In the coming years, water management will face critical challenges due to the combined impact of global warming, population growth, and pollution. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop new strategies for river monitoring to support water budget and quality assessment. This research aims to develop a new generation of monitoring systems that leverage Earth Observations (EO), unmanned aerial systems (UAS), cameras, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide both qualitative and quantitative characterizations of the space-time dynamics of river systems.EO technologies offer increasing potential in terms of space-time resolution and the number of sensors, providing an extraordinary amount of EO-based information. This research seeks to integrate these observations to enhance our ability to describe river systems, considering the overall dynamics occurring at the river basin scale, such as soil moisture state, land use changes, and vegetation state. By combining river observations with machine learning algorithms, we can better interpret the river basin's response along the river, leading to a new, smart monitoring approach.

AI, Machine Learning, image processing, programming, remote sensing and data processing

HydroLAB coordinated by Prof. Salvatore Manfreda is operating in the department DICEA of the University of Naples Federico II which is a leading institute in hydraulic construction and hydrological studies particularly devoted in the optimization of water management systems. HydroLAB is developing new innovative technologies for environmental monitoring using remote sensing and camera systems. The environment is a stimulating and challenging one with a strong and significant international dimension.