Products

The main area of interest for Hydroterra+ is represented by the Mediterranean area (Figure 1), where the following measurement campaigns have been identified:

1. Great Alpine Region & the Pyrenees (GAR, Figure 4), corresponding to one of the areas historically affected by most intense hydro-meteorological events in the European area while the area is also crucial for European mountain cryosphere processes (Beniston et al., 2018; Delforge et al., 2023; Paliaga and Parodi, 2022);
2. Southeastern Mediterranean area (SEM, Figure 5), corresponding to Balkans and Greece, region situated in a transition zone between subtropical and mid-latitude climates where hydro-meteorological events are characterized by significant variability and socio-economic impacts (Papagiannaki et al., 2013; Michaelides et al., 2018; Flaounas et al., 2019; Hochman et al., 2022; Kotroni et al., 2025)
3. Southern Iberian peninsula and Atlas region (SSA, Figure 6) representing the “door” from west of the Mediterranean region, historically affected by extreme hydro-meteorological events (recent Valencia 2024 example) as well as of important snow hydrology process in the mountains of the Atlas region (Tuel et al., 2021).

The second focus is on the Volta Basin (VR, Figure 7) in West Africa, a region sensitive to water shortage; furthermore, discharge in the Volta Basin reacts highly sensitively to precipitation differences. On going climate change phenomena therefore may put additional stress on the competition for the scarce water resources between industry, agriculture, and households (Arnault et al. 2016, Jung et al. 2012).

While Hydroterra+ will be focus on a specific region (e.g. Great Alpine Region & the Pyrenees) for a campaign phase, the other two areas (e.g. Southeastern Mediterranean area and Southern Iberian Peninsula and Atlas region) will see two acquisitions each per day as background phases. The Volta region will be investigated by a dedicated campaign.