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Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing

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A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Remote Sensing in Geology, Geomorphology and Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2020) | Viewed by 84223

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francesca Cigna

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Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), National Research Council (CNR), Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
Interests: landscape evolution; geophysical hazards; archaeology; cultural heritage; remote sensing; earth observation; InSAR; landslides; land subsidence; ground instability
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Prof. Dr. Hongjie Xie

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Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
Interests: remote sensing of water cycle; cryosphere; and polar regions
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Prof. Dr. Karem Chokmani

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Guest Editor

Centre Eau Terre Environnement, INRS, 490 Rue de la Couronne, Québec, QC G1K 9A9, Canada
Interests: remote sensing; precision agriculture; deep learning; geomatics; spatial and temporal variability of water resources; microclimate; UAVs
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Geohazards associated with the dynamics of the liquid and solid water of the Earth’s hydrosphere, such as floods and glacial processes, may pose significant risks to populations, activities and property. Adverse weather, tsunamis, storm surges, sea level rise or even changes in land use (e.g. infrastructure projects or resource exploitation) may cause coastal, fluvial and surface-water inundations. Heavy snowmelt, ice jams and dam failure can lead to catastrophic flooding. Rock, snow and ice avalanches impacting glacial lakes can trigger outburst floods. Sea ice and icebergs may disrupt ship circulation along sea lanes worldwide.

Understanding how these geohazards occur, their severity, causes and types, and the damage they cause, helps to design and improve forecasting methods and risk mitigation approaches. By providing a spectrum of imaging capabilities, resolutions, temporal and spatial coverage, remote sensing plays a pivotal role in achieving these objectives.

This Special Issue of Remote Sensing aims to gather research articles and reviews on the use of satellite, aerial and ground-based remote sensing to image floods and glacier geohazards.

We welcome papers on novel technologies (e.g. new sensors, platforms), data (e.g. multi-spectral, radar, LiDAR) and analysis methods (e.g. change detection, offset tracking, SfM, 3D modelling, InSAR), as well as case studies and discussions of current trends and future perspectives.

Dr. Francesca Cigna
Dr. Hongjie Xie
Dr. Karem Chokmani
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

floods
tsunami
storm surge
sea level rise
ice avalanche
glacier lake outburst flood
ice jam
glacier retreat
icebergs
satellite, aerial and ground-based remote sensing
disaster mapping

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Published Papers (12 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

5 pages, 965 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing

by Francesca Cigna and Hongjie Xie

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(23), 3874; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12233874 - 26 Nov 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2538

Abstract

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing)

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Research

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25 pages, 19722 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Estimating Daily Inundation Probability Using Remote Sensing, Riverine Flood, and Storm Surge Models: A Case of Hurricane Harvey

by Jiayong Liang and Desheng Liu

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(9), 1495; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12091495 - 8 May 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3279

Abstract

Heavy precipitation and storm surges often co-occur and compound together to form sudden and severe flooding events. However, we lack comprehensive observational tools with high temporal and spatial resolution to capture these fast-evolving hazards. Remotely sensed images provide extensive spatial coverage, but they may be limited by adverse weather conditions or platform revisiting schedule. River gauges could provide frequent water height measurement but they are sparsely distributed. Riverine flood and storm surge models, depending on input data quality and calibration process, have various uncertainties. These lead to inevitable temporal and spatial gaps in monitoring inundation dynamics. To fill in the observation gaps, this paper proposes a probabilistic method to estimate daily inundation probability by combining the information from multiple sources, including satellite remote sensing, riverine flood depth, storm surge height, and land cover. Each data source is regarded as a spatial evidence layer, and the weight of evidence is calculated by assessing the association between the evidence presence and inundation occurrence. Within a Bayesian model, the fusion results are daily inundation probability whenever at least one data source is available. The proposed method is applied to estimate daily inundation in Harris, Texas, impacted by Hurricane Harvey. The results agree with the reference water extent, high water mark, and extracted tweet locations. This method could help to further understand flooding as an evolving time-space process and support response and mitigation decisions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing)

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34 pages, 22244 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

The Status of Earth Observation Techniques in Monitoring High Mountain Environments at the Example of Pasterze Glacier, Austria: Data, Methods, Accuracies, Processes, and Scales

by Michael Avian, Christian Bauer, Matthias Schlögl, Barbara Widhalm, Karl-Heinz Gutjahr, Michael Paster, Christoph Hauer, Melina Frießenbichler, Anton Neureiter, Gernot Weyss, Peter Flödl, Gernot Seier and Wolfgang Sulzer

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(8), 1251; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12081251 - 15 Apr 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 6221

Abstract

Earth observation offers a variety of techniques for monitoring and characterizing geomorphic processes in high mountain environments. Terrestrial laserscanning and unmanned aerial vehicles provide very high resolution data with high accuracy. Automatic cameras have become a valuable source of information—mostly in a qualitative manner—in recent years. The availability of satellite data with very high revisiting time has gained momentum through the European Space Agency’s Sentinel missions, offering new application potential for Earth observation. This paper reviews the status of recent techniques such as terrestrial laserscanning, remote sensed imagery, and synthetic aperture radar in monitoring high mountain environments with a particular focus on the impact of new platforms such as Sentinel-1 and -2 as well as unmanned aerial vehicles. The study area comprises the high mountain glacial environment at the Pasterze Glacier, Austria. The area is characterized by a highly dynamic geomorphological evolution and by being subject to intensive scientific research as well as long-term monitoring. We primarily evaluate landform classification and process characterization for: (i) the proglacial lake; (ii) icebergs; (iii) the glacier river; (iv) valley-bottom processes; (v) slope processes; and (vi) rock wall processes. We focus on assessing the potential of every single method both in spatial and temporal resolution in characterizing different geomorphic processes. Examples of the individual techniques are evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively in the context of: (i) morphometric analysis; (ii) applicability in high alpine regions; and (iii) comparability of the methods among themselves. The final frame of this article includes considerations on scale dependent process detectability and characterization potentials of these Earth observation methods, along with strengths and limitations in applying these methods in high alpine regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing)

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26 pages, 11057 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Operational Monitoring and Damage Assessment of Riverine Flood-2014 in the Lower Chenab Plain, Punjab, Pakistan, Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

by Asif Sajjad, Jianzhong Lu, Xiaoling Chen, Chikondi Chisenga, Nayyer Saleem and Hammad Hassan

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(4), 714; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12040714 - 21 Feb 2020

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 6660

Abstract

In flood-prone areas, the delineation of the spatial pattern of historical flood extents, damage assessment, and flood durations allow planners to anticipate potential threats from floods and to formulate strategies to mitigate or abate these events. The Chenab plain in the Punjab region of Pakistan is particularly prone to flooding but is understudied. It experienced its worst riverine flood in recorded history in September 2014. The present study applies Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques to estimate the riverine flood extent and duration and assess the resulting damage using Landsat-8 data. The Landsat-8 images were acquired for the pre-flooding, co-flooding, and post-flooding periods for the comprehensive analysis and delineation of flood extent, damage assessment, and duration. We used supervised classification to determine land use/cover changes, and the satellite-derived modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI) to detect flooded areas and duration. The analysis permitted us to calculate flood inundation, damages to built-up areas, and agriculture, as well as the flood duration and recession. The results also reveal that the floodwaters remained in the study area for almost two months, which further affected cultivation and increased the financial cost. Our study provides an empirical basis for flood response assessment and rehabilitation efforts in future events. Thus, the integrated RS and GIS techniques with supporting datasets make substantial contributions to flood monitoring and damage assessment in Pakistan. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing)

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17 pages, 4573 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sentinel 2 Analysis of Turbidity Patterns in a Coastal Lagoon

by María-Teresa Sebastiá-Frasquet, Jesús A. Aguilar-Maldonado, Eduardo Santamaría-Del-Ángel and Javier Estornell

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(24), 2926; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11242926 - 6 Dec 2019

