Acknowledgment to the Reviewers of Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences in 2025
2026-02-06
Satellite Hydrology: A New Era in Monitoring Groundwater, Wetlands, and Drought Dynamics
Authors
-
Yongheng Li
Green Mine Engineering Research Center of Gansu Province, The Third Institute of Geology and Minerals Exploration, Gansu Provincial Bureau of Geology and Minerals Exploration and Development, Lanzhou 730050, China
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v8i3.13103Abstract
Satellite hydrology has reached a new era where a variety of earth observing systems, in conjunction with the development of data integrations, can provide a consistent monitoring of groundwater change, wetland dynamics, and drought evolution in regions where observations on the ground remain sparse or patchy. This synthesis review highlights the physical observables that are most useful to terrestrial hydrology: variable time-dependent gravity, passive and active microwave signals, optical reflectance, thermal infrared measurements, and altimetry, and this has been translated into hydrologic states and water fluxes: terrestrial water storage, ground water storage anomalies, inundation extent and hydroperiod, evapotranspiration, and multi-timescale drought indicators. We call attention to the role of satellite gravimetry in the transformation of basin-scale groundwater evaluation, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and optical time series in transforming wetland science, however, to the characterization of hydroperiod and connectivity. In the case of drought, we recommend the use of both fast-responsive (soil moisture, evapotranspiration, thermal stress, and vegetation condition) in conjunction with slowly integrating storage anomalies to detect onset, intensification, and recovery, as well as rely on to diagnose the spread of deficits through the hydrologic system. In all these themes, we recognize the central action of enabling approaches that include multi-sensor fusion, data assimilation, and hybrid machine learning schemes in reducing ambiguity, scale gaps, and producing products of decision interest, and also highlighting ongoing issues in the quantification of uncertainty, consistency across long periods of time, and the separation of climate influence on human management of water. Research and operational priorities come as our final deduction to develop satellite hydrology to more trustworthy, explanation-seeking, and operationalizing monitoring designs of water security and ecosystem resilience.
Keywords:
Satellite Hydrology; Groundwater Storage; Wetlands; Drought Monitoring; Data AssimilationReferences
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Li, Y. (2026). Satellite Hydrology: A New Era in Monitoring Groundwater, Wetlands, and Drought Dynamics. Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences, 8(3), 198–231. https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v8i3.13103
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Copyright © 2026 Yongheng Li
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