Impact of satellite-based soil moisture index on hydrological simulation for floods prediction

This paper assesses the impact of soil moisture indexes that can be retrieved via different techniques from thermal IR satellite observations on the re-initialization of flood prediction models. The work considers 2 types of index, one based on thermal inertia, and the second that puts together satellite derived LST and a simplified energy balance model using a variational data assimilation schemes. Results are discussed with reference to an operational flood forecasting framework. Case studies are three catchments in Italy.