Observation Capability Evaluation Model for Flood-Observation-Oriented Satellite Sensor Selection

Abstract

Satellite sensors are one of the most important means of collecting real-time geospatial information. Due to their characteristics such as large spatial coverage and strong capability for dynamic monitoring, they are widely used in the observation of real-time flood situation information for flood situational awareness and response. Selecting the optimum sensor is vital when multiple sensors exist. Presently, sensor selection predominantly hinges on human experience and various quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods. Yet, these methods lack optimization considering the flood’s spatiotemporal characteristics, such as different flood phases and geographical environmental factors. Consequently, they may inaccurately evaluate and select the inappropriate sensor. To address this issue, an innovative observation capability evaluation model (OCEM) is proposed to quantitatively pre-evaluate the performance of flood-water-observation-oriented satellite sensors. The OCEM selects and formulates various flood-water-observation-related capability factors and supports dynamic weight assignment considering the spatiotemporal characteristics of the flood event. An experiment involving three consecutive flood phase observation tasks was conducted. The results demonstrated the flexibility and effectiveness of the OCEM in pre-evaluating the observation capability of various satellite sensors across those tasks, accounting for the spatiotemporal characteristics of different flood phases. Additionally, qualitative and quantitative comparisons with related methods further affirmed the superiority of the OCEM. In general, the OCEM has provided a “measuring table” to optimize the selection and planning of sensors in flood management departments for acquiring real-time flood information.