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The hydrodynamics of low-lying riverine floodplains and wetlands play a critical role in hydrology and ecosystem processes. Because small topographic features affect floodplain storage and flow velocity, a hydrodynamic model setup of these regions imposes more stringent requirements on the input Digital Elevation Model (DEM) compared to upland regions with comparatively high slopes. This current study provides a systematic approach to evaluate the required relative vertical accuracy and spatial resolution of current and future satellite-based altimeters within the context of DEM requirements for 2-D floodplain hydrodynamic models. A case study is presented for the Atchafalaya Basin with a model domain of 1190 km2. The approach analyzes the sensitivity of modeled floodplain water elevation and velocity to typical satellite-based DEM grid-box scale and vertical error, using a previously calibrated version of the physically-based flood inundation model (LISFLOOD-ACC). Results indicate a trade-off relationship between DEM relative vertical error and grid-box size. Higher resolution models are the most sensitive to vertical accuracy, but the impact diminishes at coarser resolutions because of spatial averaging. The results provide guidance to engineers and scientists when defining the observation scales of future altimetry missions such as the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission from the perspective of numerical modeling requirements for large floodplains of O[103] km2 and greater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method is presented for estimating subaqueous integrated backscatter using near-nadir viewing satellite lidar. The algorithm takes into account specular reflection of laser light, laser scattering by wind-generated foam as well as sun glint and solar scattering from foam. The formulation is insensitive to the estimate of wind speed but sensitive to the estimate of transmittance used in the atmospheric correction. As a case study, CALIOP data over Tampa Bay were compared to MODIS 645 nm remote sensing reflectance, which previously has been shown to be nearly linearly related to turbidity. The results indicate good correlation on nearly all CALIOP cloud-free dates during the period 2006 through 2007, particularly those with relatively high atmospheric transmittance. The correlation decreases when data are composited over all dates but is still statistically significant, a possible indication of variability in the biogeochemical composition in the water. Overall, the favorable results show promise for the application of satellite lidar integrated backscatter in providing information about subsurface backscatter properties, which can be extracted using appropriate models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate and reliable bathymetric data are needed for a wide diversity of marine research and management applications. Satellite-derived bathymetry represents a time saving method to map large shallow waters of remote regions compared to the current costly in situ measurement techniques. This study aims to create very high-resolution (VHR) bathymetry and habitat mapping in Mayotte island waters (Indian Ocean) by fusing 0.5 m Pleiades-1 passive multispectral imagery and active ICESat-2 LiDAR bathymetry. ICESat-2 georeferenced photons were filtered to remove noise and corrected for water column refraction. The bathymetric point clouds were validated using the French naval hydrographic and oceanographic service Litto3D® dataset and then used to calibrate the multispectral image to produce a digital depth model (DDM). The latter enabled the creation of a digital albedo model used to classify benthic habitats. ICESat-2 provided bathymetry down to 15 m depth with a vertical accuracy of bathymetry estimates reaching 0.89 m. The benthic habitats map produced using the maximum likelihood supervised classification provided an overall accuracy of 96.62%. This study successfully produced a VHR DDM solely from satellite data. Digital models of higher accuracy were further discussed in the light of the recent and near-future launch of higher spectral and spatial resolution satellites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]