Active Archive of Large Floods, 1985-Present
Master Index of Inundation Maps
Satellite River Discharge Measurements
Space-based Measurement and Modeling of Surface Water
For Research, Humanitarian, and Water Management ApplicationsFlood Observatory Director: Prof. G. Robert Brakenridge
Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System
University of Colorado, Campus Box 450, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
(counting since February 7, 2012)
Current mapping: Flooding in Western Russia, Spring, 2012.
See 030E060Nand 040E060N of the Surface Water Record for regional coverage.
Current mapping: Flooding in Oman and Saudia Arabia, Spring, 2012.
See 050E030N of the Surface Water Record for regional coverage, and also NASA's Earth Observatory.
The Flood Observatory uses orbital remote sensing to detect, measure, and map surface water changes. It includes:
1) Satellite River Discharge Measurements, an experimental satellite-based river discharge measurement system (example).
2) The Surface Water Record, a comprehensive map record of the Earth's changing surface water (or click on installed sheets in global map above).
3) Active Archive of Large Floods, 1985 to present (listing and characterization of large flood events).
4) Rapid Response Inundation Maps, for individual flood events.
Example: late 2011 Thailand flooding
Red: Flooding, during a 10-day accumulation of MODIS imaging.
Light Red: Previously flooded this event; now dry.
Blue: Reference Water (permanent water bodies).
See also other projects and data products
The Flood Observatory facilitates practical use of space-based information for international flood detection, flood response, future risk assessment, and hydrological research.
This work by Robert Brakenridge and Albert Kettner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
This work is made possible by data acquired by NASA, the Japanese Space Agency, and the European Space Agency, and funding support from NASA and the European Commission, through the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) project, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy. The Observatory was founded in 1993 at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH USA and moved to the University of Colorado, INSTAAR, CSDMS in 2010. The institutional support of both universities is gratefully acknowledged.
http://floodobservatory.colorado.edu/Flood Observatory