Spatial comparison of inland water observations from CYGNSS, MODIS, Landsat, and commercial satellite imagery
Abstract Accurate and timely inland waterbody extent and location data are foundational information to support a variety of hydrological applications and water resources management. Recently, the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) has emerged as a promising tool for delineating inla...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Geoscience Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40562-024-00321-1 |
| _version_ | 1797266804860518400 |
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| author | G. K. Pavur H. Kim B. Fang V. Lakshmi |
| author_facet | G. K. Pavur H. Kim B. Fang V. Lakshmi |
| author_sort | G. K. Pavur |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Accurate and timely inland waterbody extent and location data are foundational information to support a variety of hydrological applications and water resources management. Recently, the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) has emerged as a promising tool for delineating inland water due to distinct surface reflectivity characteristics over dry versus wet land which are observable by CYGNSS’s eight microsatellites with passive bistatic radars that acquire reflected L-band signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) (i.e., signals of opportunity). This study conducts a baseline 1-km comparison of water masks for the contiguous United States between latitudes of 24°N-37°N for 2019 using three Earth observation systems: CYGNSS (i.e., our baseline water mask data), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (i.e., land water mask data), and the Landsat Global Surface Water product (i.e., Pekel data). Spatial performance of the 1-km comparison water mask was assessed using confusion matrix statistics and optical high-resolution commercial satellite imagery. When a mosaic of binary thresholds for 8 sub-basins for CYGNSS data were employed, confusion matrix statistics were improved such as up to a 34% increase in F1-score. Further, a performance metric of ratio of inland water to catchment area showed that inland water area estimates from CYGNSS, MODIS, and Landsat were within 2.3% of each other regardless of the sub-basin observed. Overall, this study provides valuable insight into the spatial similarities and discrepancies of inland water masks derived from optical (visible) versus radar (Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry, GNSS-R) based satellite Earth observations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-25T01:06:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dfea9751d84d4abaa18abcb833f6d44c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2196-4092 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T01:06:31Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geoscience Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-dfea9751d84d4abaa18abcb833f6d44c2024-03-10T12:14:16ZengSpringerOpenGeoscience Letters2196-40922024-03-0111111310.1186/s40562-024-00321-1Spatial comparison of inland water observations from CYGNSS, MODIS, Landsat, and commercial satellite imageryG. K. Pavur0H. Kim1B. Fang2V. Lakshmi3School of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of VirginiaSchool of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and TechnologySchool of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of VirginiaSchool of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of VirginiaAbstract Accurate and timely inland waterbody extent and location data are foundational information to support a variety of hydrological applications and water resources management. Recently, the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) has emerged as a promising tool for delineating inland water due to distinct surface reflectivity characteristics over dry versus wet land which are observable by CYGNSS’s eight microsatellites with passive bistatic radars that acquire reflected L-band signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) (i.e., signals of opportunity). This study conducts a baseline 1-km comparison of water masks for the contiguous United States between latitudes of 24°N-37°N for 2019 using three Earth observation systems: CYGNSS (i.e., our baseline water mask data), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (i.e., land water mask data), and the Landsat Global Surface Water product (i.e., Pekel data). Spatial performance of the 1-km comparison water mask was assessed using confusion matrix statistics and optical high-resolution commercial satellite imagery. When a mosaic of binary thresholds for 8 sub-basins for CYGNSS data were employed, confusion matrix statistics were improved such as up to a 34% increase in F1-score. Further, a performance metric of ratio of inland water to catchment area showed that inland water area estimates from CYGNSS, MODIS, and Landsat were within 2.3% of each other regardless of the sub-basin observed. Overall, this study provides valuable insight into the spatial similarities and discrepancies of inland water masks derived from optical (visible) versus radar (Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry, GNSS-R) based satellite Earth observations.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40562-024-00321-1CYGNSSInland waterWater maskSatellite Earth observationsMODISLandsat |
| spellingShingle | G. K. Pavur H. Kim B. Fang V. Lakshmi Spatial comparison of inland water observations from CYGNSS, MODIS, Landsat, and commercial satellite imagery Geoscience Letters CYGNSS Inland water Water mask Satellite Earth observations MODIS Landsat |
| title | Spatial comparison of inland water observations from CYGNSS, MODIS, Landsat, and commercial satellite imagery |
| title_full | Spatial comparison of inland water observations from CYGNSS, MODIS, Landsat, and commercial satellite imagery |
| title_fullStr | Spatial comparison of inland water observations from CYGNSS, MODIS, Landsat, and commercial satellite imagery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatial comparison of inland water observations from CYGNSS, MODIS, Landsat, and commercial satellite imagery |
| title_short | Spatial comparison of inland water observations from CYGNSS, MODIS, Landsat, and commercial satellite imagery |
| title_sort | spatial comparison of inland water observations from cygnss modis landsat and commercial satellite imagery |
| topic | CYGNSS Inland water Water mask Satellite Earth observations MODIS Landsat |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40562-024-00321-1 |
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