Welcome to the home page of the Satellite Hydrology Research Group at The Ohio State University. This group uses satellite-based measurements to study rivers, lakes, wetlands, and floodplains. Led by Dr. Douglas Alsdorf, group members primarily use radar to measure water elevation, from the Amazon River to the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers. This group is helping define an upcoming satellite, Surface Water & Ocean Topography (SWOT).

SWOT will track freshwater resources, as well as measuring ocean currents. SWOT is a joint effort between NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the French space agency, CNES. Rivers are fundamentally two-dimensional in their structure and function. This is evident in the Amazon, where the floodplain width is measured in kilometers. Sensitive to climatic changes, arctic lakes pose another hydrologic measurement challenge. SWOT measurements will enable new understanding of these complex systems.

In The News:
  • Lab Meeting Autumn 2010
  • Date Presenter Research
    Ocotober 5 Doug Intro
    Ocotober 12 Hahn Logone Floodplain
    Ocotober 19 Nick River Width
    Ocotober 26 Dongyu Snow Depth
    November 2 Hyongki GRACE and ENVISAT in the Congo Basin
    November 9 Jeremiah LISFLOOD-FP model in Zanesville, OH
    November 16 Kostas Kalman Filter
  • Lab Meeting Summer 2010
  • Date Research Paper
    June 30 Mike Durand (Snow) Doug Alsdorf (link)
    July 14 Dai Yamazaki (Hydromodeling) Kostas Andreadis (link)
    July 28 Jeremiah Lant (LISFLOOD-FP) Molly Shlaes
    August 11 Hyongki Lee (Congo) Doug Alsdorf
    August 25 Matthew Mersel (Hydromodeling) TBD
    September 8 Nick Martin (River Width) TBD
Programs We Work With