CR-302Advanced4 weeks6 hours per week
Radar Remote Sensing for Floods and Glaciers
Map flood extent through cloud and track glacial lakes with Sentinel-1 radar.
For: GIS analysts and researchers working on disaster risk and the cryosphere.
You will be able to
- Understand SAR backscatter, polarisation and speckle
- Map flood extent before and after an event
- Detect and monitor glacial lake growth
- Validate results and write a methods note
- Format
- Advanced labs with Sentinel-1 SAR in Earth Engine and SNAP
- Tools
- Sentinel-1 SAR · Google Earth Engine · ESA SNAP · QGIS
Curriculum
Week 1
How radar sees the ground: backscatter, VV/VH, speckle
Week 2
Rapid flood mapping by change detection
Week 3
Glacial lakes: detection, area change and GLOF risk
Week 4
Accuracy assessment and reporting to responders
Frequently asked questions
Why radar instead of optical imagery?
Radar sees through cloud and at night, so it captures floods when optical satellites see only cloud.
What should I know before starting?
Confident QGIS or Earth Engine use; our CR-201 or CR-202 course is a good preparation.