Seasonal water balance of the Abay River Basin assessed using satellite databases and a specialized hydrological model

Abstract

The paper examines the seasonal water balance of the Abay River basin (Ethiopia) using open-access satellite data and a hydrological model representing the formation of water resources. The conducted analysis and theoretical studies indicate that hydrological modeling and remote sensing are the most appropriate tools for assessing water balance, which is essential for determining water prices and op-timizing water resource management. In this work, QGIS models were applied to estimate water deficit during the dry season and water surplus during the rainy season, using those data to determine sea-sonal water balance for six years. To this end, the study employed GeoTIFF metadata and additional information, including a map projection, coordinate systems, ellipsoids, and baseline data necessary to establish the accurate spatial reference of the file. The water balance analysis required data on evapo-ration, precipitation, surface runoff, and surface water reserves in the Abay River basin. According to the calculation results, a significant surplus of water was noted during the rainy season and its deficit during the dry season. The obtained numerical data were used to model the timing of droughts and floods, as well as to manage urban drainage systems and agricultural irrigation.