APPLICATION OF REMOTE SENSING DATA FOR THE FLOOD INFORMATION MANAGEMENT OF THE ODER 
RIVER REGION 
H. Weichelt, K.-H. Marek, R. Griesbach 
FEZ Remote Sensing Centre Potsdam, Germany 
Commission VII, Working Group 2 
KEY WORDS: Remote Sensing, Flood Information Management, GIS 
ABSTRACT 
The experiences of the flood events in the last few years have shown on the one hand an increase in the number of the events, 
their duration and the amount of water streaming down, on the other hand a lack of the acquisition, the processing and the 
distribution of the needed information for the flood forecasting and management. 
Initiated by the former German Space Agency DARA during the flood event of the Oder River in July/August 1997 a datapool 
has been established containing satellite data taken from different sensor types (Landsat-TM, IRS-1C, ERS-1/2, RADARSAT), 
as well as airborne images and scanner data. New digital airborne sensors were used to obtain simultaneously multispectral and 
stereophotogrammetric data with very high spatial resolution and accuracy. 
The paper presents some examples of these data and shows the capabilities for deriving thematical information about the flood 
event. Results of the data interpretation as well as a possible design of a future information management system are 
demonstrated. 
KURZFASSUNG 
Die Erfahrungen der Hochwasserereignisse in den letzten Jahren haben auf der einen Seite eine Zunahme der Anzahl und der 
Dauer der Ereignisse sowie der dabei zu bewältigenden Wassermenge gezeigt, auf der anderen Seite mußte ein deutlicher Mangel 
bei der Gewinnung, Verarbeitung und Bereitstellung von Daten und Informationen für die Verlaufsprognose und das Management 
der Hochwassersituation festgestellt werden. 
Während des Hochwassers im Juli und August 1997 an der Oder wurde auf Initiative der damaligen Deutschen Agentur für 
Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA) ein Datenpool eingerichtet, der sowohl Satellitenfernerkundungsdaten unterschiedlicher 
Sensoren (Landsat-TM, IRS-1C, ERS-1/2, RADARSAT) als auch Luftbilder und flugzeuggestiitzte Scannerdaten enthilt. Dabei 
wurden auch neuartige digitale Flugzeugfernerkundungssysteme eingesetzt, die eine gleichzeitige Erfassung von multispektralen 
und stereophotogrammetrischen Daten mit hoher geometrischer Auflósung und Genauigkeit erlauben. 
Der Beitrag zeigt an einer Reihe von Beispielen die Möglichkeiten für die Ableitung thematischer Informationen über das 
Hochwasserereignis. Dazu werden Ergebnisse der Auswertung und Interpretation der Daten dargestellt sowie ein aus den 
gewonnenen Erfahrungen abgeleiteter Vorschlag für ein künftiges Informations-Managementsystem. 
1 DATA ACQUISITION microwave sensors with a sufficient ground resolution. More 
detailed information with tables of all accessible satellite 
datasets of the affected area in 1997 were presented in a pre- 
study worked out also within the frame of the project. The 
preprocessing and interpretation of the data was carried out at 
different places and by different institutions, among them also 
the FEZ Remote Sensing Centre Potsdam. 
Initiated by the former German Space Agency DARA, now 
integrated into the German Aerospace Centre DLR, a research 
project during and after the flood event of the Oder river in 
July and August 1997 was set up. The aim of the project was 
to perform an assessment of the potential of remote sensing 
technology for the information management of flood events. 
One of the main parts of the project was the creation of a 
Remote Sensing Data Pool containig satellite as well as 
airborne remote sensing data. 
1.1.1 Optical Systems. Currently there are four remote 
sensing systems in orbit continously acquiring data sets in the 
VIS/NIR spectral bands with the required parameters (e.g. 
very good ground resolution): the US-American Landsat-TM, 
the French SPOT, the Russian MSU-E and the Indian IRS-1C. 
The features of the data sets acquired by these systems differ 
in several points, e.g. the ground resolution from about 45x45 
1.1 Satellite Data 
r^ 
  
  
Table 1 gives an overwiew of the satellite remote sensing data 
sets acquired within the frame of the project and put into the 
Oder Flood Data Pool. Most of these satellite scenes were 
taken directly during the flood event. One of the specifics of 
flood events are possible and rapid changes of the situation 
requiring very short time intervals between the acquired data 
sets. This was the reason to take into account all available 
remote sensing systems in orbit including optical, infrared and 
m^ (MSU-E) and 30 x 30 m? (Landsat-TM) down to 6 x 6 m' 
for the panchromatic band of the IRS-1C, the area covered by 
one satellite scene from 60 x 60 km? (SPOT) to 180 x 180 km?’ 
(Landsat-TM) and the number and spectral position of the 
bands in the multispectral mode. The stereo-possibilities of 
the SPOT system, due to the change of the viewing direction 
of the sensor, allow in principle a generation of digital cleva- 
tion models, but with an accuracy of only several meters. 
182 : International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXII, Part 7, Budapest, 1998 
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