Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information
Duration: January 1992–December 1993
Budget: 394 238 400 DRS (about €1 600 000)
Commissioned by:
Contractor: Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering
Collaborators:
Project director: D. Koutsoyiannis
Principal investigators: M. Aftias, D. Koutsoyiannis
Programme: STRIDE
The main objective of HYDROSCOPE is the creation of a modern information infrastructure for the hydrological cycle in Greece. Specifically, it aims at organising and systematising the hydrological, hydrogeological and meteorological information using the capacities that are provided by the modern methods and techniques of computer science and telecommunications. The database, which will be built, will contribute to the reliable programming, planning and management of the water resources of the country, the mitigation of phenomena like flood and drought, the evaluation of hydroclimatic parameters and their effects to the natural and biological environment, the diagnosis of climatic changes as well as the prediction and the control of the air pollution and the groundwater and surface water pollution. The development of a unified synergistic network, the information exchange and the co-ordination of the activities of the participating organisations, which are involved with the components of the hydrological cycle (Universities, Research Centres, Ministries and Services) as well as the reorganisation and standardisation of the hydrometeorological networks' function are considered as indirect but essential benefits. The programme includes: (a) hardware equipment, to install a network with 13 major nodes (RISC Workstations with Unix operation system) in Athens and Thessaloniki, local networks of PCs in each node, private high speed wide area network using routers and leased telephone lines, (b) infrastructure software, and specifically, distributed relational data base and graphic environment for applications' development, and (c) application software, and specifically, a distributed database system and applications concerning the input, the supervision and the processing of data in a graphic environment. This distributed database system provides firstly, the autonomy of each participant in managing data and secondly, a transparent, relatively to the data position, access. In addition, the project includes the locating of the available hydrological, hydrogeological and meteorological data that is maintained by the participants and the determination of the volume, the form and the reliability of measurements. Finally, a significant part of HYDROSCOPE deals with the development and the standardisation of methodologies regarding the processing as well as the pilot data entry of a part of the hydrological, hydrogeological and meteorological information aiming at the testing of the methodologies and systems.
P. Dimas, G.-K. Sakki, P. Kossieris, I. Tsoukalas, A. Efstratiadis, C. Makropoulos, N. Mamassis, and K. Pipili, Establishing a strategic blueprint for the design and evaluation of flood control infrastructure in extensive watersheds, Water Resources Management, doi:10.1007/s11269-024-04084-4, 2025.
Triggered by the need for developing a comprehensive flood protection strategy (referred to as the Master Plan) for Western Thessaly in Central Greece, we demonstrate a strategic approach for large-scale hydrosystems, where the need for design accuracy is contrasted to extreme computational burden. The area of interest occupies approximately 6,400 km2, thus constituting a mega-scale hydrological, hydraulic and water management system, which poses multiple conceptual and computational challenges. The overall question is to provide a synthesis of flood protection solutions and prioritize them under a multipurpose prism. The core methodological framework comprises two axes: (i) a semi-distributed representation of the rainfall-runoff transformations and flood routing processes across the entire study area, and (ii) a coupled 1D/2D hydrodynamic simulation, targeted only over the flood prone riverine system and the highly complex network of main artificial channels. Key results show reductions in flood extents by up to 15% in high-risk areas and significant attenuation of peak flows (averaging to 56% across all dam sites). The final planning prioritizes the strengthening of flood protection through the combined influence of a set of large-scale projects, i.e., dikes, multi-purpose dams and retention basins of controlled inundation. The cornerstone objective is to sketch a framework for facing similar studies in a holistic manner, while maintaining a high level of computational efficiency and explainability.
P. Dimas, G.-K. Sakki, P. Kossieris, I. Tsoukalas, A. Efstratiadis, C. Makropoulos, N. Mamassis, and K. Pipili, Outlining a master plan framework for the design and assessment of flood mitigation infrastructures across large-scale watersheds, 12th World Congress on Water Resources and Environment (EWRA 2023) “Managing Water-Energy-Land-Food under Climatic, Environmental and Social Instability”, 75–76, European Water Resources Association, Thessaloniki, 2023.
