Mapping water bodies from space
The detection and consistent mapping of surface water is a baseline requirement for scientific research, political and economic decision-making. When time series are considered, significant natural and anthropogenic changes and trends in the state of the Earth’s environment can be identified and regularly monitored. In order to provide a homogeneous, high resolution (HR) inventory of water cover over large areas (e.g., continental scale), Earth Observation (EO) satellite data has proven to be an ideal source of remote detection.
GeoVille is responding to this need for reliable water information and developed methods to provide homogeneous, high resolution (HR) inventories of water cover over large areas (e.g. continental scale) based on Earth observation satellite data. As a starting point for a possible future global water cover dataset, GeoVille successfully applied the developed methods for the production of the “Water and Wetness” 20m HR layer on a European scale for the European Environment Agency (EEA) and for several large regions in Africa within the GlobWetland Africa project as well as for test sites in Africa and South America within the framework of the EO4SD – Water Resource Management project. The method is based on large amounts of observations over continuous time periods using multi-sensor data streams like the Copernicus HR Sentinel-1 and -2 satellites and supported by historical input from preceding Landsat missions to fully cover the dynamics of open surface water bodies and wetland areas.
We presented our results this week during the “Mapping Water Bodies from Space Conference” at the European Space Agency in Frascati.
For more information please also visit:
