Mapping of Maximum and Minimum Inundation Extents in the Amazon Basin 2014–2017 with ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 ScanSAR Time-Series Data
Seasonal inundation is an important effect that governs the distribution of ecosystems in the tropics. In the Amazon Basin, the seasonal flood pulse causes a difference in high and low water levels that can exceed 15 m. The associated flood duration and extent play an important role in land-atmosphe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/8/1326 |
| _version_ | 1797569887235735552 |
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| author | Jessica Rosenqvist Ake Rosenqvist Katherine Jensen Kyle McDonald |
| author_facet | Jessica Rosenqvist Ake Rosenqvist Katherine Jensen Kyle McDonald |
| author_sort | Jessica Rosenqvist |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Seasonal inundation is an important effect that governs the distribution of ecosystems in the tropics. In the Amazon Basin, the seasonal flood pulse causes a difference in high and low water levels that can exceed 15 m. The associated flood duration and extent play an important role in land-atmosphere carbon exchange and affect the ecosystem’s carbon pool that originates from organic matter transported from upland and flooded forests. Studies of wetlands inundation across the Amazon Basin have utilized dual season mosaics from JERS-1 and wide-swath ScanSAR data from ALOS PALSAR to characterize inundation across the basin. This study builds upon past efforts with JERS-1 and ALOS PALSAR and uses ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 ScanSAR data to generate annual maximum and minimum inundation extent maps over the full Amazon Basin for the period spanning November 2014–October 2017. The study uses decision tree classification to create a maximum and a minimum inundation extent map for each year over this time period. The results show that a generalized algorithm that fits the entire basin has an 86% overall accuracy compared with a classification made for a local region from the same PALSAR-2 datasets. Comparisons with previous full-basin inundation maps by other L-band radars shows similar results for inundated areas during maximum inundation. The maps derived previously from JERS-1 and ALOS PALSAR show 7.3% and 6.9% inundated vegetation, respectively, and this study using PALSAR-2 shows values ranging between 5.5% and 7.0% across the three study years. Comparisons between the stage data across the basin and acquisition dates/periods for JERS-1 and PALSAR-2 show that the sensors capture the nature of the maximum and minimum flooding across the basins but have not successfully captured the exact maximum and minimum flood levels that have been recorded in the stage data. The inundation maps are publicly available under a Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0) licensefrom the Alaska Satellite Facility. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:17:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bc241372a7374422bd6fa3e89495782e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:17:40Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-bc241372a7374422bd6fa3e89495782e2023-11-19T22:26:11ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922020-04-01128132610.3390/rs12081326Mapping of Maximum and Minimum Inundation Extents in the Amazon Basin 2014–2017 with ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 ScanSAR Time-Series DataJessica Rosenqvist0Ake Rosenqvist1Katherine Jensen2Kyle McDonald3Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The City College of the City University of New York, New York, NY 10031, USAsolo Earth Observation (soloEO), Tokyo 104-0054, JapanDepartment of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The City College of the City University of New York, New York, NY 10031, USADepartment of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The City College of the City University of New York, New York, NY 10031, USASeasonal inundation is an important effect that governs the distribution of ecosystems in the tropics. In the Amazon Basin, the seasonal flood pulse causes a difference in high and low water levels that can exceed 15 m. The associated flood duration and extent play an important role in land-atmosphere carbon exchange and affect the ecosystem’s carbon pool that originates from organic matter transported from upland and flooded forests. Studies of wetlands inundation across the Amazon Basin have utilized dual season mosaics from JERS-1 and wide-swath ScanSAR data from ALOS PALSAR to characterize inundation across the basin. This study builds upon past efforts with JERS-1 and ALOS PALSAR and uses ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 ScanSAR data to generate annual maximum and minimum inundation extent maps over the full Amazon Basin for the period spanning November 2014–October 2017. The study uses decision tree classification to create a maximum and a minimum inundation extent map for each year over this time period. The results show that a generalized algorithm that fits the entire basin has an 86% overall accuracy compared with a classification made for a local region from the same PALSAR-2 datasets. Comparisons with previous full-basin inundation maps by other L-band radars shows similar results for inundated areas during maximum inundation. The maps derived previously from JERS-1 and ALOS PALSAR show 7.3% and 6.9% inundated vegetation, respectively, and this study using PALSAR-2 shows values ranging between 5.5% and 7.0% across the three study years. Comparisons between the stage data across the basin and acquisition dates/periods for JERS-1 and PALSAR-2 show that the sensors capture the nature of the maximum and minimum flooding across the basins but have not successfully captured the exact maximum and minimum flood levels that have been recorded in the stage data. The inundation maps are publicly available under a Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0) licensefrom the Alaska Satellite Facility.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/8/1326SARinundationdecision tree classificationAmazonwetlands |
| spellingShingle | Jessica Rosenqvist Ake Rosenqvist Katherine Jensen Kyle McDonald Mapping of Maximum and Minimum Inundation Extents in the Amazon Basin 2014–2017 with ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 ScanSAR Time-Series Data Remote Sensing SAR inundation decision tree classification Amazon wetlands |
| title | Mapping of Maximum and Minimum Inundation Extents in the Amazon Basin 2014–2017 with ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 ScanSAR Time-Series Data |
| title_full | Mapping of Maximum and Minimum Inundation Extents in the Amazon Basin 2014–2017 with ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 ScanSAR Time-Series Data |
| title_fullStr | Mapping of Maximum and Minimum Inundation Extents in the Amazon Basin 2014–2017 with ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 ScanSAR Time-Series Data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mapping of Maximum and Minimum Inundation Extents in the Amazon Basin 2014–2017 with ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 ScanSAR Time-Series Data |
| title_short | Mapping of Maximum and Minimum Inundation Extents in the Amazon Basin 2014–2017 with ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 ScanSAR Time-Series Data |
| title_sort | mapping of maximum and minimum inundation extents in the amazon basin 2014 2017 with alos 2 palsar 2 scansar time series data |
| topic | SAR inundation decision tree classification Amazon wetlands |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/8/1326 |
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