Hydrometerological forecast system for the Alto Tietê Basin

• Grant number: 01/13952-2
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - São Paulo State Integrated Hydrometeorology System - Sihesp
• Start date: March 01, 2005
• End date: February 28, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Meteorology
• Principal Investigator: Augusto Jose Pereira Filho
• Grantee: Augusto Jose Pereira Filho
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

A hydrometeorologic forecast system (HFS) will be developed for the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP) in the context of the SIHESP project. The MASP is located in the Alto Tietê basin. It has experienced significant changes in runoff, water quality and sedimentation over the years. These anthropogenic-related changes have reduced the water supply for consumption, irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. Moreover, floods are increasingly more destructive and frequent. There are more than 600 flooding areas in São Paulo City alone, mainly due to the inefficiency of the drainage system. Therefore, the proposed HFS is an alternative procedure to mitigate the effects of these costly floods. The HFS will be built around a network of automatic weather stations (Mesonet Beta and Gamma), the Alto Tietê stream gage network, wind profiler, Dual Doppler weather radar, soundings, satellite and spaceborne radar measurements. The HFS has four maior components: objective analysis, nowcasting, mesoscale modeling and hydrologic modeling. (AU)