Early Flood Warning Using Satellite-Derived Convective System and Precipitation Data -- A Retrospective Case Study of Central Vietnam

This paper addresses the challenges of an early flood warning caused by complex convective systems (CSs), by using Low-Earth Orbit and Geostationary satellite data. We focus on a sequence of extreme events that took place in central Vietnam during October 2020, with a specific emphasis on the events leading up to the floods, i.e., those occurring before October 10th, 2020. In this critical phase, several hydrometeorological indicators could be identified thanks to an increasingly advanced and dense observation network composed of Earth Observation satellites, in particular those enabling the characterization and monitoring of a CS, in terms of low-temperature clouds and heavy rainfall. Himawari-8 images, both individually and in time-series, allow identifying and tracking convective clouds. This is complemented by the observation of heavy/violent rainfall through GPM IMERG data, as well as the detection of strong winds using radiometers and scatterometers. Collectively, these datasets, along with the estimated intensity and duration of the event from each source, form a comprehensive dataset detailing the intricate behaviors of CSs. All of these factors are significant contributors to the magnitude of flooding and the short-term dynamics anticipated in the studied region.

Insight Into the Collocation of Multi-Source Satellite Imagery for Multi-Scale Vessel Detection

Ship detection from satellite imagery using Deep Learning (DL) is an indispensable solution for maritime surveillance. However, applying DL models trained on one dataset to others having differences in spatial resolution and radiometric features requires many adjustments. To overcome this issue, this paper focused on the DL models trained on datasets that consist of different optical images and a combination of radar and optical data. When dealing with a limited number of training images, the performance of DL models via this approach was satisfactory. They could improve 5-20% of average precision, depending on the optical images tested. Likewise, DL models trained on the combined optical and radar dataset could be applied to both optical and radar images. Our experiments showed that the models trained on an optical dataset could be used for radar images, while those trained on a radar dataset offered very poor scores when applied to optical images.