On September 16, 2020, the Hellenic Ministry of Infrastructure assigned to the concessionaire of the Central Greece Motorway E65 the design and construction of supplemental works for the urgent flood protection of areas along the motorway alignment, including the Western Thessaly region (Greece). Considering the damages and losses induced by the Medicane Ianos over the greater Thessaly region the concessionaire, on its own initiative, proclaimed the need for developing a Master Plan for the West Thessaly flood protection. The final area of interest, herein referred to as Western Peneios watershed, occupies approximately 6400 km2, thus constituting a mega-scale hydrological, hydraulic and water management study that poses multiple conceptual and computational challenges. The overall question of the Master Plan is to provide a synthesis of already proposed as well as new projects (dams, embankments, ditches), and prioritize them under a multipurpose prism. The methodological framework is comprised of three axes: (i) a preliminary assessment of specific areas where high risk is expected due to flood phenomena, by utilizing a GIS-based multi-criteria decision analysis approach, (ii) a semi-distributed representation of the rainfall-runoff transformations and the flood routing processes across the entire watershed, and (iii) a coupled 1D/2D hydrodynamic simulation of the flood prone riverine system, also including a highly complex system of artificial channels. The final planning prioritizes the strengthening of flood protection in the study area through the combined influence of a set of large-scale projects, i.e., dikes, multi-purpose dams (permanent reservoirs) and retention basins of controlled inundation (temporary reservoirs). The objective is to sketch a framework for facing similar studies in a holistic manner, while maintaining a high level of computational efficiency and explainability.
Full text: http://www.itia.ntua.gr/en/getfile/2306/1/documents/EWRA2023-dimas.pdf (232 KB)
Additional material:
N. Mamassis, K. Pipili, and D. Koutsoyiannis, [No English title available], , Contractor: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Athens, 2013.
Related project: Αποτίμηση της οικολογικής κατάστασης του ρ. Πικροδάφνης και προτάσεις αποκατάστασης, ανάδειξης και διαχείρισής του
Full text: http://www.itia.ntua.gr/en/getfile/2085/1/documents/ReportPikrodafniAA1.pdf (4886 KB)
NTUA Hydroscope Team, HYDROSCOPE, User manual for the database and applications for hydrology and meteorology, Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information, Contractor: Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering – National Technical University of Athens, 180 pages, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, December 1994.
Related project: Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information
Full text: http://www.itia.ntua.gr/en/getfile/338/1/documents/er1_1-73.pdf (13830 KB)
NTUA Committee for the Selection of Hydroscope Infrastructure, and Workteam for the Selection of Hydroscope Infrastructure, Selection of network routers, Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information, Report 1/9, 73 pages, Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering – National Technical University of Athens, Athens, January 1993.
Related project: Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information
Full text: http://www.itia.ntua.gr/en/getfile/323/1/documents/er1_1-9.pdf (8194 KB)
NTUA Committee for the Selection of Hydroscope Infrastructure, and Workteam for the Selection of Hydroscope Infrastructure, Selection of modems, Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information, Report 1/10, 51 pages, Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering – National Technical University of Athens, Athens, January 1993.
Related project: Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information
Full text: http://www.itia.ntua.gr/en/getfile/322/1/documents/er1_1-10.pdf (5964 KB)
I. Nalbantis, K. Pipili, and G. Tsakalias, International experience on archiving and processing of stage, discharge and sediment transport data, Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information, Contractor: Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering – National Technical University of Athens, Report 1/14, 29 pages, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, June 1993.
Related project: Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information
Full text: http://www.itia.ntua.gr/en/getfile/297/1/documents/er1_1-14.pdf (3003 KB)
K. Pipili, and N. Papakostas, A proposal for the design of the security and accounting system, Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information, Report 1/7, 74 pages, Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering – National Technical University of Athens, Athens, September 1992.
Related project: Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information
Full text: http://www.itia.ntua.gr/en/getfile/335/1/documents/er1_1-7.pdf (7899 KB)
N. Papakostas, and K. Pipili, An overview of a visit in the USA and Canada: Similar systems, Software and network design, Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information, Report 1/5, 30 pages, Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering – National Technical University of Athens, Athens, September 1992.
Related project: Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information
Full text: http://www.itia.ntua.gr/en/getfile/330/1/documents/er1_1-5.pdf (2947 KB)
NTUA Committee for the Selection of Hydroscope Infrastructure, and Workteam for the Selection of Hydroscope Infrastructure, Selection of data base management system (DBMS), Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information, Report 1/2, 53 pages, Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering – National Technical University of Athens, Athens, July 1992.
Related project: Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information
Full text: http://www.itia.ntua.gr/en/getfile/320/1/documents/er1_1-2.pdf (5638 KB)
NTUA Committee for the Selection of Hydroscope Infrastructure, and Workteam for the Selection of Hydroscope Infrastructure, Selection of basic computer equipment, Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information, Report 1/1, 102 pages, Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering – National Technical University of Athens, Athens, June 1992.
Related project: Hydroscope: Creation of a National Databank for Hydrological and Meteorological Information
Full text: http://www.itia.ntua.gr/en/getfile/267/1/documents/er1_1-1.pdf (11265 KB)