Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

A Long-Term, High-Resolution Wetland Dataset over the Amazon Basin, Downscaled from a Multiwavelength Retrieval Using SAR Data

Filipe Aires Estellus, and Laboratoire de l’Etude du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique, CNRS, Observatoire de Paris, Paris, France

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Fabrice Papa Laboratoire d’Etude en Gèophysique et Ocèanographie Spatiales, IRD, Toulouse, France

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Catherine Prigent Laboratoire de l’Etude du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique, CNRS, Observatoire de Paris, France

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Print Publication:
01 Apr 2013
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-12-093.1
Page(s):
594–607
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Abstract

A climatology of wetlands has been derived at a low spatial resolution (0.25° × 0.25° equal-area grid) over a 15-yr period by combining visible and near-infrared satellite observations and passive and active microwaves. The objective of this study is to develop a downscaling technique able to retrieve wetland estimations at a higher spatial resolution (about 500 m). The proposed method uses an image-processing technique applied to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) information about the low and high wetland season. This method is tested over the densely vegetated basin of the Amazon. The downscaling results are satisfactory since they respect the spatial hydrological features of the SAR data and the temporal evolution of the low-resolution wetland estimates. A new long-term and high-resolution wetland dataset has been generated for 1993–2007 for the Amazon basin. This dataset represents a new and unprecedented source of information for climate and land surface modeling of the Amazon and for the definition of future hydrology-oriented satellite missions such as Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT).

Corresponding author address: F. Aires, Estellus/LERMA, Observatoire de Paris, 61 avenue de l’Observatoire, 74014 Paris, France. E-mail: filipe.aires@estellus.fr

Abstract

A climatology of wetlands has been derived at a low spatial resolution (0.25° × 0.25° equal-area grid) over a 15-yr period by combining visible and near-infrared satellite observations and passive and active microwaves. The objective of this study is to develop a downscaling technique able to retrieve wetland estimations at a higher spatial resolution (about 500 m). The proposed method uses an image-processing technique applied to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) information about the low and high wetland season. This method is tested over the densely vegetated basin of the Amazon. The downscaling results are satisfactory since they respect the spatial hydrological features of the SAR data and the temporal evolution of the low-resolution wetland estimates. A new long-term and high-resolution wetland dataset has been generated for 1993–2007 for the Amazon basin. This dataset represents a new and unprecedented source of information for climate and land surface modeling of the Amazon and for the definition of future hydrology-oriented satellite missions such as Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT).

Corresponding author address: F. Aires, Estellus/LERMA, Observatoire de Paris, 61 avenue de l’Observatoire, 74014 Paris, France. E-mail: filipe.aires@estellus.fr
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Journal of Hydrometeorology

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