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Toward a High-Resolution Monitoring of Continental Surface Water Extent and Dynamics, at Global Scale: from GIEMS (Global Inundation Extent from Multi-Satellites) to SWOT (Surface Water Ocean Topography)

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Remote Sensing and Water Resources

Part of the book series: Space Sciences Series of ISSI ((SSSI,volume 55))

Abstract

Up to now, high-resolution mapping of surface water extent from satellites has only been available for a few regions, over limited time periods. The extension of the temporal and spatial coverage was difficult, due to the limitation of the remote sensing technique [e.g., the interaction of the radiation with vegetation or cloud for visible observations or the temporal sampling with the synthetic aperture radar (SAR)]. The advantages and the limitations of the various satellite techniques are reviewed. The need to have a global and consistent estimate of the water surfaces over long time periods triggered the development of a multi-satellite methodology to obtain consistent surface water all over the globe, regardless of the environments. The Global Inundation Extent from Multisatellites (GIEMS) combines the complementary strengths of satellite observations from the visible to the microwave, to produce a low-resolution monthly dataset (0.25° × 0.25°) of surface water extent and dynamics. Downscaling algorithms are now developed and applied to GIEMS, using high-spatial-resolution information from visible, near-infrared, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite images, or from digital elevation models. Preliminary products are available down to 500-m spatial resolution. This work bridges the gaps and prepares for the future NASA/CNES Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission to be launched in 2020. SWOT will delineate surface water extent estimates and their water storage with an unprecedented spatial resolution and accuracy, thanks to a SAR in an interferometry mode. When available, the SWOT data will be adopted to downscale GIEMS, to produce a long time series of water surfaces at global scale, consistent with the SWOT observations.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Etude du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique et Atmosphères (LERMA), Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, 61, avenue de l’Observatoire, 75014, Paris, France

    Catherine Prigent & Filipe Aires

  2. Department of Geography, University of California, 1255 Bunche Hall, Box 951524, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Dennis P. Lettenmaier

  3. Estellus, 93, Boulevard de Sébastopol, 75002, Paris, France

    Filipe Aires

  4. Laboratoire d’Etude en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales, IRD, 18, avenue Edouard Belin, 31401, Toulouse, France

    Fabrice Papa

  5. Indo-French Cell for Water Sciences, IRD-IISc Joint International Laboratory, Indian Institute of Science, C V Raman Ave, Bangaluru, Karnataka, 560012, India

    Fabrice Papa

Authors
  1. Catherine Prigent
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  2. Dennis P. Lettenmaier
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  3. Filipe Aires
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  4. Fabrice Papa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Catherine Prigent .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. International Space Science Institute, Bern, Switzerland

    A. Cazenave

  2. International Space Science Institute, Bern, Switzerland

    N. Champollion

  3. European Space Research Institute, European Space Agency, Frascati, Italy

    J. Benveniste

  4. Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA

    J. Chen

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Prigent, C., Lettenmaier, D.P., Aires, F., Papa, F. (2016). Toward a High-Resolution Monitoring of Continental Surface Water Extent and Dynamics, at Global Scale: from GIEMS (Global Inundation Extent from Multi-Satellites) to SWOT (Surface Water Ocean Topography). In: Cazenave, A., Champollion, N., Benveniste, J., Chen, J. (eds) Remote Sensing and Water Resources. Space Sciences Series of ISSI, vol 55. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32449-4_7

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