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Brakenridge, G.R. and Kettner, A.J., 2013, “Guide to the Surface Water
Record”, Dartmouth Flood Observatory, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO,
USA, http://floodobservatory.colorado.edu/
• This is a guide for interpreting and using the maps and other
data provided by the Record.
• It also provides some interesting examples of surface water
variability, as observed and measured through this remote
sensing technology.
The Surface Water Record is a collection of online map displays, each measuring 10 deg long. x
10 deg lat., accessed by clicking on one of the map sheets illustrated above in the Dartmouth
Flood Observatory home page: http://floodobservatory.colorado.edu/. These also provide links
to GIS data supporting the displays.
This 20 year long effort, led by Bob Brakenridge, has been sustained by grants and contracts
from NASA, the European Commission, the World Bank, and other sources, and by Dartmouth
College and the University of Colorado. Version 3 will be fully automated.
In the version 3 Record, the reference water is
unchanging. It is the NASA Space Shuttle
SRTM mission (90 m) SWBD data, February
11-23, 2000. All of the maps presented here
are from version 3, and they each show
MODIS-sensed water on particular dates in
April, 2013 compared to the SWBD water.
Map Symbology
Elephant Butte Reservoir and surrounding Very light blue-gray is all previous flooding imaged
areas, New Mexico, showing drought- and mapped by the Dartmouth Flood Observatory.
caused reduced surface water.
Flooding (bright blue) along the extensive
floodplain of the Lower Mississippi River,
USA, April, 2013.
Notes:
1)Only modest flooding is occurring as of
this map date; flooding is contained within
previously mapped limits.
2)Progressive mapping of flooding over the
years has delineated “the floodplain”.
3)Narrow purple areas are water bodies
mapped in the SWBD at higher spatial
resolution (not discernable by MODIS).
Large reservoir status near Oxford,
Mississippi, USA, April, 2013. From
north to south, the Sardis, Enid,
and Grenada reservoirs are shown.
From:http://floodobservatory.color
ado.edu/Version3/090W040Nv3.ht
ml
Many wetlands around the world are being monitored by the Record. For
example, “The country’s largest interior marsh, Cheyenne Bottoms,
Kansas, is the top shorebird staging area in the continental United States,
a resting and refueling area for more than half of all shorebirds that
migrate east of the Rockies. That includes 90% of North America’s
population of Wilson’s phalarope, long-billed dowitcher, white-rumped
sandpiper, Baird’s sandpiper, and stilt sandpiper… “
http://www.kansaswetlandsandwildlifescenicbyway.com/cheyenne-
bottoms
April 2013, MODIS surface water status (completely dry): a small cropped
subscene from the Record map sheet. Light blue-gray is the maximum water
extent observed by MODIS (May 12, 2007); now dry land. Purple is water imaged
in February 2000 (SWBD data), now also dry land.
From: http://floodobservatory.colorado.edu/Version3/100W040Nv3.html
Cheyenne Bottoms, June 18, 2010 (“average summer”).
Landsat image from http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=79337
Cheyenne Bottoms, July 17, 2012 (severe drought, “driest and second-hottest summer on
record. Dry conditions continued into early April, 2013
The MODIS-derived record of
flooding in the northern Mississippi
River Embayment, southcentral USA
(light blue-gray).
Subscene from:
http://floodobservatory.colorado.e
du/Version3/100W040Nv3.html
Status of Lake Marion, South
Carolina, between Sumter and
Orangeburg.
Subscene from:
http://floodobservatory.colorado.e
du/Version3/090W040Nv3.html
Status of Indus River, Pakistan, in
April 2013 (dark and bright blue
colors) compared to past flooding
(light blue-gray).
Subscene from:
http://floodobservatory.colorado.e
du/Version3/060E030Nv3.html
See also Syvitski, J.P.M. and Brakenridge,
G.R., 2013, “Causation and avoidance of
catastrophic flooding along the Indus River,
Pakistan”. GSA Today, v. 23, p. 4-10.
Upstream Indus River and
tributaries.
From:
http://floodobservatory.colo
rado.edu/Version3/070E040
Nv3.html
Sistan Lake (large purple area): an
ephemeral water body in the arid
lands along the Afghanistan/Iran
border.
