Water surface area measurement of Lake Volta using SSM/I 37-GHz polarization difference in rainy season

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine the possibility of measuring the area of Lake Volta using DMSP-SSMA data. In the method 1, using the difference between 37-GHz data of water surface and of the ambient land, stable values for three years in the rainy season are obtained. The difference between 37-GHz Vpol values and that of 37-GHz HPOl fluctuates slightly. Although we could not obtain the truth data due to cloud cover over the area in the rainy season, data obtained from NOAA/AVHRR and ETOPO5 elevation provide a means to evaluate the result from the SSM/I data. © 2002 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.