Flood extent analysis over the major river basins in the Indian subcontinent using satellite microwave radiometric data

Abstract

Every year South Asia suffers from widespread floods along its major river basins, especially during the southwest monsoon season calling for planning, mitigation, and hazard management strategies. This study demonstrates the application of land surface microwave emissivity data in identifying and quantifying flooded areas. It employs an indigenously developed scheme based on microwave radiative transfer to retrieve emissivities at 19 GHz from satellite microwave radiometers and to estimate emissivity polarization index ($EPI$) from it. By assigning thresholds to the $EPI$ for delineating inundated areas, this study examines the inter-annual variability of floods over the Indo-Gangetic plains for the period 2007–2010 and the cataclysmic flood of 2010 in Pakistan.