Automatic Inundation Mapping Using Sentinel-2 Data Applicable to Both Camargue and Doñana Biosphere Reserves

Flooding periodicity is crucial for biomass production and ecosystem functions in wetland areas. Local monitoring networks may be enriched by spaceborne derived products with a temporal resolution of a few days. Unsupervised computer vision techniques are preferred, since human interference and the...

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Main Authors: Georgios A. Kordelas, Ioannis Manakos, Gaëtan Lefebvre, Brigitte Poulin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-09-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/11/19/2251
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author Georgios A. Kordelas
Ioannis Manakos
Gaëtan Lefebvre
Brigitte Poulin
author_facet Georgios A. Kordelas
Ioannis Manakos
Gaëtan Lefebvre
Brigitte Poulin
author_sort Georgios A. Kordelas
collection DOAJ
description Flooding periodicity is crucial for biomass production and ecosystem functions in wetland areas. Local monitoring networks may be enriched by spaceborne derived products with a temporal resolution of a few days. Unsupervised computer vision techniques are preferred, since human interference and the use of training data may be kept to a minimum. Recently, a novel automatic local thresholding unsupervised methodology for separating inundated areas from non-inundated ones led to successful results for the Doñana Biosphere Reserve. This study examines the applicability of this approach to Camarque Biosphere Reserve, and proposes alternatives to the original approach to enhance accuracy and applicability for both Camargue and Doñana wetlands in a scientific quest for methods that may serve accurately biomes at both protected areas. In particular, it examines alternative inputs for automatically estimating thresholds while applying various algorithms for estimating the splitting thresholds. Reference maps for Camargue are provided by local authorities, and generated using Sentinel-2 Band 8A (NIR) and Band 12 (SWIR-2). The alternative approaches examined led to high inundation mapping accuracy. In particular, for the Camargue study area and 39 different dates, the alternative approach with the highest overall Kappa coefficient is 0.84, while, for the Doñana Biosphere Reserve and Doñana marshland (a subset of Doñana Reserve) and 7 different dates, is 0.85 and 0.94, respectively. Moreover, there are alternative approaches with high overall Kappa for all areas, i.e., at 0.79 for Camargue, over 0.91 for Doñana marshland, and over 0.82 for Doñana Reserve. Additionally, this study identifies the alternative approaches that perform better when the study area is extensively covered by temporary flooded and emergent vegetation areas (i.e., Camargue Reserve and Doñana marshland) or when it contains a large percentage of dry areas (i.e., Doñana Reserve). The development of credible automatic thresholding techniques that can be applied to different wetlands could lead to a higher degree of automation for map production, while enhancing service utilization by non-trained personnel.
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spelling doaj.art-a61529577050443d86752112fdf364ff2022-12-22T04:09:39ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922019-09-011119225110.3390/rs11192251rs11192251Automatic Inundation Mapping Using Sentinel-2 Data Applicable to Both Camargue and Doñana Biosphere ReservesGeorgios A. Kordelas0Ioannis Manakos1Gaëtan Lefebvre2Brigitte Poulin3Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Charilaou-Thermi Rd. 6th km, 57001 Thessaloniki, GreeceInformation Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Charilaou-Thermi Rd. 6th km, 57001 Thessaloniki, GreeceTour du Valat Research Institute for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands, Le Sambuc, 13200 Arles, FranceTour du Valat Research Institute for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands, Le Sambuc, 13200 Arles, FranceFlooding periodicity is crucial for biomass production and ecosystem functions in wetland areas. Local monitoring networks may be enriched by spaceborne derived products with a temporal resolution of a few days. Unsupervised computer vision techniques are preferred, since human interference and the use of training data may be kept to a minimum. Recently, a novel automatic local thresholding unsupervised methodology for separating inundated areas from non-inundated ones led to successful results for the Doñana Biosphere Reserve. This study examines the applicability of this approach to Camarque Biosphere Reserve, and proposes alternatives to the original approach to enhance accuracy and applicability for both Camargue and Doñana wetlands in a scientific quest for methods that may serve accurately biomes at both protected areas. In particular, it examines alternative inputs for automatically estimating thresholds while applying various algorithms for estimating the splitting thresholds. Reference maps for Camargue are provided by local authorities, and generated using Sentinel-2 Band 8A (NIR) and Band 12 (SWIR-2). The alternative approaches examined led to high inundation mapping accuracy. In particular, for the Camargue study area and 39 different dates, the alternative approach with the highest overall Kappa coefficient is 0.84, while, for the Doñana Biosphere Reserve and Doñana marshland (a subset of Doñana Reserve) and 7 different dates, is 0.85 and 0.94, respectively. Moreover, there are alternative approaches with high overall Kappa for all areas, i.e., at 0.79 for Camargue, over 0.91 for Doñana marshland, and over 0.82 for Doñana Reserve. Additionally, this study identifies the alternative approaches that perform better when the study area is extensively covered by temporary flooded and emergent vegetation areas (i.e., Camargue Reserve and Doñana marshland) or when it contains a large percentage of dry areas (i.e., Doñana Reserve). The development of credible automatic thresholding techniques that can be applied to different wetlands could lead to a higher degree of automation for map production, while enhancing service utilization by non-trained personnel.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/11/19/2251inundation mappingflood mappingautomatic thresholdingsentinel-2wetlandsmarshlandcamarguedoñana
spellingShingle Georgios A. Kordelas
Ioannis Manakos
Gaëtan Lefebvre
Brigitte Poulin
Automatic Inundation Mapping Using Sentinel-2 Data Applicable to Both Camargue and Doñana Biosphere Reserves
Remote Sensing
inundation mapping
flood mapping
automatic thresholding
sentinel-2
wetlands
marshland
camargue
doñana
title Automatic Inundation Mapping Using Sentinel-2 Data Applicable to Both Camargue and Doñana Biosphere Reserves
title_full Automatic Inundation Mapping Using Sentinel-2 Data Applicable to Both Camargue and Doñana Biosphere Reserves
title_fullStr Automatic Inundation Mapping Using Sentinel-2 Data Applicable to Both Camargue and Doñana Biosphere Reserves
title_full_unstemmed Automatic Inundation Mapping Using Sentinel-2 Data Applicable to Both Camargue and Doñana Biosphere Reserves
title_short Automatic Inundation Mapping Using Sentinel-2 Data Applicable to Both Camargue and Doñana Biosphere Reserves
title_sort automatic inundation mapping using sentinel 2 data applicable to both camargue and donana biosphere reserves
topic inundation mapping
flood mapping
automatic thresholding
sentinel-2
wetlands
marshland
camargue
doñana
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/11/19/2251
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