran driven by two motors. The sensor package includes measurement technology for the simultaneous recording of water quality (multi-parameter probe), water topography (vertical echo sounder, side scan sonar) and high-resolution flow conditions in the flow cross-section (9-beam acoustic Doppler probe). Furthermore, a LiDAR sensor is planned to record and map the riparian vegetation and buildings on and in the watercourse margins. For geo-referenced data acquisition, the measuring device platform is to be equipped with a GNSS receiver (RTK accuracy) and a target marker so that tracking via copters and UAVs is possible. The measuring devices are intended to answer research questions in the fields of action "Digitalisation of water management", "Resilience to high and low water events" and "New methods for data collection in water management". The basic aim of the large-scale device is to record measurement data containing as many water-related parameters as possible. In this way, a database is to be created that forms the basis for answering the following research questions: - To what extent are data-driven models able to represent structural changes in water bodies and to transfer these to water level-discharge relationships or to update these? - Can spatial and spatio-temporal (auto-) correlations of precipitation and runoff data be modelled using machine learning (ML) methods (especially long short term memory methods) and what influence do the quantity and quality of the input data have on the accuracy of the system response "runoff"? - When and where do sedimentation processes occur in storage systems (e.g. dams) and can they be prevented by targeted management plans? - What are the effects of volume change on the management of storage systems and the provision or maintenance of water supply?

• DFG Programme: Major Instrumentation Initiatives
• Major Instrumentation: Autonom arbeitendes Wasserfahrzeug
• Instrumentation Group: 2440 Hilfseinrichtungen und spezielle Meßgeräte für Wind- und Wasserkanäle und Anlagen des Wasserbaus
• Applicant Institution: Hochschule Bochum
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Christoph Mudersbach
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Joerg Frochte