The Effect of Rain and Flooding Events on AMSR-E Signatures of La Plata Basin, Argentina

The objective of this paper is to describe and explain the effects on selected AMSR-E channels of two strong events, i.e., a rainstorm and a flooding, occurred in the Argentine section of La Plata basin. More specifically, the rainstorm took place within the Chaco region, which is covered by a continuous, moderately dense forest. The flooding affected the terminal part of Parana River. The study is based on monitoring the temporal trends of the polarization indexes at various AMSR-E bands. In the forest, the rainstorm produces an effect on C band channels which is moderate, but well evident. The presence of this effect agrees with model simulations presented in previous papers. In the Parana River, measurements of water level are available. Variations of polarization index at various frequencies are observed in correspondence with variations of water level in four different stations. However, the amount of the effect and the correlation between variables are dependent on the properties of the areas surrounding the stations. The Delta of Parana river, where a land cover map is available, was selected for estimation of fraction of flooded area by using an algorithm available in the literature.