Using LiDAR surveys to document floods: A case study of the 2008 Iowa flood

Abstract Can we use Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), an emergent remote sensing technology with wide applications, to document floods with high accuracy? To explore the feasibility of this application, we propose a method to extract distributed inundation depths from a LiDAR survey conducted during flooding. This method consists of three steps: (1) collecting LiDAR data during flooding; (2) classifying the LiDAR observational points as flooded water surface points and non-flooded points, and generating a floodwater surface elevation model; and (3) subtracting the bare earth Digital Terrain Model (DTM) from the flood surface elevation model to obtain a flood depth map. We applied this method to the 2008 Iowa flood in the United States and evaluated the results using the high-water mark measurements, flood extent extracted from SPOT (Small Programmable Object Technology) imagery, and the near-simultaneously acquired aerial photography. The root mean squared error of the LiDAR-derived floodwater surface profile to high-water marks was 30 cm, the consistency between the two flooded areas derived from LiDAR and SPOT imagery was 72% (81% if suspicious isolated ponds in the SPOT-derived extent were removed), and LiDAR-derived flood extent had a horizontal resolution of ∼3 m. This work demonstrates that LiDAR technology has the potential to provide calibration and validation reference data with appreciable accuracy for improved flood inundation modeling.

[1]  David C. Mason,et al.  etection of flooded urban areas in high resolution Synthetic perture Radar images using double scattering , 2013 .

[2]  L. Smith.  Satellite remote sensing of river inundation area, stage, and discharge: a review , 1997 .

[3]  P. Bates,et al.  The accuracy of sequential aerial photography and SAR data for observing urban flood dynamics, a case study of the UK summer 2007 floods , 2011 .

[4]  Sebastiaan N. Jonkman,et al.  Advanced flood risk analysis required , 2013 .

[5]  P. Bates,et al.  Progress in integration of remote sensing–derived flood extent and stage data and hydraulic models , 2009 .

[6]  B. Sanders.  Evaluation of on-line DEMs for flood inundation modeling , 2007 .

[7]  R. Oberstadler,et al.  Assessment of the mapping capabilities of ERS-1 SAR data for flood mapping: a case study in Germany , 1997 .

[8]  Xixi Lu,et al.  Application of Remote Sensing in Flood Management with Special Reference to Monsoon Asia: A Review , 2004 .

[9]  D. Moorhead,et al.  Increasing risk of great floods in a changing climate , 2002, Nature.

[10]  P. Tarolli,et al.  Variations in multiscale curvature distribution and signatures of LiDAR DTM errors , 2013 .

[11]  Patrick Matgen,et al.  Integration of SAR-derived river inundation areas, high-precision topographic data and a river flow model toward near real-time flood management , 2007, Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinformation.

[12]  Aloysius Wehr,et al.  Airborne laser scanning—an introduction and overview , 1999 .

[13]  S. Lane,et al.  Urban fluvial flood modelling using a two‐dimensional diffusion‐wave treatment, part 1: mesh resolution effects , 2006 .

[14]  Jay Gao,et al.  Bathymetric mapping by means of remote sensing: methods, accuracy and limitations , 2009 .

[15]  Carl J. Legleiter,et al.  Mapping River Bathymetry With a Small Footprint Green LiDAR: Applications and Challenges 1 , 2013 .

[16]  D. Raff,et al.  Assessing the ability of airborne LiDAR to map river bathymetry , 2008 .

[17]  P. Bates,et al.  Near real time satellite imagery to support and verify timely flood modelling , 2009 .

[18]  K. Kraus,et al.  Determination of terrain models in wooded areas with airborne laser scanner data , 1998 .

[19]  René R. Colditz,et al.  Flood delineation in a large and complex alluvial valley, lower Pánuco basin, Mexico , 2003 .

[20]  P. Bates,et al.  A technique for the calibration of hydraulic models using uncertain satellite observations of flood extent , 2009 .

[21]  Y.-Q. Jin.  A flooding index and its regional threshold value for monitoring floods in China from SSM/I data , 1999 .

[22]  S. Lane,et al.  A method for parameterising roughness and topographic sub-grid scale effects in hydraulic modelling from LiDAR data , 2010 .

[23]  Damien Raclot,et al.  Remote sensing of water levels on floodplains: a spatial approach guided by hydraulic functioning , 2006 .

[24]  Erich J. Plate,et al.  Flood risk and flood management , 2002 .

[25]  R. Muir-Wood,et al.  Flood risk and climate change: global and regional perspectives , 2014 .

[26]  G. Profeti,et al.  Flood management through LANDSAT TM and ERS SAR data: a case study , 1997 .

[27]  S. Hamilton,et al.  Comparison of inundation patterns among major South American floodplains , 2002 .

[28]  Paul D. Bates,et al.  Floodplain friction parameterization in two‐dimensional river flood models using vegetation heights derived from airborne scanning laser altimetry , 2003 .

[29]  G. Schumann,et al.  Comparison of remotely sensed water stages from LiDAR, topographic contours and SRTM , 2008 .

