The Predictability of River Flood Forecasting in the Brahmaputra and Ganges River Catchments utilizing Remotely-Sensed Data

We discuss the development of an ensemble flood forecasting system at locations within the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers, along with an evaluation of their sources of forecasting predictability. In this work we focused on the generation of skillful, calibrated ensemble flood forecasts utilizing freely-available remotely-sensed data sources: ensemble weather forecasts from the Thorpex Tigge data archive, and satellite-based data including microwave emissivity, altimetry, and precipitation estimation. In addition to discussing novel ensemble algorithm development to utilize these various data sources and comparing and contrasting the contribution of each data source to forecasting predictability (discussed in the context of operational examples from river catchments within India and Bangladesh), we also discuss issues related to input data availability, quality control, and technical feasibility.