89th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting

Sunday, 11 January 2009
Detection of flooded areas using AMSR-E observations
Phoenix Convention Center
Alexander R. Davies, Millersville University, Millersville, PA; and X. Zhan and A. Kumar
The purpose of this study is to successfully identify flooded areas using satellite observations. As a means of doing this, Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer data from NASA's Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) is used for identification. Daily AMSR-E data has been complied for the period of time ranging from January 2008 through most of July 2008. The data is downloaded in a level 3 format, after which a series of manipulations must be preformed to covert the data format, apply the proper grid system, and build 3-day data composite in order to prepare the data for experimentation. Seven different wavelength-signals are used in the study to extract a flood index—the vertical and horizontal 6.9 GHz, 10.7 GHz, and 18GHz signals, along with the 36.5 GHz vertical signal. Using the Change Vector Analysis (change detection), along with various arrangements of the signals and their sequential structure, the hypothesis is that it is possible for flooded areas to be identified. Experiments using a band ratio of the 6.9 GHz horizontal frequency to the 36.5 GHz vertical frequency have confirmed that flood detection is possible using these techniques. A statistical analysis will be developed to quantitatively verify these results with a ground truth. Additionally flood detection using a band ratio of the 6.9 GHz horizontal frequency to the 6.9 GHz vertical frequency will be analyzed.

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