Fine-scale evaluation of rainfall from TV-sats: A new method for water monitoring and flash flood prevention

摘要

In this paper we present a method for rebuilding rainfall maps at high resolution (500 m × 500 m, 1 min). This method is based on the assimilation of opportunistic measurements of the attenuation that affects the signals coming from TV satellites in a model of spatiotemporal advection of rainfall fields. At the frequencies used (Ku band), the attenuation affecting the signals in the atmosphere is mainly due to rain. We set a sensor (field analyzer) on the ground, and then measured the mean rainfall over the link. This method was applied to a simulated network of sensors. These simulated sensors were realistically set over the Paris area, on a zone assumed to be typical of an area with high socio-economic issues (flood prevention, water resources management). We compared the simulated rainfall maps with the maps rebuilt by our algorithm. We then showed the feasibility of our approach for measuring the rainfall in urban areas with high resolution.