High-resolution satellite observations for developing advanced decision support systems for water resources management in the Po River

This work presents a prototype of a Decision Support System (DSS) designed for water resources management in the Po River basin, in Italy. A comprehensive Water Resources Management database was constructed by employing high-resolution (1 km/hourly) satellite data and a modular hydrological model capable of simulating both natural and anthropogenic processes within the study area. This database represents the full range of plausible hydrological responses of the study basin to a multitude of climatic and initial state scenarios, providing a comprehensive overview of potential outcomes. The system enables the assessment of the water resources available within the basin, allowing the identification of specific conditions of water stress and, consequently, the transition from a reactive to a proactive water management strategy. The Water Resources Management database can be visualised and queried on the Digital Twin Earth (DTE) platform (https://explorer.dte-hydro.adamplatform.eu/?use_case=5), where it is presented as a user-friendly DSS tool to strive towards informed decision-making approaches in the context of water resources management. Even in its initial form, the Water Resources Management database demonstrated to be a versatile tool, adaptable to a wide range of basins with varying levels of human intervention and different climatic characteristics. The approach benefits from the use of high-resolution satellite data, including precipitation, soil moisture, evaporation and snow depth developed within the framework of the European Space Agency DTE Hydrology and 4DMED-Hydrology projects. Our results demonstrate that high-resolution satellite data is an invaluable tool for reconstructing the hydrological cycle and developing advanced and accurate DSS for water resources management.