IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/nathaz/v108y2021i3d10.1007_s11069-021-04804-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The analysis of using satellite soil moisture observations for flood detection, evaluating over the Thailand’s Great Flood of 2011

Author

Listed:
  • Natthachet Tangdamrongsub

    (University of Maryland
    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

  • Chalita Forgotson

    (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
    Science Applications International Corporation)

  • Chandana Gangodagamage

    (University of Maryland
    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

  • Joshua Forgotson

    (ICF)

Abstract

A flood monitoring and warning system provides critical information that can protect property and save lives. A basin-scale flood monitoring system requires an effective observation platform that offers extensive ground coverage of flood conditions, low latency, and high spatiotemporal resolution. While satellite imagery offers substantial spatial flood extent in detail due to its high spatial resolution, the coarse temporal resolution and cloud obstruction limit its near real-time application. Daily soil moisture data derived from satellite sensors at a scale of a few km can be used to monitor extreme wet surface conditions arising in flood occurrences. This study analyzes the flood detection capabilities of several sources of soil moisture information, including the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission (SMOS), the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer on EOS, the Advanced SCATterometer on MetOp, the Global Land Data Assimilation System, and the WaterGAP Global Hydrology Model. In addition to soil moisture, the analysis includes measurements of surface reflectance from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), precipitation measurements from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, and terrestrial water storage estimates from the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment as proxies for flood inundations. The analysis was conducted over the Chao Phraya River Basin in Thailand, where the Great Flood of 2011 led to one of the most significant economic losses in the country's history. Satellite-derived soil moisture exhibits a stronger correlation with the flood inundations than the precipitation, model-derived soil moisture, and terrestrial water storage data. SMOS soil moisture observation agrees best with the MODIS-derived flood extent/occurrence, both in terms of spatial distribution and timing, and providing approximated flood lead-time of one week or longer. A neural network constructed from SMOS and MODIS data is used to predict flood intensity/occurrence (given soil moisture input) with a predicted time window from eight days to thirty-two days. The short-term prediction (e.g., eight days) achieves the highest accuracy with an averaged recovery rate of approximately 60% (correlation coefficient). This study's results suggest a potential application of satellite soil moisture data in assisting flood monitoring and warning systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Natthachet Tangdamrongsub & Chalita Forgotson & Chandana Gangodagamage & Joshua Forgotson, 2021. "The analysis of using satellite soil moisture observations for flood detection, evaluating over the Thailand’s Great Flood of 2011," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 108(3), pages 2879-2904, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:108:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s11069-021-04804-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-021-04804-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11069-021-04804-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11069-021-04804-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joy Sanyal & Patrice Carbonneau & Alexander Densmore, 2013. "Hydraulic routing of extreme floods in a large ungauged river and the estimation of associated uncertainties: a case study of the Damodar River, India," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 66(2), pages 1153-1177, March.
    2. World Bank, 2012. "Thai Flood 2011," World Bank Publications - Reports 26862, The World Bank Group.
    3. Ram Ray & Jennifer Jacobs, 2007. "Relationships among remotely sensed soil moisture, precipitation and landslide events," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 43(2), pages 211-222, November.
    4. M. Monirul Qader Mirza, 2003. "Climate change and extreme weather events: can developing countries adapt?," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(3), pages 233-248, September.
    5. Yukiko Hirabayashi & Roobavannan Mahendran & Sujan Koirala & Lisako Konoshima & Dai Yamazaki & Satoshi Watanabe & Hyungjun Kim & Shinjiro Kanae, 2013. "Global flood risk under climate change," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(9), pages 816-821, September.
    6. Dim Coumou & Stefan Rahmstorf, 2012. "A decade of weather extremes," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 2(7), pages 491-496, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jinghua Xiong & Zhaoli Wang & Shenglian Guo & Xushu Wu & Jiabo Yin & Jun Wang & Chengguang Lai & Qiangjun Gong, 2022. "High effectiveness of GRACE data in daily-scale flood modeling: case study in the Xijiang River Basin, China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 113(1), pages 507-526, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dilshad Ahmad & Muhammad Afzal, 2021. "Impact of climate change on pastoralists’ resilience and sustainable mitigation in Punjab, Pakistan," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 11406-11426, August.