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 7763

Abstract

Coastal lagoons are transitional ecosystems with complex spatial and temporal variability. Remote sensing tools are essential for monitoring and unveiling their variability. Turbidity is a water quality parameter used for studying eutrophication and sediment transport. The objective of this research is to analyze the monthly turbidity pattern in a shallow coastal lagoon along two years with different precipitation regimes. The selected study area is the Albufera de Valencia lagoon (Spain). For this purpose, we used Sentinel 2 images and in situ data from the monitoring program of the Environment General Subdivision of the regional government. We obtained Sentinel 2A and 2B images for years 2017 and 2018 and processed them with SNAP software. The results of the correlation analysis between satellite and in situ data, corroborate that the reflectance of band 5 (705 nm) is suitable for the analysis of turbidity patterns in shallow lagoons (average depth 1 m), such as the Albufera lagoon, even in eutrophic conditions. Turbidity patterns in the Albufera lagoon show a similar trend in wet and dry years, which is mainly linked to the irrigation practice of rice paddies. High turbidity periods are linked to higher water residence time and closed floodgates. However, precipitation and wind also play an important role in the spatial distribution of turbidity. During storm events, phytoplankton and sediments are discharged to the sea, if the floodgates remain open. Fortunately, the rice harvesting season, when the floodgates are open, coincides with the beginning of the rainy period. Nevertheless, this is a lucky coincidence. It is important to develop conscious management of floodgates, because having them closed during rain events can have several negative effects both for the lagoon and for the receiving coastal waters and ecosystem. Non-discharged solids may accumulate in the lagoon worsening the clogging problems, and the beaches next to the receiving coastal waters will not receive an important load of solids to nourish them. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing)

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20 pages, 10051 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Latest Geodetic Changes of Austre Lovénbreen and Pedersenbreen, Svalbard

by Songtao Ai, Xi Ding, Florian Tolle, Zemin Wang and Xi Zhao

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(24), 2890; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11242890 - 4 Dec 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3104

Abstract

Geodetic mass changes in the Svalbard glaciers Austre Lovénbreen and Pedersenbreen were studied via high-precision real-time kinematic (RTK)-global positioning system (GPS) measurements from 2013 to 2015. To evaluate the elevation changes of the two Svalbard glaciers, more than 10,000 GPS records for each glacier surface were collected every year from 2013 to 2015. The results of several widely used interpolation methods (i.e., inverse distance weighting (IDW), ordinary kriging (OK), universal kriging (UK), natural neighbor (NN), spline interpolation, and Topo to Raster (TTR) interpolation) were compared. Considering the smoothness and accuracy of the glacier surface, NN interpolation was selected as the most suitable interpolation method to generate a surface digital elevation model (DEM). In addition, we compared two procedures for calculating elevation changes: using DEMs generated from the direct interpolation of the RTK-GPS points and using the elevation bias of crossover points from the RTK-GPS tracks in different years. Then, the geodetic mass balances were calculated by converting the elevation changes to their water equivalents. Comparing the geodetic mass balances calculated with and without considering snow depth revealed that ignoring the effect of snow depth, which differs greatly over a short time interval, might lead to bias in mass balance investigation. In summary, there was a positive correlation between the geodetic mass balance and the corresponding elevation. The mass loss increased with decreasing elevation, and the mean annual gradients of the geodetic mass balance along the elevation of Austre Lovénbreen and Pedersenbreen in 2013–2015 were approximately 2.60‰ and 2.35‰, respectively. The gradients at the glacier snouts were three times larger than those over the whole glaciers. Additionally, some mass gain occurred in certain high-elevation regions. Compared with a 2019 DEM generated from unmanned aerial vehicle measurement, the glacier snout areas presented an accelerating thinning situation in 2015–2019. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing)

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17 pages, 15712 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Evaluation of a Potential Component of an Early Flood Warning System—A Case Study of the 2012 Flood, Lower Niger River Basin, Nigeria

by Dorcas Idowu and Wendy Zhou

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(17), 1970; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11171970 - 21 Aug 2019

