Abstract
The increasing frequency and severity of flood events demand improved accuracy of hydrodynamic models to better mitigate the societal and economic consequences of these disasters. Ideally, these models derive elevation data from high-accuracy LiDAR, which often captures the subtle variations in elevation and microtopography—elements that are critical to high-resolution hydrodynamic modeling. Due largely to the cost of acquisitions, these data, however, are not widely available at high spatial resolutions for large-scale areas, i.e. floodplains and coastal regions, especially outside of the U.S. and Western Europe, where flood-prone communities already lack the infrastructure and resources to manage these disasters. High-resolution interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) systems may offer a viable and cost-effective alternative to LiDAR, with comparable spatial resolutions and vertical accuracies. Like any swath mapping sensor, systematic errors in calibration knowledge increase as the lever-arm increases when viewing further off vertical. InSAR-derived digital elevation models (DEMs) are often corrected using LiDAR or ground control points, although this limits the application of InSAR to those areas where these data exist. In this paper, we present a novel approach for using near-range InSAR data to correct inherent systematic bias that propagates across adjacent, overlapping swaths for the same airborne acquisition. This eliminates the need for LiDAR in generating InSAR DEMs, while maintaining a vertical error of approximately 0.26 m relative to LiDAR, at a spatial resolution of 30 m. Data was acquired using the NASA/JPL airborne, single-pass, Ka-band GLISTIN-A (Glacier and Ice Surface Topography Interferometer) InSAR over the Red River Basin (RRB), ND. The accuracy of the final DEM is evaluated using National Geodetic Survey (NGS) GPS and a high-resolution LiDAR DEM.
Highlights
GLISTIN-A (Airborne Glacier and Land Ice Surface Topography Interferometer) is a Ka-band (35.66 GHz), single-pass interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SPInSAR), inspired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) heritage (Rabus et al, 2003) and developed to provide all-weather, high-resolution swath ice surface topography (Moller et al, 2011) not available throughDigital elevation models (DEMs) Generation Using SPInSAR existing spaceborne LiDAR or radar sensors
This study addresses this type of analysis by acquiring land elevation data over the Red River of the North wide-area floodplain using the GLISTIN-A airborne SPInSAR
Apart from the flood-prone nature of this region, the choice of this test site was governed by the fact that (i) GLISTIN-A on its March/April 2016 Greenland mission presented a unique overpass opportunity that we leveraged in full by acquiring InSAR data over the area depicted in Figure 1 and (ii) flood hazard prediction during the snow-melt season in this region is a known challenge for the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) North Central River Forecast Center
Summary
GLISTIN-A (Airborne Glacier and Land Ice Surface Topography Interferometer) is a Ka-band (35.66 GHz), single-pass interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SPInSAR), inspired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) heritage (Rabus et al, 2003) and developed to provide all-weather, high-resolution swath ice surface topography (Moller et al, 2011) not available throughDEM Generation Using SPInSAR existing spaceborne LiDAR or radar sensors. GLISTIN-A mapped parts of the Central Valley region of California and it became clear that the sensor’s capability to map land heights and water areas should be exploited To this end, Schumann et al (2016) undertook a feasibility study to examine this in detail. In their study, Schumann et al (2016) stated in conclusion that “in order to more fully assess the suitability of the Ka-band InSAR instrument to acquire high-accuracy land elevation data, we suggest to repeat this type of analysis over a more natural floodplain and a larger river, and for an area more prone to regular flooding.”. In their study, Schumann et al (2016) stated in conclusion that “in order to more fully assess the suitability of the Ka-band InSAR instrument to acquire high-accuracy land elevation data, we suggest to repeat this type of analysis over a more natural floodplain and a larger river, and for an area more prone to regular flooding.” This study addresses this type of analysis by acquiring land elevation data over the Red River of the North wide-area floodplain using the GLISTIN-A airborne SPInSAR
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