Evaluation of high-resolution images (space and temporal) of the planet satellite collection for analysis of flood frequency features in the region of Nhecolândia

• Grant number: 19/17440-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2019
• End date: August 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences
• Principal Investigator: Célia Regina Montes
• Grantee: Mariana Dias Ramos
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/14227-5 - Climatic changes and environmental impacts in wetlands of Pantanal region (Brazil): quantification, control factors and long term temporal modeling, AP.PFPMCG.TEM

Abstract

The Pantanal is one of the largest wetlands on the planet, being the region of Nhecolândia, which has over 10,000 lakes, one of its most iconic landscapes. Nhecolândia lakes can be classified into two broad categories, saline lakes, and freshwater lakes that are subdivided into "baías" and "salobras". Although wetlands have become key environments in water management and wildlife conservation, there are still gaps in information about their functioning and environmental dynamics. Satellite remote sensing offers several advantages for monitoring wetland resources at different spatial and temporal scales. Products and methods of analysis based on orbital data have been widely used to recognize the flooding pattern of flooded areas, thus helping to broaden the knowledge of the geomorphological, hydrological and ecological processes of these regions. Time series analysis is a powerful tool for mapping and analyzing short-term variations in landscape characteristics and dynamics of wetlands. Recent deployments of global high-resolution temporal and spatial resolution sensors, such as Planet's satellite collection, can help advance our understanding of the hydrological functioning of the Pantanal, particularly in the Nhecolândia region, where annual floods directly influence the hydrological and geochemical conditions of the different types of lakes. The collection features an unprecedented combination of images with average revisit time of up to 1 day globally with 3 m spatial resolution images. To study the hydrological variations we will use as a pilot area the region of Fazenda São Roque, where samples are taken of all actions that make up the thematic project to which the scholarship will be linked.