Open AccessInterannual variability of surface water extent at the global scale, 1993–2004
Author(s) -
Papa F.,
Prigent C.,
Aires F.,
Jimenez C.,
Rossow W. B.,
Matthews E.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2009jd012674
Subject(s) - environmental science , special sensor microwave/imager , advanced very high resolution radiometer , climatology , precipitation , surface water , satellite , water cycle , scatterometer , sampling (signal processing) , meteorology , wind speed , brightness temperature , geology , geography , microwave , ecology , physics , filter (signal processing) , quantum mechanics , environmental engineering , computer science , engineering , computer vision , biology , aerospace engineering
Land surface waters play a primary role in the global water cycle and climate. As a consequence, there is a widespread demand for accurate and long‐term quantitative observations of their distribution over the whole globe. This study presents the first global data set that quantifies the monthly distribution of surface water extent at ∼25 km sampling intervals over 12 years (1993–2004). These estimates, generated from complementary multiple‐satellite observations, including passive (Special Sensor Microwave Imager) and active (ERS scatterometer) microwaves along with visible and near‐infrared imagery (advanced very high‐resolution radiometer; AVHRR), were first developed over 1993–2000. The ERS encountered technical problems in 2001 and the processing scheme had to be adapted to extend the time series. Here we investigate and discuss the adjustments of the methodology, compare the various options, and show that the data set can be extended with good confidence beyond 2000, using ERS and AVHRR mean monthly climatologies. In addition to a large seasonal and interannual variability, the new results show a slight overall decrease in global inundated area between 1993 and 2004, representing an ∼5.7% reduction of the mean annual maximum in 12 years. The decrease is mainly observed in the tropics during the 1990s. Over inland water bodies and large river basins, we assess the variability of the surface water extent against related variables such as in situ river discharges, altimeter‐derived and in situ river/floodplain water level heights, and precipitation estimates. This new 12 year data set of global surface water extent represents an unprecedented source of information for future hydrological or methane modeling.