Basin-scale high-resolution extraction of drainage networks using 10-m Sentinel-2 imagery

Abstract

Extraction of drainage networks is an important element of river flow routing in hydrology and large-scale estimates of river behaviors in Earth sciences. Emerging studies with a focus on greenhouse gases reveal that small rivers can contribute to more than half of the global carbon emissions from inland waters (including lakes and wetlands). However, large-scale extraction of drainage networks is constrained by the coarse resolution of observational data and models, which hinders assessments of terrestrial hydrological and biogeochemical cycles. Recognizing that Sentinel-2 satellite can detect surface water up to a 10-m resolution over large scales, we propose a new method named Remote Sensing Stream Burning (RSSB) to integrate high-resolution observational flow location with coarse topography to improve the extraction of drainage network. In RSSB, satellite-derived input is integrated in a spatially continuous manner, producing a quasi-bathymetry map where relative relief is enforced, enabling a fine-grained, accurate, and multitemporal extraction of drainage network. RSSB was applied to the Lancang-Mekong River basin to derive a 10-m resolution drainage network, with a significant reduction in location errors as validated by the river centerline measurements. The high-resolution extraction resulted in a realistic representation of meanders and detailed network connections. Further, RSSB enabled a multitemporal extraction of river networks during wet/dry seasons and before/after the formation of new channels. The proposed method is fully automated, meaning that the network extraction preserves basin-wide connectivity without requiring any postprocessing, hence facilitating the construction of drainage networks data with openly accessible imagery. The RSSB method provides a basis for the accurate representation of drainage networks that maintains channel connectivity, allows a more realistic inclusion of small rivers and streams, and enables a greater understanding of complex but active exchange between inland water and other related Earth system components.