Mapping Flooding During Severe Weather Events Using Observations from CYGNSS

The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) constellation of eight small satellites was launched in December of 2016 to observe ocean surface wind speed during hurricane events. These satellites are unique in that they opportunistically record microwave signals transmitted by navigation satellites that have reflected off of the Earth’s surface. This provides inherent advantages of low cost, power, mass and volume requirements (since payloads are receive-only and do not require large antennas), as well as extensive spatial coverage. Although not designed for land surface remote sensing, it has been recently shown that the data CYGNSS records over the land surface are also sensitive to a host of geophysical variables—namely, near-surface soil moisture and inundation extent. Here, we derive inundation maps using CYGNSS observations in the southeastern United States during the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season and compare them to existing observational and remote sensing datasets as well as output from the National Water Model. This presentation will also comment on the potential for CYGNSS, and future constellations like it, to provide timely inundation maps to the scientific community and emergency management teams.