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 5123

Abstract

Floods frequently occur in Nigeria. The catastrophic 2012 flood in Nigeria claimed 363 lives and affected about seven million people. A total loss of about 2.29 trillion Naira (7.2 billion US Dollars) was estimated. The effect of flooding in the country has been devastating because of sparse to no flood monitoring, and a lack of an effective early flood warning system in the country. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of using the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA) to evaluate the hydrological conditions of the Lower Niger River Basin (LNRB) in Nigeria in terms of precipitation and antecedent terrestrial water storage prior to the 2012 flood event. Furthermore, we accessed the potential of the GRACE-based flood potential index (FPI) at correctly predicting previous floods, especially the devastating 2012 flood event. For validation, we compared the GRACE terrestrial water storage capacity (TWSC) quantitatively and qualitatively to the water budget of TWSC and Dartmouth Flood Observatory (DFO) respectively. Furthermore, we derived a water budget-based FPI using Reager’s methodology and compared it to the GRACE-derived FPI quantitatively. Generally, the GRACE TWSC estimates showed seasonal consistency with the water budget TWSC estimates with a correlation coefficient of 0.8. The comparison between the GRACE-derived FPI and water budget-derived FPI gave a correlation coefficient of 0.9 and also agreed well with the flood reported by the DFO. Also, the FPI showed a marked increase with precipitation which implies that rainfall is the main cause of flooding in the study area. Additionally, the computed GRACE-based storage deficit revealed that there was a decrease in water storage prior to the flooding month while the FPI increased. Hence, the GRACE-based FPI and storage deficit when supplemented with water budget-based FPI could suggest a potential for flood prediction and water storage monitoring respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing)

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22 pages, 18071 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Flood Detection with Sentinel-1 Multi-Temporal Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Observations in a Bayesian Framework: A Case Study for Hurricane Matthew

by Yunung Nina Lin, Sang-Ho Yun, Alok Bhardwaj and Emma M. Hill

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(15), 1778; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11151778 - 29 Jul 2019

Cited by 42 | Viewed by 7159

Abstract

In this study we explored the application of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) intensity time series for urban flood detection. Our test case was the flood in Lumberton, North Carolina, USA, caused by the landfall of Hurricane Matthew on 8 October 2016, for which airborne imagery—taken on the same day as the SAR overpass—is available for validation of our technique. To map the flood, we first carried out normalization of the SAR intensity observations, based on the statistics from the time series, and then construct a Bayesian probability function for intensity decrease (due to specular reflection of the signal) and intensity increase (due to double bounce) cases separately. We then formed a flood probability map, which we used to create our preferred flood extent map using a global cutoff probability of 0.5. Our flood map in the urban area showed a complicated mosaicking pattern of pixels showing SAR intensity decrease, pixels showing intensity increase, and pixels without significant intensity changes. Our approach shows improved performance when compared with global thresholding on log intensity ratios, as the time series-based normalization has accounted for a certain level of spatial variation by considering the different history for each pixel. This resulted in improved performance for urban and vegetated regions. We identified smooth surfaces, like asphalt roads, and SAR shadows as the major sources of underprediction, and aquatic plants and soil moisture changes were the major sources of overprediction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing)

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19 pages, 4484 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Operational Flood Mapping Using Multi-Temporal Sentinel-1 SAR Images: A Case Study from Bangladesh

by Kabir Uddin, Mir A. Matin and Franz J. Meyer

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(13), 1581; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11131581 - 3 Jul 2019

Cited by 182 | Viewed by 24289

Abstract

Bangladesh is one of the most flood-affected countries in the world. In the last few decades, flood frequency, intensity, duration, and devastation have increased in Bangladesh. Identifying flood-damaged areas is highly essential for an effective flood response. This study aimed at developing an operational methodology for rapid flood inundation and potential flood damaged area mapping to support a quick and effective event response. Sentinel-1 images from March, April, June, and August 2017 were used to generate inundation extents of the corresponding months. The 2017 pre-flood land cover maps were prepared using Landsat-8 images to identify major land cover on the ground before flooding. The overall accuracy of flood inundation mapping was 96.44% and the accuracy of the land cover map was 87.51%. The total flood inundated area corresponded to 2.01%, 4.53%, and 7.01% for the months April, June, and August 2017, respectively. Based on the Landsat-8 derived land cover information, the study determined that cropland damaged by floods was 1.51% in April, 3.46% in June, 5.30% in August, located mostly in the Sylhet and Rangpur divisions. Finally, flood inundation maps were distributed to the broader user community to aid in hazard response. The data and methodology of the study can be replicated for every year to map flooding in Bangladesh. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing)

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24 pages, 12867 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Glacier Monitoring Using Frequency Domain Offset Tracking Applied to Sentinel-1 Images: A Product Performance Comparison

by Donato Amitrano, Raffaella Guida, Gerardo Di Martino and Antonio Iodice

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(11), 1322; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11111322 - 1 Jun 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5099

