Issue No. 1 - July 2023
This Innovation Snapshot introduces the use of non-contact technologies for hydrological measurements. An overview of general measurement principles is provided, and field applications of such technologies are presented, including some examples from the WMO HydroHub Second Innovation Call in 2020.
WMO HydroHub Innovation Snapshot: Introduction to non-contact technologies for hydrometry
Business as usual is no longer an option if we want to seriously engage in poverty alleviation, the Sustainable Development Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6), and robust climate change adaptation. These undertakings all require reliable, and accessible hydrological data for both the public and private sectors. To meet this need, many current hydrometric monitoring systems – especially in developing and least developed countries – need optimization of their efficiency and cost.
Currently, emerging innovative technologies and approaches, including non-contact technologies offer new opportunities to complement and enhance in-situ measurements and contribute to closing the hydrological data gap. Their operational uptake by National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) is however currently low due to insufficient collaboration between innovators, hydrometric services, and their user communities, insufficient translation of research into operational tools, and/or high costs of technologies and their ownership/operational costs.
To address this, the WMO HydroHub organizes Innovation Calls that aim at finding and operationalizing innovative technologies and approaches addressing the hydrometric challenges of NMHSs. This Innovation Snapshot explores emerging non-contact technologies for hydrometry, including some developed in the framework of the WMO HydroHub Second Innovation Call.