Passive Microwave Remote Sensing of Flood: A Comparison of Various Methods

Abstract

Microwave Remote Sensing is used to detect different land cover types such as, bare soil, water bodies, vegetation cover, forest cover etc., and using different procedures. In this paper, we have targeted on a methodology to detect difference between land and water by using brightness temperature at different frequencies during the flooding period. Disastrous flood occurred in Kashmir (India) during 2014, and passive microwave remote sensing data are utilized for detection and monitoring of floods. For Kashmir, Special Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS) brightness temperature (Tb) data at 37 GHz in both vertical and horizontal polarizations are used to detect and monitor flood occurrences. Polarization difference (DT=Tb_v – Tb_h) is used as a parameter to calculate these effects. Also, SSMIS Tb data at 19 and 91 GHz with both horizontal and vertical polarizations are used to apply the existing methodology and develop a new one. Flood affected areas are mapped using these three methods for Kashmir (India) and these methods are compared with each other to find the best possible way to detect flood in larger extent.

Keywords: Microwave remote sensing, brightness, temperature, polarization difference, SSM/I, SSMIS