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EARTH OBSERVATIONS FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA:

LESSONS AND LEARNINGS

Conference Paper · November 2004

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4692.8486

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Jayaraman V
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EARTH OBSERVATIONS FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT
IN INDIA: LESSONS AND LEARNINGS

Dr V Jayaraman
Director, Earth Observations System
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) HQ

UNESCAP Meeting of Experts

Beijing, China

November 17-19, 2004

 DISASTERS IN INDIA - SCENARIO
Indian Sub-Continent is amongst World’s Most Disaster-prone Areas

Social Vulnerability
• 90 percent affected by Disasters are Poor, Marginalized & Small
Farmers
• Pockets of Poverty are Semi-arid/Arid regions, Flood Plains,
Mountainous regions of NE, Himalayan, etc
• Disasters further breed disparity and social imbalances
Economic Impact
• 4.5 to 10% Loss to National GDP
• Some States (Assam, Bihar, AP, …)
- Loss to the extent of 10-20% of State’s GDP
• Drought of 2001-02
- Led to 15% Reduction in Food Production & significant
drop in GDP (210 Mt to 180 Mt)
 Disasters in India: Scale and Severity
10
Severity Scale
Space
Spatial and Temporal Scale 8

6
Core event / process
Cyclone
Impact 4

Floods
Drought
Earthquake

Time
 Satellite Observations Vs. Event Capture

Space

1000 km INSAT VHRR/METEOSAT

INSAT CCD/METEOSAT GOES

100 km
NOAA/AVHRR Constellation
10 km MODIS

1 km IRS WiFS/AWiFS/ENVISAT

100 m SPOT / RADARSAT

10 m IRS LISS

IRS PAN
1m
IKONOS/QUICKBIRD/EROS
1 dm
Time
sec min hour day week month year decade
 Observational Gaps of EO Missions
Space
Core event / process
1000 km
Impact
100 km
Cyclone
10 km

1 km
Observational Event Prediction/
100 m gap
Forecast needs
10 m
Floods
Crop pest& continuous long
diseases terms observation
Earthquake
1m

1 dm
Time
sec min hour day week month year decade
Critical Gaps
• Real/Near-real time event capturing
• Inadequacies in temporal and spatial scale of measurement
• On-time Info to users in friendly product style
 DMS - INFRASTRUCTURE
Aerospace Systems
Met/Ocean
Imaging Observation
‘Hot spot’ Emergency
communication
High
Resolution Imaging All weather
mapping
Laser
Terrain Mapper Real Time
Mapping
Institutional Interfaces
Decision
Knowledge Inputs Concerns User
networks
Support Centre
community
(DSC)

Policy /
Scientific
Management
Inputs Rapid Mapping
decision
Vulnerability,
Risk…

Communications Backbone
Terrestrial & Satellite based (Mobile Terminals, VSAT, WLL VSATs, CWDS, S&R, ..)
 LISS 4 LISS 3

Mission Life : 5 Yrs

Mass of S/C : 1350 kg (at Lift-off)
Launch by : PSLV (Oct. 2003)
Orbit : 817 KM; Sun-synchronous

Payloads : LISS- 3, LISS- 4 & AWiFS

Repetitivity : 24 days for LISS-3
5 days for AWiFS
Revisit : 5 Days for LISS-4
(with 26 Deg. Tilt)

AWiFS A AWiFS B
 FCC from NIR, SWIR & G
IRS P6 AWiFS
• 55m, 4 band MSS
• 740 km swath
Pune • 10 bit radiometry
• 5 day repetitivity

Ujani Reservoir

Can we
develop this
Satara
for an
Agricultural
Drought
Koyna
Reservoir Monitoring
System for
the Region?
 EO Products for Disaster Management: Data to Services
Information
Extraction:
Value Addition: Content, Format User friendly Product
Integration,Modeling, Generation
GIS etc.

Collateral Data
-Heritage, Census,
Dynamic ..

