DETECTING AND MAPPING FLASH FLOODING WITH SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR (SAR) SATELLITE DATA: THE METAPONTO PLAIN CULTURAL LANDSCAPE CASE STUDY

Abstract

Due to Climate change, unpredictable and uncertain weather conditions increase the likelihood of natural disasters, which correlates to major impacts on Cultural Landscapes and Heritage sites. Thanks to SAR sensors, continuous and rapid information can be collected with satellite data. When a sensor generates a directed beam of pulses, terrain returns high-resolution radar-frequency reflected energy, enabling a first effective data implementation, helping to quickly localize where damage occurred during a flash-flood event. This could facilitate after-disaster response through rapid delivery and coordination of rescue operations. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data is capable of passing through clouds and weather phenomena and continuously monitor a flooding event by plotting its patterns for a cost-effective flood mapping. Free availability of SAR data through the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Sentinel-1 SAR mission created a major opportunity for flood extent monitoring. The chosen case study is the area of the Metaponto Plain in Basilicata, southern Italy, which recently earned a candidacy as UNESCO site. In the effort of protecting Cultural Landscape and archeological Heritage, local authorities have to face multiple challenges coming from climate change and the impact of human activity. The object of this study is the flash-flooding event occurred on the 12th of November 2019, which was reported to be an extreme hydrological event, causing important damages to the agricultural landscapes and cultural heritage sites. The Metaponto area exemplifies multiple pressures deriving from climate change and human activity, thus having to cohabit within an important cultural landscape and archeological heritage. The workflow here presented can be quickly implemented to extract information through simple and effortless algorithms, providing mid-regional scale event maps with a good resolution, and it is formally aimed at user-end Control Centres for putting in place rapid risk mitigation actions.