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Free keywords:
Central Asia, CAWa, Water monitoring, Catchments, Landscapes, Hydrometeorological network, ROMPS, SDSS data repository, Radar altimetry, Lake and reservoir water monitoring
Abstract:
Water is an important natural resource as it plays a key role for living, agricultural production, and economic development. Central Asia features strongly heterogeneous landscapes in terms of orographic, climatic, and hydrologic conditions, which leads to a spatially non-uniform forming of water resources over the region. The availability and direct access to freshwater often result in disputes between the different countries. Therefore, a reliable trans-boundary water resource management is needed. Within the CAWa project, a network of automatic monitoring stations has been installed especially in remote areas and at higher altitudes providing continuously meteorological and hydrological parameters. In addition to the ground-based monitoring network, water levels and volume changes of selected lakes and reservoirs are provided by satellite-based radar altimetry. All data is stored in an open-access data base to support data sharing between the involved transnational agencies and thus, to allow sustainable decision-making about water management and to contribute to international scientific cooperation.
