Sentinel-2 Satellites Provide Near-Real Time Evaluation of Catastrophic Floods in the West Mediterranean

Flooding is among the most common natural disasters in our planet and one of the main causes of economic and human life loss worldwide. Evidence suggests the increase of floods at European scale with the Mediterranean coast being critically vulnerable to this risk. The devastating event in the West Mediterranean during the second week of September 2019 is a clear case of this risk crystallization, when a record-breaking flood (locally called the "Cold Drop" (Gota Fria)) has swollen into a catastrophe to the southeast of Spain surpassing previous all-time records. By using a straightforward approach with the Sentinel-2 twin satellites from the Copernicus Programme and the ACOLITE atmospheric correction processor, an initial approximation of the delineated flooded zones, including agriculture and urban areas, was accomplished in quasi-real time. The robust and flexible approach requires no ancillary data for rapid implementation. A composite of pre- and post-flood images was obtained to identify change detection and mask water pixels. Sentinel-2 identifies not only impacts on land but also on water ecosystem and its services, providing information on water quality deterioration and concentration of suspended matter in highly sensitive environments. Subsequent water quality deterioration occurred in large portions of Mar Menor, the largest coastal lagoon in the Mediterranean. The present study demonstrates the potentials brought by the free and open-data policy of Sentinel-2, a valuable source of rapid synoptic spatio-temporal information at the local or regional scale to support scientists, managers, stakeholders, and society in general during and after the emergency.

Data and Resources

Cite as

Caballero I. Ruiz J. y Navarro G. Sentinel-2 Satellites Provide Near-Real Time Evaluation of Catastrophic Floods in the West Mediterranean. MDPI, 2019. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11122499

Clipboard Icon
Retrieved: 22 Jan 2025 13:44:10
RIS BibTeX

Metadata
Download
DCAT-AP/NTI-RISP

Basic information
Resource type Article
Date of creation 2024-11-05
Date of last revision 2025-01-22
Show changelog
Metadata identifier 76c0098a-bb96-5659-83c0-d03001b2945c
Metadata language Spanish
Themes (NTI-RISP)
High-value dataset category Earth observation and environment
ISO 19115 topic category biota
Keyword URIs
Bibliographic information
Name of the dataset creator Caballero, I., Ruiz, J. y Navarro, G.
Name of the dataset editor MDPI
Other identifier DOI: 10.3390/w11122499
Identifier of the dataset creator
Email of the dataset creator isabel.caballero@icman.csic.es
Website of the dataset creator
Provenance
Lineage statement
Metadata Standard
Version notes
Version