    2. Troester, Bernhard & Staritz, Cornelia, 2013. "Fundamentals or financialisation of commodity markets: What determines recent wheat prices?," Working Papers 43, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE).
    3. Rama, Nandamuri Yamini & Ganguli, Poulomi & Chatterjee, Chandranath, 2019. "Are Detected Trends in Flood Magnitude and Shifts in the Timing of Floods of A Major River Basin in India, Linked To Anthropogenic Stressors?," Earth Arxiv kmcty, Center for Open Science.
    4. Richard Friend & Pakamas Thinphanga, 2018. "Urban Water Crises under Future Uncertainties: The Case of Institutional and Infrastructure Complexity in Khon Kaen, Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-21, October.
    5. Max Tesselaar & W. J. Wouter Botzen & Toon Haer & Paul Hudson & Timothy Tiggeloven & Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts, 2020. "Regional Inequalities in Flood Insurance Affordability and Uptake under Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-30, October.
    6. Christopher Burgess & Michael Taylor & Tannecia Stephenson & Arpita Mandal & Leiska Powell, 2015. "A macro-scale flood risk model for Jamaica with impact of climate variability," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 78(1), pages 231-256, August.
    7. Alessandro Moro, 2021. "Can capital controls promote green investments in developing countries?," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1348, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    8. Wang, Yutao & Sun, Mingxing & Song, Baimin, 2017. "Public perceptions of and willingness to pay for sponge city initiatives in China," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 11-20.
    9. Xin Wen & Ana María Alarcón Ferreira & Lynn M. Rae & Hirmand Saffari & Zafar Adeel & Laura A. Bakkensen & Karla M. Méndez Estrada & Gregg M. Garfin & Renee A. McPherson & Ernesto Franco Vargas, 2022. "A Comprehensive Methodology for Evaluating the Economic Impacts of Floods: An Application to Canada, Mexico, and the United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-27, October.
    10. Haixing Liu & Yuntao Wang & Chi Zhang & Albert S. Chen & Guangtao Fu, 2018. "Assessing real options in urban surface water flood risk management under climate change," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 94(1), pages 1-18, October.
    11. Rei Itsukushima & Yohei Ogahara & Yuki Iwanaga & Tatsuro Sato, 2018. "Investigating the Influence of Various Stormwater Runoff Control Facilities on Runoff Control Efficiency in a Small Catchment Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-12, February.
    12. Mook Bangalore & Andrew Smith & Ted Veldkamp, 2019. "Exposure to Floods, Climate Change, and Poverty in Vietnam," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 79-99, April.
    13. Kaustubh Salvi & Subimal Ghosh, 2016. "Projections of Extreme Dry and Wet Spells in the 21st Century India Using Stationary and Non-stationary Standardized Precipitation Indices," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 667-681, December.
    14. Barton, Madeleine G. & Terblanche, John S. & Sinclair, Brent J., 2019. "Incorporating temperature and precipitation extremes into process-based models of African lepidoptera changes the predicted distribution under climate change," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 394(C), pages 53-65.
    15. Zvirgzdiņš Jānis & Plotka Kaspars & Geipele Sanda, 2018. "Eco-Economics in Cities and Rural Areas," Baltic Journal of Real Estate Economics and Construction Management, Sciendo, vol. 6(1), pages 88-99, July.
    16. Claudio, Morana & Giacomo, Sbrana, 2017. "Temperature anomalies, radiative forcing and ENSO," Working Papers 361, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised 10 Feb 2017.
    17. Badri Bhakta Shrestha & Edangodage Duminda Pradeep Perera & Shun Kudo & Mamoru Miyamoto & Yusuke Yamazaki & Daisuke Kuribayashi & Hisaya Sawano & Takahiro Sayama & Jun Magome & Akira Hasegawa & Tomoki, 2019. "Assessing flood disaster impacts in agriculture under climate change in the river basins of Southeast Asia," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 97(1), pages 157-192, May.
    18. Tran, Thi Xuyen, 2021. "Typhoon and Agricultural Production Portfolio -Empirical Evidence for a Developing Economy," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242411, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    19. Franziska Piontek & Matthias Kalkuhl & Elmar Kriegler & Anselm Schultes & Marian Leimbach & Ottmar Edenhofer & Nico Bauer, 2019. "Economic Growth Effects of Alternative Climate Change Impact Channels in Economic Modeling," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(4), pages 1357-1385, August.
    20. Mark Bawa Malgwi & Jorge Alberto Ramirez & Andreas Zischg & Markus Zimmermann & Stefan Schürmann & Margreth Keiler, 2021. "A method to reconstruct flood scenarios using field interviews and hydrodynamic modelling: application to the 2017 Suleja and Tafa, Nigeria flood," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 108(2), pages 1781-1805, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:108:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s11069-021-04804-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.