A Qualitative Assessment of River Plumes Coupling SWAT Model Simulations and a Beach Optical Monitoring System
Nada Joumar,
Soumaya Nabih,
Antonis Chatzipavlis,
Adonis Velegrakis,
Thomas Hasiotis,
Ourania Tzoraki,
Jamal Eddine Stitou El Messari,
Lahcen Benaabidate
Affiliations
Nada Joumar
Laboratory of Applied and Marine Geosciences, Geotechnics and Geohazards (LR3G), Faculty of Sciences, Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Tetouan 93002, Morocco
Soumaya Nabih
Laboratory of Functional Ecology and Environment Engineering, Department of Environment, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fez 30000, Morocco
Antonis Chatzipavlis
Department of Marine Sciences, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81100 Mytilene, Greece
Adonis Velegrakis
Department of Marine Sciences, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81100 Mytilene, Greece
Thomas Hasiotis
Department of Marine Sciences, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81100 Mytilene, Greece
Ourania Tzoraki
Department of Marine Sciences, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81100 Mytilene, Greece
Jamal Eddine Stitou El Messari
Laboratory of Applied and Marine Geosciences, Geotechnics and Geohazards (LR3G), Faculty of Sciences, Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Tetouan 93002, Morocco
Lahcen Benaabidate
Laboratory of Functional Ecology and Environment Engineering, Department of Environment, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fez 30000, Morocco
The study of plumes occurring at the mouth of small rivers of temporal flow is a challenging task due to the lack of sedimentological and flow data of appropriate spatiotemporal scales. The present contribution examined the case of a typical un-gauged intermittent Mediterranean stream located in Northern Crete (Xiropotamos river). The SWAT (soil and water assessment tool) model was used to simulate and reproduce the hydrological behavior of the adjacent intermittent (Giofyros) river discharging at the same beach, the basin of which has the same geomorphological and hydrological characteristics. The output of the calibrated SWAT model was used to simulate daily flow data for the year 2014. The results were then considered together with the results of the RGB analysis of optical datasets of high spatio-temporal resolution for the same period, derived from a beach optical monitoring system (BOMS). The RGB analysis of the optical (TIMEX) imagery was shown to be a useful technique to identify and classify coastal plumes by using the spatio-temporal variability of pixel properties. The technique was also shown to be useful for the (qualitative) validation of the SWAT output and could be further improved by the collection of ‘ground truth’ data.
