DisasterAWARE – A GLOBAL ALERTING PLATFORM FOR FLOOD EVENTS

We use satellite radar remote sensing imagery to measure how the frozen ground moves along the Qinghai-Tibet Engineering Corridor. We can estimate the thickness of the soil layer affected by freezing and thawing, known as the Active Layer Thickness (ALT). By accounting for the density difference between water and ice and the constraint by the field-measured ALT at discrete sites, our approach converts seasonal ground movements into high-resolution, continuous maps of ALT.

A new algorithm has been developed to quickly produce high-resolution flood maps. It is faster and more accurate than current methods and is available as open-source scripts. This can help communities better prepare for and mitigate flood damages without expensive modelling.

This study explains the capabilities of C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system in detection of glacial deformation due to earthquakes. Due to the remote location of the Himalayan glaciers associated with harsh weather conditions and rugged topography, the method of differential interferometric SAR (DInSAR) can be very useful in studying the impact of earthquakes in the glaciated regions where field-based seismological study is extremely tough to execute.

Landslides have often been observed in the aftermath of wildfires. This study explores regional patterns in the rainfall that caused landslides both after fires and in unburned locations. In general, landslides that occur after fires are triggered by less rainfall, confirming that fire helps to set the stage for landslides. However, there are regional differences in the ways in which fire impacts landslides, such as the size and direction of shifts in the seasonality of landslides after fires.

The direction and intensity of glacier surface flow adjust in response to a warming climate, causing sea level rise, seasonal flooding and droughts, and changing landscapes and habitats. We developed a technique that measures the evolution of surface flow for a glaciated region in three dimensions with high temporal and spatial resolution and used it to map the temporal evolution of glaciers in southeastern Alaska (Agassiz, Seward, Malaspina, Klutlan, Walsh, and Kluane) during 2016–2021.