Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
8-2025
Abstract
This study utilizes high-resolution data from NASA's Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission to investigate water dynamics and upstream-downstream impacts across key reservoirs in the Nile Basin. Focusing on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Rosaries Dam, Merowe Dam, and the Aswan High Dam, the analysis spans 15 months (August 2023 to October 2024). By systematically selecting 30 points across each reservoir, monthly boxplots of surface water elevation were generated, revealing significant temporal and spatial variability. The results show that GERD’s filling phase led to a steady increase in water levels (peaking at ~615 meters from June to October 2024), while downstream reservoirs experienced sharp declines. Rosaries and Merowe recorded their lowest levels in July 2024, with delayed recovery starting in September 2024, while the Aswan High Dam showed a gradual decline from April to August 2024, reflecting reduced upstream flows. The findings highlight the hydrological interdependence of Nile Basin reservoirs, where upstream water management, particularly GERD’s operations, has cascading effects on downstream regions. This study demonstrates the value of SWOT satellite data in capturing transboundary water dynamics and emphasizes the need for cooperative water governance strategies, including coordinated reservoir operations and data-sharing mechanisms, to address downstream water stress. By offering actionable data for sustainable resource management, this research represents a critical advancement in leveraging satellite Earth observations to inform policy and foster resilience in the conflict-prone Nile Basin.
Recommended Citation
H. Morgan, W. Li, A. Elgendy, S. Maharjan, R. Thomas and H. El-Askary, "Insights from Swot Data on Transboundary Upstream-Downstream Impacts in The Nile Basin," IGARSS 2025 - 2025 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Brisbane, Australia, 2025, pp. 4534-4538, https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS55030.2025.11242317.
Copyright
© 2025 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
Included in
Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Hydrology Commons, Remote Sensing Commons
Comments
This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in IGARSS 2025 - 2025 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. This article may not exactly replicate the final published version. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS55030.2025.11242317.