Limpopo Resilience Lab Hydrology and Meteorology Data Collection

Meteorological and hydrological data monitored at stations in the Limpopo Basin in southern Africa. Most data are recorded every 15-minutes. The transboundary Limpopo River Basin crosses Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. At over 400,000 km2, the Limpopo River Basin is home to 18 million people living in both rural and urban areas. Industries in the Basin include businesses in the urban areas and water-intensive uses such as agriculture and mining; industrial water use is growing rapidly (LBPTC, 2010). In addition to the human residents, the Basin contains some of the most biodiverse natural areas on the planet (Kahinda et al., 2016). The rainfall in the Basin is heterogeneous with some sub-basins receiving less than 400 mm on average and other downstream sub-basins in Mozambique receiving over 750 mm annually (LBPTC, 2010). Even meteorological stations located in close proximity demonstrate substantial spatial variation within sub-basins. The Basin has experienced severe droughts in the last decade (LBPTC, 2010). In addition to the variation in the amount of rainfall, the timing, especially the start of the growing season, has varied significantly (Edokpayi et al., 2018). However, there remain many questions about the reliability of rainfall data and other water measurements due in part to the infrequent calibration and validation of field site measurements. The limited confidence in these data, combined with the substantial variation through time and space necessitates an integrated approach to improve data collection, validation, and overall Basin water resource management in the Basin. The goal of this project is to build resilience through the support of Basin stakeholders, including The Limpopo Watercourse Commission (LIMCOM), to improve governance around water resources management and water security in the Basin. A systems approach, such as integrated water resources management (IWRM) is needed to address such complex, large, and interrelated components of water resources. IRWM is recommended by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Water and Development Strategy Implementation Guide (2014). This context will be combined with data collection and validation, data sharing, and continuous evaluation of the interrelations that affect water resources. For example, surface water quality will affect ecosystem biodiversity and those who depend on those ecosystems for drinking water or fish as a food protein source. Another example is groundwater; Petrie et al. (2014) found that groundwater in the Limpopo Basin holds great potential for increased water access; however, groundwater measurement data are currently insufficient to calculate sustainable total withdrawal rates. With improved data collection, validation, and sharing of these data, managers will have a basis for scientifically-based decisions and may be able to utilize groundwater resources more effectively to increase (e.g., agricultural) productivity. These same resource managers need monitoring and surveillance tools to measure water consumption by users within the basin, how demand and use changes through time, and to understand if historic and current sparse monitoring is accurate. Since rural users withdraw water in informal schemes, measurements of water use currently do not exist. This project will support water resources monitoring, and the development of methods for water quality and quantity measurement based on in situ sensors and satellite measurements. These measurements will enable characterization of water resource dynamics at the whole Basin scale and form the foundation for hydrologic modeling that can help estimate hard-to-measure parameters and also provide holistic assessments of Basin scale stocks and flows. To support data sharing, the project will use cloud-based, automated data collection and web-based data sharing. All sensors and data will be shared. Increased monitoring and

南非林波波流域（Limpopo Basin）内各监测站点所获取的气象与水文数据。绝大多数数据的采集频次为15分钟一次。
作为跨界流域的林波波河（Limpopo River）流域覆盖博茨瓦纳、莫桑比克、南非及津巴布韦四国，总面积逾40万平方公里，养育了1800万城乡居民。
流域内产业涵盖城市服务业，以及农业、采矿等耗水量大的行业；工业用水需求正快速增长（LBPTC, 2010）。
除人类聚居区外，该流域还拥有全球生物多样性最为丰富的自然区域之一（Kahinda等，2016）。
流域内降雨分布极不均匀：部分子流域年均降雨量不足400毫米，而莫桑比克境内的下游子流域年均降雨量则超过750毫米（LBPTC, 2010）。
即便地理位置相近的气象站点，其监测数据在子流域内也存在显著的空间异质性。
近十年来，该流域曾遭遇多次严重干旱（LBPTC, 2010）。
除降雨量的空间差异外，降雨时序——尤其是作物生长季的起始时间——也存在显著波动（Edokpayi等，2018）。
然而，由于野外监测数据的校准与验证工作频次不足，降雨数据及其他水文监测数据的可靠性仍存在诸多疑问。
鉴于现有数据可信度有限，加之水文数据在时空维度上存在显著异质性，亟需采用整合式方法来优化流域内的数据采集、验证流程，并完善整体水资源管理工作。
本项目旨在通过扶持流域内各方利益相关者——包括林波波水道委员会（The Limpopo Watercourse Commission, LIMCOM）——提升流域水资源管理与水安全的治理水平，从而增强流域的韧性。
针对这类复杂、跨区域且相互关联的水资源系统问题，需采用系统方法论，例如整合式水资源管理（IWRM）加以应对。美国国际开发署（USAID）《水资源与发展战略实施指南（2014）》中推荐采用IRWM方法。
本项目将结合上述背景，开展数据采集与验证、数据共享工作，并对影响水资源的各类关联要素进行持续评估。
例如，地表水水质会影响生态系统的生物多样性，进而波及依赖该类生态系统获取饮用水或鱼类作为食物蛋白来源的人群。
再以地下水为例：Petrie等（2014）的研究表明，林波波流域的地下水具备极大的供水潜力，可有效提升水资源可及性，但当前地下水监测数据尚不足以计算可持续的总开采量。
通过优化数据采集、验证与共享流程，管理者将获得科学决策的依据，从而更高效地开发利用地下水资源，以提升（例如农业）生产效率。
此类水资源管理者还需配套的监测与监管工具，以核算流域内各用水户的取水量、跟踪用水需求与使用模式的时序变化，并评估历史与当前稀疏监测网络的准确性。
由于农村用户多通过非正式取水方式取用水资源，当前尚无有效的用水计量手段。
本项目将助力流域水资源监测工作，并开发基于原位传感器与卫星遥感的水质、水量监测方法。
此类监测数据将可实现全流域尺度的水资源动态特征刻画，并为水文模型构建奠定基础——该模型可用于估算难以直接监测的水文参数，同时实现全流域尺度水资源储量与通量的整体性评估。
为推动数据共享，本项目将采用云端自动化数据采集与网络共享方案，实现所有监测传感器及数据的开放共享。
强化监测与