High-resolution mapping of flood dynamics in cropland areas using multi-temporal Sentinel-1 SAR

Flood hazards result in enormous casualties and huge food losses worldwide every year. Therefore, monitoring floods in flood-prone areas is crucial to better understand the flooding patterns and characteristics. Previous studies utilizing hydrological data were unsuccessful in identifying flooding patterns in the regions where the hydrological stations are sparse. In addition, studies based on optical satellite images did not successfully monitor floods in cloudy areas. To improve flood monitoring methods, Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging was proposed to monitor floods. The Sentinel-1 SAR sensor, with a spatial resolution of 10 m and a swath of up to 400 km, has free access and a short revisit period. This study will use multi-temporal Sentinel-1 SAR data to monitor flood dynamics in large-scale flood-prone areas with a focus on croplands to identify the inundated duration of flooded croplands, which would be valuable to assess the flood damage on crops and flood impact on food security.