Enhancing Floodplain Management in the Lower Mekong River Basin Using Vegetation and Water Cycle Satellite Observations

The Lower Mekong River Basin shared by China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, is considered the lifeblood of Southeast Asia. The Mekong Basin is subject to large hydrological fluctuations on a seasonal and inter-annual basis. The basin remains prone to severe annual floods that continue to cause widespread damage and endanger food security and the livelihood of the millions who dwell in the region. Also the placement of newly planned dams primarily for hydropower in the Lower Mekong Basin may cause damaging social, agriculture and fisheries impacts to the region where we may now likely be at a critical 'tipping point'. The primary goal of this project is to apply NASA and USGS products, tools, and information for improved flood and water management in the Lower Mekong River Basin to help characterize, understand, and predict future changes on the basin. Specifically, we are providing and helping transfer to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and the member countries of Thailand, Cambodia, Lao, Vietnam, and Burma the enhanced Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) using remotely sensed surface, ground water, and root zone soil moisture along with improved Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) maps. In order to estimate the flood potential and constrain the SWAT Available Water Capacity model parameter over the region, we are assimilated GRACE Terrestrial Water Storage observations into the Catchment Land Surface Model. In addition, a Graphic Visualization Tool (GVT) as been developed to work in concert with the output of the SWAT model parameterized for the Mekong Basin as an adjunct tool of the MRC Decision Support Framework. The project requires a close coordination of the development and assessment of the enhanced MRC SWAT with the guidance of MRC resource managers and technical advisors. This presentation will evaluate the skill of the enhanced SWAT model using qualitative (i.e., MODIS change detection) and quantitative (e.g., streamflow) metrics over one sub-basin of the Lower Mekong River Basin.