Real/Near Real Time In harmony with: Actionable

Satellite Data Policy Elements, Solutions/Services
Acquisition Institutional
Infrastructure, and [T + x hr/day]
Knowledge Networks
Disaster Disaster
Management
Event : Prediction/ Community/
Forecasting Stakeholders
[T — x hr or day]
 Earthquake Studies

55% of Geographical Area under Zone 3,4 & 5

Seismic Zones

• Dynamic Assessments through InSAR, GPS,

Seismicity & Strainmeters of Fault Systems

Zone - II • Constant InSAR monitoring of Deformation to the

extent of 1mm/yr; Long time series data
Zone - III collection
Zone - IV • Study on EM Disturbance in Ionosphere and
Zone - V Thermal Emission in Relation to Earthquake cycle
• Missions with LEO/GEO Constellation –
formation flying - with the above payload-mix
called for
 Flood Management
Gap Areas
• No daily Coverage
• Cloud cover problem
• Non-availability of DEM ( sub
metre contour)
Desirable Mission
Characteristics
• Swath ~ 600- 1000 Km
• Optical and Radar
Capabilities
Optical Satellite
• Red/NIR Bands
• 5 - 100 m Resolution
Microwave Satellite
• C - Band
• HH Polarization
• Incidence Angle 30 - 50 Deg.
Goals • 5 - 100 m Resolution
• Flood Forecasting and Inundation Modeling Thematic Constellation
• Real Time Flood Mapping • Like TRMM for rainfall
• Rapid Damage Assessment estimation
• Hazard Zonation and Risk Assessment • GEO/MEO Missions (Met
• Bank Erosion and Changes in the Flood Sensors, MW radiometer,
Plains DCPs)
 Cyclones
Gap Areas
• Accurate Landfall Prediction
• Lack of wind profilers from
Space
• Early Warning &
Communication Support
• Inadequate Dopplar Radar
system and lack of synergy
between Satellite Obsevation
& DWR

Desirable Mission
Characteristics
• GEO/MEO Missions with
appropriate Payloads

Goals Thematic Constellation

• Cyclone Landfall Time, Place, Intensity
prediction (> 48 hrs in advance)
• Impact Assessment
• Vulnerability/Risk Assessment
• GEO/MEO Missions (Advance
Met Sensors, MW radiometer,
Scatterometers, imagers )
• Need for formation flights
 Drought Management
Goals
Drought and Poverty Seasonal Forecasting:
- Strong Nexus
• Understanding of land-air-ocean interactions
• Establishing Global Tele-connections
• Downscaling of seasonal forecast
Early Warning, Monitoring and Assessment
• Agro-informatics: In-season crop monitoring/
condition assessment/acreage estimation/
production forecast
• Impact/ damage assessment
Drought Mitigation:
Frequency of Drought • Watershed Management: Ridge-to-valley
treatment in dryland, Land/ Crop Suitability:
2-3 years
Diversification/ Intensification of Agriculture
3 years
4 years
Challenge essentially lies in Early
5 years Warning of Agricultural Drought
> 5 years
at local level, linking Met. & Hydrological
parameters
 Early Warning & Monitoring System
Need for Formation Flights, SensorWeb

Critical
Enabling Factors
Techniques
• Precipitation
• Sounders,
• Surface /
Radiometers,
Ground Water
Imagers,
Profilers…. Need to Integrate • Soil moisture
• Optical/MW Ground & Satellite • Crop water
Systems based network for 3D requirement
monitoring of critical
• Ground
Networks – factors
Radar, Radio
Sondes…
• Models

Capturing subtle signatures indicating probable drought scenario quantitatively to

assess intensity, extent, area and the period is the essence
 From Pixel to People..
Petabytes
Multi-platform, Multi-
Parameter, high spatial and Terrabytes Knowledge
temporal resolution, remote
& in-situ sensing
Gigabytes Megabytes
Autonomous; Data Fusion/
Formation Flights Sensor Webs Seamless Access
Advanced Models

Autonomous, In-space Synergy and Interaction Between Interactive

Calibration and Data convergence of Modeling/Forecasting Dissemination;
Reduction observational and Observation
networks Systems

STRATEGY
• Availability, Access, Affordability, and Absorption of Data
• Seamless integration of EO Products to Decision-making Process
 SATELLITE DATA IS NO MORE A
FASCINATION,
ITS END-USE IS ALWAYS !

NEED A
HELPING
HAND:
CAN WE
REACH THESE
UNREACHED ?

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