THE ROLE OF CLOUD TRACKING AND PASSIVE MICROWAVE TECHNIQUES IN THE SHORT-TERM PREDICTION OF FLOOD HAZARD ON A REGIONAL-SCALE

The role of remote sensing in enhancing the monitoring capabilities an d the short-term prediction of the risk of flooding on a regional scal e is addressed in this paper by means of the application of storm iden tification and cloud tracking techniques to a few case studies where c luster analysis based on infrared satellite imagery is used as the pri mary source of information. Polar satellite sensors, which provide pas sive microwave images, were also proposed in the literature for applic ation in flood forecasting operational problems, though the accuracy o f passive microwave techniques is only acceptable when rainfall estima tes are integrated over quite large spatial and temporal scales. Clima tological studies are well suited to make use of such data while the m easure of instantaneous rainfall is still lacking of an adequate valid ation. A theoretical and numerical framework for the assessment of the reliability of passive microwave estimates of instantaneous rainfall within the typical resolution scales of polar satellite sensors is pro vided in the paper.