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Poster of the Hydrology Webinar “Observing Rivers from Above: Drones, Satellites, Cameras and AI for Hydrology” by Prof. Salvatore Manfreda, organized by IMSA at NUIST, 25 September 2026

Hydrology Webinar at NUIST: “Observing Rivers from Above – Drones, Satellites, Cameras and AI for Hydrology”

15 September 2026 By Salvatore Manfreda Off
Poster of the Hydrology Webinar “Observing Rivers from Above: Drones, Satellites, Cameras and AI for Hydrology” by Prof. Salvatore Manfreda, organized by IMSA at NUIST, 25 September 2026
Poster of the NUIST–IMSA Hydrology Webinar, 25 September 2026.

On 25 September 2026 Prof. Salvatore Manfreda will give the Hydrology Webinar “Observing Rivers from Above: Drones, Satellites, Cameras and AI for Hydrology”, organized by IMSA at the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (NUIST), China.

The talk looks at how drones, satellites, cameras and artificial intelligence are changing the way we observe rivers, assess floods and manage water resources. Designed for NUIST students, the webinar covers new approaches to river monitoring, flood assessment, water-resource management and environmental observation based on remote sensing, UAVs, AI and advanced hydrological observation techniques. It ends with an interactive Q&A session.

How to attend

  • Date: Friday 25 September 2026
  • Time: 5:00 PM China Standard Time (11:00 AM CEST)
  • On campus: NUIST, Mingde Building, Room N215
  • Online: Microsoft Teams — Meeting ID 318 589 279 375 110, passcode sr9mr7iN

The research behind the talk

The webinar draws on HydroLAB’s work on non-contact and image-based hydrological observation, and on the activities of the MOXXI Working Group of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), which Prof. Manfreda chairs. You can read more on the image velocimetry page and on the book Unmanned Aerial Systems for Environmental Monitoring.

Related publications

  • Manfreda, S., Miglino, D., Saddi, K. C., Jomaa, S., Eltner, A., Perks, M., et al. (2024). Advancing river monitoring using image-based techniques: challenges and opportunities. Hydrological Sciences Journal. doi:10.1080/02626667.2024.2333846
  • Dal Sasso, S. F., Pizarro, A., & Manfreda, S. (2021). Recent advancements and perspectives in UAS-based image velocimetry. Drones, 5(3), 81. doi:10.3390/drones5030081
  • Perks, M. T., Dal Sasso, S. F., Hauet, A., Jamieson, E., Le Coz, J., Pearce, S., et al. (2020). Towards harmonisation of image velocimetry techniques for river surface velocity observations. Earth System Science Data, 12, 1545–1565. doi:10.5194/essd-12-1545-2020
  • Manfreda, S., McCabe, M. F., Miller, P. E., Lucas, R., Pajuelo Madrigal, V., Mallinis, G., et al. (2018). On the use of unmanned aerial systems for environmental monitoring. Remote Sensing, 10(4), 641. doi:10.3390/rs10040641

Many thanks to IMSA and NUIST for the invitation, and to Sadashiv Chaturvedi for coordinating the event.

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About the author

He is Full Professor of Hydrology and Hydraulic Constructions at the University of Naples Federico II. He is currently chair of the IAHS MOXXI working group. His research primarily centers on hydrological modeling and monitoring. Recognizing the challenges posed by the complexity and limitations of traditional hydrological observations, he actively explores advanced and alternative monitoring techniques, such as the utilization of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) coupled with image processing.