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SMART Watersheds: Hosagadde

SMART Watersheds: Hosagadde

SMART Watersheds: Hosagadde

Hosagadde SMART watershed

Hosagadde is one of a series of watersheds in the Aghanashini basin (Uttara Kannada, India) that is subject to continued hydrological monitoring by colleagues at ATREE and FERAL as part of the Hydrologic and Carbon Services in the Western Ghats project (WGhats).  The sites are part of the Critical Zone Exploration Network. In connection with the WGhats project, the site has also been used for training of students in India in field hydrology.

In August 2015, the Hosagadde watershed was equipped with additional SMART telemetry sensors for rainfall, and a trial was performed with SMART sensors measuring water quality variables at a high frequency.

Location of the site can be found on our interactive map.

Hobo RX3000 remote monitoring system measuring rainfall at Hosagadde watershed.

Stilling well for water level recorder at Hosagadde watershed (CWC Western Ghats project)

Hosagadde site details

Coordinates: N 14° 28′ 43.1″, E 74° 45′ 33.3″   

Area:  104.5 ha

Land Cover: Tropical evergreen forest & agricultural plantations

Geology: Metamorphic rock

Soils: FAO Eutric Nitosol

Rainfall: 6,457 mm (2013 monsoon, arithmetic mean of 26 rain gauges)

SMART sensors: Hobo RX3000 (telemetry) for rainfall (5-min monitoring).

i::scan, ph::lyser and con::cube system for turbidity, UV254, colour, DOC, TOC and pH (5-min monitoring).

SMART models: RIVC Streamflow-DOC concentration

Landowner: Mr Balu Hegde

Bridge over the Hosagadde stream

Upstream view of the Hosagadde stream

Our Infrastructure and Sensor Deployment

The following images give an insight into the SMART sensor system set up at the Hosagadde watershed:

Stilling well installed on existing infrastructure for securing SMART i::scan and ph::lyser sensors in the Hosagadde stream

i::scan (35 mm and 5 mm path length) with autowiper and ph::lyser mounted prior to deployment in stilling well

con::cube controller’s (used for data acquisition and sensor interrogation) high power consumption required mains power from local buildings to maintain battery charge for this trial deployment

Hobo RX3000 telemetry system deployed at higher elevation in the watershed where phone signal could be obtained

con::cube controller and associated batteries secured nearby to the stilling well in container with waterproof protection

Data

The datasets for the Hosagadde watershed include:

August 2015 trial period: turbidity, TOC, DOC, colour, UV254 (5-min sampling interval)

August 2015 – present: rainfall (5-min sampling interval)

Please contact us if you are interested in using our datasets.

5-min sampled DOC (from manufacturer’s algorithm RIVCOL) from Hosagadde watershed. Presented at AGU Fall Meeting, December 2015.

Real time rainfall data from Hosagadde watershed reported to Hobolink website

SMART Models at Hosagadde

SMART model identification routines (namely the RIVC algorithm) have been applied to the high-frequency (5-min) observations recorded through contiguous storms at Hosagadde. We are able to simulate the rapid dynamics observed in the DOC concentration data (measured using the i::scan/con::cube SMART sensor system) directly from streamflow data.

Comparison of simulated DOC concentration (mg/L; red line) and observed DOC concentration (mg/L;blue line) at Hosagadde. DOC concentration was modelled directly from streamflow observations using the RIVC algorithm (based on transfer functions). The identified model is a purely linear first-order continuous-time transfer-function model.

Example Research Summary

The deployment of SMART sensors at Hosagadde has been an important aspect of the NERC-funded Hydrologic and Carbon Services in the Western Ghats project. This project brings together many institutions and disciplines with the aim of improving our understanding of the nature of extreme rainfall events and hydrologic and carbon regulatory effects of forest degradation and reforestation.

The project objectives are:

  • To couple the synoptic and mesoscale meteorology with the spatial and temporal dimensions of Extreme Rainfall Events (ERE) in the Western Ghats (Karnataka and Kerala States) and in turn, the hydrologic responses linked with the spatial patterns of land-cover and land-use
  • To determine the hydrologic and carbon dynamics consequences of existing land-cover and land-use including large scale forestation in the Western Ghats and adjacent Deccan plateau
  • To assess the hydrologic and carbon vulnerability of ecosystems, natural, semi-natural and agro-ecosystems, to ERE at various spatial scales
  • To prioritise sites in the Western Ghats and adjacent Deccan plateau for restoration under the Green India Mission and contribute towards water resources management and climate change mitigation policy. 
  • To prioritise sites in the Western Ghats and adjacent Deccan plateau for restoration under the Green India Mission and contribute towards water resources management and climate change mitigation policy

A presentation with further details of this project was recently given at an India-UK Water Security Exchange Initiative meeting of senior water managers and decision makers to share knowledge on water security. Click here to view the presentation.