From:
http://floodobservatory.colorado.edu/
Version3/060E040Nv3.html
Status of Rana Pratap Sagar
(top) and Gandhi Sagar (bottom)
India, in April, 2013
From:
http://floodobservatory.colorad
o.edu/Version3/070E030Nv3.ht
ml
Mahanadi River delta, India.
This portion of the Record map
sheet shows extensive
flooding in the recent past;
both upstream along the
Mahanadi, above Cuttack, and
also in the delta and other
shoreline (in some cases, from
tropical storm surges)
From:
http://floodobservatory.colora
do.edu/Version3/080E030Nv3.
html
Monitoring of lakes in Tanzania.
Lake Natron, at the border with
Kenya, is full; Lake Eyasi, to the
southwest, is lower than in
February 2000 (note purple area
marking new dry land). Much
smaller Lake Kitangiri further to the
southwest is much expanded. To
the south, Lake Sulunga to the
south is much reduced. Numerical
area values can be obtained from
the GIS files.
From:
http://floodobservatory.colorado.e
du/Version3/030E000Sv3.html
No surface water is imaged and mapped by MODIS
in this northern India, April, 2013 Record subscene
(but note channel changes of the Ganges, in bright
blue). During the summer monsoon, flood water
will once again be observed, and its maximum
extent can then be compared to previous
monsoons. Each year, some of the light gray-blue
areas are reoccupied by water.
From:
http://floodobservatory.colorado.edu/V
ersion3/100E020Nv3.html
Complete 10 degree map sheet for a
portion of the northern central USA and
Canada, in April, 2013.
From:
http://floodobservatory.colorado.edu/Versi
on3/100W050Nv3.html
Accessing Surface Water Record Data
The maps and associated GIS data provide current surface water extent and the observed
recent history of changes (since DFO began mapping floods, in 1993, but with most data
commencing in yr 2000). Surface water expansions and contractions are both illustrated.
Mapped water expansions may be short-term, from inland flooding or storm surges. Or
long-term, from post-2000 reservoir construction and increases in rice agriculture or
aquaculture. Reductions in surface water may also be short-term, from drought
conditions, or long term (some shrinking wetlands).
The Record maps provide some but not all of the information contained in the GIS files.
The GIS files can be analyzed further: to search for particular floods, to examine seasonal
patterns, or to show other features of surface water variability, and at various map scales
and projections.
The most-recent observed water is accumulated as 14 daily water files: to remove nearly
all cloud obscuration. Thus, today's map includes 14 days of data. Following are the links
to GIS data directories; these are also provided at the page for each individual map sheet.
In 2013, DFO is transferring many GIS files in its holdings to these public locations.
http://floodobservatory.colorado.edu/Version3/070E030Nv3.html
Located here (change upper left corner degree coordinates as appropriate) is access to the
archived long term record for each map sheet. The GIS file names include their associated
dates. Choose appropriate dates to retrieve surface water changes during particular floods
or droughts. Or retrieve the yearly .ppt slide compilation, when available, from that
directory, and scroll through time.
In April 2013, automated updating is being implemented. This uses .shp (and associated
files) named "current" in the MODISlance_2wkpro directory:
http://csdms.colorado.edu/pub/flood_observatory/MODISlance_2wkpro/
http://csdms.colorado.edu/pub/flood_observatory/MODISlance/
Located here is access to the automated daily .shp file GIS record (record commences in
2011). Choose map sheet directory and appropriate dates to retrieve surface water changes
during particular floods or droughts. The end user can also accumulate files over any
chosen interval. DFO uses only the three day .shp file product, commencing January 1,
2013, as the two day .shp files include abundant cloud shadow noise for some map sheets.
See also NRT Global MODIS Flood Mapping from NASA
http://oas.gsfc.nasa.gov/floodmap/home.html
and technical information about the Record, including hints for importing the maps
into GIS
http://floodobservatory.colorado.edu/TheSurfaceWaterSurvey.html
With citation of the source, this “Guidebook” and all map displays and associated GIS
data can be further distributed and used under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Unported License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/