Mapping Floods during Cloudy Weather Using Radar Satellite Images

Abstract

Monitoring floods using optical satellite images in winter is challenging. Because of the thickness of clouds, the electromagnetic bands used by satellites are too narrow and the resulting signals are reflected into space. The purpose of this study is to assess the potential of implementing a high-resolution synthetic aperture radar system (SAR) for the purpose of mapping floods in Jordan while the weather is cloudy. TerraSAR-X satellite was utilized to acquire images of high resolution for flood monitoring. This research employed TerraSAR-X thresholding images to identify flood-prone areas and track floods over time using time-series images. It was possible to determine the places of the landscape that have been impacted by the flood and to establish the degree of damage by conducting an analysis of the changes that have occurred in the landscape. The accuracy of the study's findings was confirmed using backscatter texture analysis on the images, which revealed a small difference between thresholding and texture analysis approaches of less than 3% in the mapped test region's flood area. While monitoring floods, it is recommended to use TerraSAR-X images, particularly in conjunction with other data sources, such as weather predictions and hydrological models. KEYWORDS: Flood mapping, Polarimetric SAR, TerraSAR-X, Texture analysis, Thresholding, Interferometric SAR

Utilizing Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques for Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Assessment

“…They can be very catastrophic for the built environment [14,15], such as transportation infrastructure and bridges, due to the large hydraulic loads [16]. Moreover, flash floods can cause cascading hazards, including landslides, debris flows, or water flows with entrained debris [17][18][19][20][21], with the latter leading to the generation of impulsive forces several times higher than the hydraulic ones applied to structures [16], a fact that increases the likelihood of destruction.…”