Sample-Adjusted Threshold Calculation (SATC) for Optimizing Flood Mapping From a Trustworthy and Explainable Perspective

Near-real-time flood maps are vital for efficiently coordinating emergency responses during flooding events. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite remote sensing, lauded for its capacity to capture data day and night in diverse weather conditions, emerges as a leading tool for acquiring flood map...

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Main Authors: Zhijun Jiao, Biyan Chen, Zhimei Zhang, Lixin Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11008480/
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author Zhijun Jiao
Biyan Chen
Zhimei Zhang
Lixin Wu
author_facet Zhijun Jiao
Biyan Chen
Zhimei Zhang
Lixin Wu
author_sort Zhijun Jiao
collection DOAJ
description Near-real-time flood maps are vital for efficiently coordinating emergency responses during flooding events. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite remote sensing, lauded for its capacity to capture data day and night in diverse weather conditions, emerges as a leading tool for acquiring flood mapping information. However, in cross-regional flood monitoring, challenges in accurately detecting floodwater pixels arise from interference factors affecting SAR backscatter, which are inherently present in various geo-environments (e.g., wind waves, vegetation, thick clouds, and high-relief terrain). These factors include shadow and layover effects, as well as radar response areas that resemble water surfaces and land cover. To address these challenges, our study proposes the sample-adjusted threshold calculation (SATC) approach, which not only quantifies the impact of these interference factors but also enhances algorithm generalization and interpretability, effectively overcoming the limitations of regional specificity in flood mapping. SATC applies three layers of constraints, including sample space distribution, sample proportion, and algorithm threshold space, to comprehensively calculate a flood segmentation threshold satisfying varied conditions involved in cross-regional flood monitoring. The experimental results of applying SATC to various scenarios indicate that these SATC-optimized algorithms achieve a notable 10&#x2013;30% improvement in accuracy while concurrently reducing false and omission rates to &lt;20% . Furthermore, incorporating SATC into the knowledge-driven flood intelligent monitoring (KDFIM) framework yields optimal results, achieving a flood mapping accuracy &gt;95% and a Kappa value &gt;0.95. The reached KDFIM(SATC) facilitates heightened robustness and enables the rapid diagnosis and quantification of flood mapping details, achieving flood detection in just 0.3795 s/100 km<sup>2</sup>. Overall, KDFIM(SATC) proves to be robust as a pivotal tool in emergency response efforts during flooding events.
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spelling doaj-art-80b0da9677ae45969a71e8e4c7f277ae2025-08-20T03:24:37ZengIEEEIEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing1939-14042151-15352025-01-0118136221363410.1109/JSTARS.2025.357205511008480Sample-Adjusted Threshold Calculation (SATC) for Optimizing Flood Mapping From a Trustworthy and Explainable PerspectiveZhijun Jiao0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0231-4604Biyan Chen1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7385-4371Zhimei Zhang2Lixin Wu3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5860-3371School of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University, Changsha, ChinaSchool of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University, Changsha, ChinaSchool of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University, Changsha, ChinaSchool of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University, Changsha, ChinaNear-real-time flood maps are vital for efficiently coordinating emergency responses during flooding events. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite remote sensing, lauded for its capacity to capture data day and night in diverse weather conditions, emerges as a leading tool for acquiring flood mapping information. However, in cross-regional flood monitoring, challenges in accurately detecting floodwater pixels arise from interference factors affecting SAR backscatter, which are inherently present in various geo-environments (e.g., wind waves, vegetation, thick clouds, and high-relief terrain). These factors include shadow and layover effects, as well as radar response areas that resemble water surfaces and land cover. To address these challenges, our study proposes the sample-adjusted threshold calculation (SATC) approach, which not only quantifies the impact of these interference factors but also enhances algorithm generalization and interpretability, effectively overcoming the limitations of regional specificity in flood mapping. SATC applies three layers of constraints, including sample space distribution, sample proportion, and algorithm threshold space, to comprehensively calculate a flood segmentation threshold satisfying varied conditions involved in cross-regional flood monitoring. The experimental results of applying SATC to various scenarios indicate that these SATC-optimized algorithms achieve a notable 10&#x2013;30% improvement in accuracy while concurrently reducing false and omission rates to &lt;20% . Furthermore, incorporating SATC into the knowledge-driven flood intelligent monitoring (KDFIM) framework yields optimal results, achieving a flood mapping accuracy &gt;95% and a Kappa value &gt;0.95. The reached KDFIM(SATC) facilitates heightened robustness and enables the rapid diagnosis and quantification of flood mapping details, achieving flood detection in just 0.3795 s/100 km<sup>2</sup>. Overall, KDFIM(SATC) proves to be robust as a pivotal tool in emergency response efforts during flooding events.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11008480/Algorithm robustnesscross-regional flood monitoringexplainable flood mappingsample-adjusted threshold calculation (SATC)synthetic aperture radar (SAR)
spellingShingle Zhijun Jiao
Biyan Chen
Zhimei Zhang
Lixin Wu
Sample-Adjusted Threshold Calculation (SATC) for Optimizing Flood Mapping From a Trustworthy and Explainable Perspective
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
Algorithm robustness
cross-regional flood monitoring
explainable flood mapping
sample-adjusted threshold calculation (SATC)
synthetic aperture radar (SAR)
title Sample-Adjusted Threshold Calculation (SATC) for Optimizing Flood Mapping From a Trustworthy and Explainable Perspective
title_full Sample-Adjusted Threshold Calculation (SATC) for Optimizing Flood Mapping From a Trustworthy and Explainable Perspective
title_fullStr Sample-Adjusted Threshold Calculation (SATC) for Optimizing Flood Mapping From a Trustworthy and Explainable Perspective
title_full_unstemmed Sample-Adjusted Threshold Calculation (SATC) for Optimizing Flood Mapping From a Trustworthy and Explainable Perspective
title_short Sample-Adjusted Threshold Calculation (SATC) for Optimizing Flood Mapping From a Trustworthy and Explainable Perspective
title_sort sample adjusted threshold calculation satc for optimizing flood mapping from a trustworthy and explainable perspective
topic Algorithm robustness
cross-regional flood monitoring
explainable flood mapping
sample-adjusted threshold calculation (SATC)
synthetic aperture radar (SAR)
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11008480/
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AT biyanchen sampleadjustedthresholdcalculationsatcforoptimizingfloodmappingfromatrustworthyandexplainableperspective
AT zhimeizhang sampleadjustedthresholdcalculationsatcforoptimizingfloodmappingfromatrustworthyandexplainableperspective
AT lixinwu sampleadjustedthresholdcalculationsatcforoptimizingfloodmappingfromatrustworthyandexplainableperspective