Hyperspectral characterisation of (eco)hydrological processes in the urban fringe

The objective of this project is to examine the potential of hyperspectral data for hydro-ecological research in urbanised catchments and for biomonitoring of urban ponds, in order to improve our understanding of runoff processes in urbanized areas, occurrence of groundwater dependent ecosystems, clear and turbid alternative stable states of ponds. This will contribute to more integrated water management practices in urbanised areas as required by the EU water framework and groundwater directive. Methodological research on hyperspectral image analysis (ensemble classification, multi-scale object-oriented image interpretation, spectral unmixing), currently done by the CGIS and IRIS teams, will be linked to the development of new approaches for distributed hydrological modeling, making optimal use of the information obtained from hyperspectral data (HYDR). The potential of hyperspectral reflectance analysis for discriminating various turbid and submerged vegetated states in urban water bodies will be studied by relating spectroscopic data to measurements of vegetation abundance, physical and chemical variables, for improved biomonitoring and restoration of urban ponds (APNA).