Abstract

The Sentinel-1 mission has now reached its maturity, and is acquiring high-quality images with a high revisit time, allowing for effective continuous monitoring of our rapidly changing planet. The purpose of this work is to assess the performance of the different synthetic aperture radar products made available by the European Space Agency through the Sentinels Data Hub against glacier displacement monitoring with offset tracking methodology. In particular, four classes of products have been tested: the medium resolution ground range detected, the high-resolution ground range detected, acquired in both interferometric wide and extra-wide swath, and the single look complex. The first are detected pre-processed images with about 40, 25, and 10-m pixel spacing, respectively. The last category, the most commonly adopted for the application at issue, represents the standard coherent synthetic aperture radar product, delivered in unprocessed focused complex format with pixel spacing ranging from 14 to 20 m in azimuth and from approximately 2 to 6 m in range, depending on the acquisition area and mode. Tests have been performed on data acquired over four glaciers, i.e., the Petermann Glacier, the Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden, the Jackobshavn Isbræ and the Thwaites Glacier. They revealed that the displacements estimated using interferometric wide swath single look complex and high-resolution ground range detected products are fully comparable, even at computational level. As a result, considering the differences in memory consumption and pre-processing requirements presented by these two kinds of product, detected formats should be preferred for facing the application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing)

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22 pages, 8372 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Fully Automated Mapping of the Flood Extent on SAR Images Using a Supervised Classifier

by Abdelhakim Benoudjit and Raffaella Guida

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(7), 779; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11070779 - 1 Apr 2019

Cited by 55 | Viewed by 5948

Abstract

When a populated area is inundated, the availability of a flood extent map becomes vital to assist the local authorities to plan rescue operations and evacuate the premises promptly. This paper proposes a novel automatic way to rapidly map the flood extent using a supervised classifier. The methodology described in this paper is fully automated since the training of the supervised classifier is made starting from water and land masks derived from the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), and without any intervention from the human operator. Both a pre-event Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image and an optical Sentinel-2 image are needed to train the supervised classifier to identify the inundation on the flooded SAR image. The entire flood mapping process, which consists of preprocessing the images, the extraction of the training dataset, and finally the classification, was assessed on flood events which occurred in Tewkesbury (England) in 2007 and in Myanmar in 2015, and were captured by TerraSAR-X and Sentinel-1, respectively. This algorithm was found to offer overall a good compromise between computation time and precision of the classification, making it suitable for emergency situations. In fact, the inundation maps produced for the previous two flood events were in agreement with the ground truths for over 90% of the pixels in the SAR images. Besides, the latter process took less than 5 min to finish the flood mapping from a SAR image of more than 41 million pixels for the dataset capturing the flood in Tewkesbury, and around 2 min and 40 s for an image of 19 million pixels of the flood in Myanmar. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing)

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17 pages, 10725 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Repeat Glacier Collapses and Surges in the Amney Machen Mountain Range, Tibet, Possibly Triggered by a Developing Rock-Slope Instability

by Frank Paul

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(6), 708; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11060708 - 24 Mar 2019

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 4939

Abstract

Collapsing valley glaciers leaving their bed to rush down a flat hill slope at the speed of a racing car are so far rare events. They have only been reported for the Kolkaglacier (Caucasus) in 2002 and the two glaciers in the Aru mountain range (Tibet) that failed in 2016. Both events have been studied in detail using satellite data and modeling to learn more about the reasons for and processes related to such events. This study reports about a series of so far undocumented glacier collapses that occurred in the Amney Machen mountain range (eastern Tibet) in 2004, 2007, and 2016. All three collapses were associated with a glacier surge, but from 1987 to 1995, the glacier surged without collapsing. The later surges and collapses were likely triggered by a progressing slope instability that released large amounts of ice and rock to the lower glacier tongue, distorting its dynamic stability. The surges and collapses might continue in the future as more ice and rock is available to fall on the glacier. It has been speculated that the development is a direct response to regional temperature increase that destabilized the surrounding hanging glaciers. However, the specific properties of the steep rock slopes and the glacier bed might also have played a role. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Floods and Glacier Geohazards with Remote Sensing)

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