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HYDROLOGICAL MONITORING OF WETLAND AREAS USING SAR TECHNIQUES IN DANUBE DELTA BIOSPHERE RESERVE
Abstract
The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR) covers around 580,000 hectares, where the waters of the Danube enter the Black Sea. It is the second largest and the best preserved of Europe?s deltas; its dynamic, relatively wild ecosystem supports a rich diversity of wetland habitats, numerous lakes, ponds and over 330 species of birds and 45 species of freshwater fish [1]. The region has a long history and the DDBR includes a number of Iron Age fortified sites, remnants of Greek and Roman settlements, and early Christian architecture. In this area, natural processes, human interventions and effects of global changes (ex. sea level rise) interact and are mutually interconditioned, while their effects upon the environment and the socio-economic conditions, although rather obvious, are more difficult to assess as scale and medium and long term evolutionary trends. InSAR techniques: phase changes of radar backscatterers can be related to changes in the surface water levels of vegetated wetlands through interferometric (InSAR) techniques. The standard InSAR technique is well established for measuring surface displacement due to tectonic deformation, landslides and glacier motion. Its application for wetland hydrology has only recently. The anthropic changes that occurred in Danube Delta between 1950 and 1990 due to the need to exploit natural resources and increased navigation had a negative effect on the hydrological regime. The new water channels led to modifications of the water flow. The need for developing a mathematical model based on a limited number of measurements that could be used, on one hand, to estimate present and future water dynamics and, on the other hand, to predict changes in the water flow due to anthropic or natural factors became obvious. Water surface delineation can be done using optical and / or SAR remote sensing data. The fusion of results from the 2 types of satellite data provides useful complementary information regarding the water surface. For the first time in the Danube Delta, spatially dense DInSAR measurements were used to measure the water dynamics at various stages of the wetland. Water dynamics proved to be much more complex than expected. Individual water bodies can be identified at lower water levels. The connections between the water bodies can also be identified and characterized for different water regimes, making possible to create local water flow scenarios (directions and gradients).
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References3
Giosan, L., Donelly, L. P., Constantinescu, S., Filip, I., Ovejanu, I., Vespremeanu-Stroe, A., Vespremeanu, E., Duller, G.A.T., 2006. Young Danube Delta Documents Stable Black Sea Level since the Middle Holocene: Morphodynamic, Paleogeographic and Archaeological Implications. Geology, 34 (9), p. 757-760
Oaie, Gh., Seghedi, A., Poncos, V., Teleag?, D., ?erban, F., 2010. Deformation and dynamics of the Danube Delta (Romania) using InSAR technology. INQUA 501- IGCP 521 Sixth Plenary Meeting and Field Trip, Abstract volume, p. 148 - 150, Rhodes, Greece
Panin, N., 1998. Global Changes, Sea Level Rising and the Danube Delta: Risks and
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