Flow duration curves from surface reflectance in the near infrared band

Flow duration curve (FDC) is a cumulative frequency curve that shows the percent of time a specific discharge has been equaled or exceeded during a particular period of time at a given river location, providing a comprehensive description of the hydrological regime of a catchment. Thus, relying on historical streamflow records, FDCs are typically constrained to gauged and updated ground stations. Earth Observations can support our monitoring capability and be considered as a valuable and additional source for the observation of the Earth’s physical parameters. Here, we investigated the potential of the surface reflectance in the Near Infrared (NIR) band of the MODIS 500 m and eight-day product, in providing reliable FDCs along the Mississippi River. Results highlight the capability of NIR bands to estimate the FDCs, enabling a realistic reconstruction of the flow regimes at different locations. Apart from a few exceptions, the relative Root Mean Square Error, rRMSE, of the discharge value in validation period ranges from 27–58% with higher error experienced for extremely high flows (low duration), mainly due to the limit of the sensor to penetrate the clouds during the flood events. Due to the spatial resolution of the satellite product higher errors are found at the stations where the river is narrow. In general, good performances are obtained for medium flows, encouraging the use of the satellite for the water resources management at ungauged river sites.