Flood mapping using SENTINEL-1 single polarized SAR data

The research is to have an accurate and reliable flood area extraction for a large urban area and extract flood area using sentinel-1 C band single polarization (VV) SAR data and to characterize the performance and the ability of the C band VV polarization on flood effects. Urban flooding results in serious damages and stay as a complex phenomenon to map due to the land use heterogeneity it associates. Here the flood water is considered to be only calm water. Many flood mapping SAR algorithms model open water as a perfect smooth surface which reflects most radiance away from side-looking SAR sensors. Especially in urban areas SAR inevitably requires an oblique scene illumination resulting in undesired occlusion and layover. The sentinel-1 mission is expected to deliver a wealth of data and imagery. Therefore, in this research it had aimed to analyze sentinel-1 SAR data for its potential to extract flood area over a considered study area.