Estimation of storage change in Thac Ba Reservoir for the hydrological controls using satellite data

In developing countries, dams and reservoirs' construction increases due to population growth and increased water demand. However, downstream stakeholders often know little about how upstream reservoirs operate when a river crosses a border. Satellite remote sensing such as radar, multi-sensor optical, and precipitation products can be used as a practical method to provide downstream stakeholders with fundamentally incomprehensible upstream information about reservoir runoff required to make essential and aggressive water management decisions. In this study, the storage change in the reservoir was estimated from purely satellite observation data on the month and annual time scales. The study area is one of the most historical reservoirs, the Thac Ba reservoir located in the second largest river in Vietnam, the Red River Basin. Using satellite-based measurement is to explain the functional features of the reservoir clearly. Further potential studies include using the water mass balance method to estimate the efficient monthly-to-seasonal outflow of the reservoir, derived from precipitation-induced inflow, evaporation, reservoir storage change, and estimated outflow volume into the reservoir.