Mzoughi et al. (2026) Assessment of SWOT water surface elevations for flood monitoring of a narrow river ( < 50 m width)

Identification

• Journal: Hydrology and earth system sciences
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-07-01
• Authors: Amal Mzoughi, Mélanie Trudel, Pascale M. Biron, Guénolé Choné, Gabriela Siles
• DOI: 10.5194/hess-30-4141-2026

Research Groups

• Department of Civil Engineering and Building Engineering, University of Sherbrooke
• Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University
• Department of Geomatics, Laval University

Short Summary

This study evaluates the potential of Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite water surface elevations for flood monitoring in a narrow river. The results show that SWOT-derived WSEs are consistent with in situ observations and hydraulic model simulations, demonstrating the practical usefulness of SWOT observations for hydraulic studies.

Objective

• Evaluate the accuracy of SWOT water surface elevation (WSE) measurements in a narrow river.
• Assess the potential of SWOT data for flood monitoring and hydraulic modeling in similar data-scarce contexts.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Local scale, focusing on the Du Gouffre River in Quebec, Canada.
• Temporal Scale: Daily analysis of an extreme flood event that occurred on 1 May 2023.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: LISFLOOD-FP hydraulic model.
• Data sources: SWOT satellite data (L2HRRiverSP product), in situ observations from a tidal gauge, and LiDAR data for DEM creation.

Main Results

• The comparison between SWOT-derived WSEs and model-simulated WSEs yielded biases ranging from -0.30 to 0.43 m and RMSE values between 0.22 and 0.54 m.
• During the flood peak on 1 May, larger discrepancies were observed, reflecting uncertainties in upstream discharge estimates under extreme flow conditions.

Contributions

• This study demonstrates the potential contribution of SWOT data for flood monitoring and hydraulic modeling in similar data-scarce contexts, particularly under extreme hydrological conditions.
• The results highlight the practical usefulness of SWOT observations for hydraulic studies in narrow rivers.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Mzoughi2026Assessment,
  author = {Mzoughi, Amal and Trudel, Mélanie and Biron, Pascale M. and Choné, Guénolé and Siles, Gabriela},
  title = {Assessment of SWOT water surface elevations for flood monitoring of a narrow river ( < 50 m width)},
  journal = {Hydrology and earth system sciences},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.5194/hess-30-4141-2026},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-4141-2026}
}