[30]  Nicolas David,et al.  Large-scale classification of water areas using airborne topographic lidar data , 2013 .

[31]  Christian Puech,et al.  What does ai contribute to hydrology? aerial photos and flood levels , 2003, Appl. Artif. Intell..

[32]  Philippe Archambault,et al.  Mapping the Shallow Water Seabed Habitat With the SHOALS , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[33]  N. Pfeifer,et al.  Correction of laser scanning intensity data: Data and model-driven approaches , 2007 .

[34]  L. M Gomes Pereira,et al.  Suitability of laser data for deriving geographical information: A case study in the context of management of fluvial zones , 1999 .

[35]  D. Budikova,et al.  Hydroclimatology of the 2008 Midwest floods , 2010 .

[36]  R. Nicholls,et al.  Future flood losses in major coastal cities , 2013 .

[37]  C. Barbosa,et al.  Dual-season mapping of wetland inundation and vegetation for the central Amazon basin , 2003 .

[38]  R. Mantilla,et al.  Generalizing a nonlinear geophysical flood theory to medium‐sized river networks , 2010 .

[39]  D. Lettenmaier,et al.  Measuring surface water from space , 2004 .

[40]  Tarig A. Ali,et al.  Development of a Seamless Topographic / Bathymetric Digital Terrain Model for Tampa Bay, Florida , 2011 .

[41]  Damien Raclot,et al.  Using geographical information systems and aerial photographs to determine water levels during floods , 2002 .

[42]  Cheng Wang,et al.  Integrating LiDAR Intensity and Elevation Data for Terrain Characterization in a Forested Area , 2009, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters.

[43]  Paul D Bates,et al.  Integrating remote sensing observations of flood hydrology and hydraulic modelling , 1997 .

[44]  D. Eash,et al.  Floods of May 30 to June 15, 2008, in the Iowa and Cedar River basins, eastern Iowa , 2010 .

[45]  Jill S. M. Coleman,et al.  Atmospheric aspects of the 2008 Midwest floods: a repeat of 1993? , 2010 .

[46]  P. Bates,et al.  Comparing the performance of a 2‐D finite element and a 2‐D finite volume model of floodplain inundation using airborne SAR imagery , 2007 .

[47]  J. Bufton.  Laser altimetry measurements from aircraft and spacecraft , 1989, Proc. IEEE.

[48]  Yang Hong,et al.  A digitized global flood inventory (1998–2008): compilation and preliminary results , 2010 .

[49]  Paul D. Bates,et al.  Remote sensing and flood inundation modelling , 2004 .

[50]  P. Bates.  Integrating remote sensing data with flood inundation models: how far have we got? , 2012 .

[51]  Witold F. Krajewski,et al.  Extreme Flood Response: The June 2008 Flooding in Iowa , 2013 .

[52]  J. C. Knox,et al.  Orbital SAR remote sensing of a river flood wave , 1998 .

[53]  Paul D. Bates,et al.  Calibration of two‐dimensional floodplain modeling in the central Atchafalaya Basin Floodway System using SAR interferometry , 2012 .

[54]  Kutalmis Saylam,et al.  Assessment of depth and turbidity with airborne Lidar bathymetry and multiband satellite imagery in shallow water bodies of the Alaskan North Slope , 2017, Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinformation.

[55]  Zhigang Pan,et al.  Performance Assessment of High Resolution Airborne Full Waveform LiDAR for Shallow River Bathymetry , 2015, Remote. Sens..

[56]  Florian Pappenberger,et al.  High-Resolution 3-D Flood Information From Radar Imagery for Flood Hazard Management , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[57]  Arun K. Saraf,et al.  Flood inundation mapping using NOAA AVHRR data , 2006 .

[58]  P. Bates,et al.  Calibration of uncertain flood inundation models using remotely sensed water levels. , 2009 .

[59]  Jared Ogle,et al.  Challenges and lessons from a wetland LiDAR project: a case study of the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, USA , 2013 .

[60]  W. Marcus,et al.  Optical remote mapping of rivers at sub‐meter resolutions and watershed extents , 2008 .

[61]  W J Lillycrop,et al.  Airborne lidar bathymetry : The SHOALS system , 2000 .

[62]  F. Aires,et al.  Global inundation dynamics inferred from multiple satellite observations, 1993–2000 , 2007 .

[63]  C. Mutel.  A Watershed Year: Anatomy of the Iowa Floods of 2008 , 2010 .

[64]  P. Bates,et al.  The impact of uncertainty in satellite data on the assessment of flood inundation models , 2012 .

[65]  S. Kanae,et al.  Global flood risk under climate change , 2013 .

[66]  Grady Tuell,et al.  Overview of the coastal zone mapping and imaging lidar (CZMIL): a new multisensor airborne mapping system for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , 2010, Defense + Commercial Sensing.

[67]  Paul D. Bates,et al.  Improving River Flood Extent Delineation From Synthetic Aperture Radar Using Airborne Laser Altimetry , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[68]  N. Pfeifer,et al.  Water surface mapping from airborne laser scanning using signal intensity and elevation data , 2009 .