Potential GNSS-R CYGNSS Land Applications for NOAA’s Hydrological Predictions

NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS), launched in 2016, is a small satellite constellation mission designed to measure ocean surface wind speed in hurricanes and. tropical cyclones. As part of NOAA/NESDIS/Office of Projects, Planning and Analysis (OPPA) Technology Maturation Program, this project explores additional capabilities for CYGNSS applications over land surface. The objectives is to investigate the capabilities and limitations of using CYGNSS data to map flood inundation extent and monitor soil moisture, which could be potentially useful in NOAA National Weather Service’s hydrologic prediction models.

We will report results from evaluating the sensitivity of CYGNSS-measured signal to noise ratio (SNR) and CYGNSS-derived surface reflectivity to flood inundation extent and soil moisture change from recent flooding events in the US. Co-located CYGNSS data, land surface classification, vegetation index/biomass index, digital elevation map (DEM) will be analyzed to make assessment of the capability and limitation of using CYGNSS data to detect standing surface water from flooding under different surface types, presence/absence of vegetation, and elevation. In situ and satellite measurements of flooding, soil moisture, and precipitation will be used for flood extent and soil moisture verification will be used for verification.