ABSTRACT
Wet land has distinctly different properties compared to dry land, including how they interact with different wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. In the visible and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths, wet objects absorb more strongly than dry objects and appear darker (Lobell and Asner). In the infrared to microwave wavelengths, water absorbs strongly at some wavelengths and scatters at others. These characteristics of wet surfaces and water are used for mapping wetlands from satellite images using a variety of approaches. The most direct method is
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 435 Data and Methods .......................................................................................................................... 438
Study Area ................................................................................................................................. 438 Datasets ..................................................................................................................................... 438
Satellite Data ........................................................................................................................ 438 Climate Data ......................................................................................................................... 438 Topographic Data ................................................................................................................. 438 Note on Visualization ........................................................................................................... 438
Geomorphology and Wetland Classication ............................................................................. 438 Deriving Surface Wetness from Optical Images ....................................................................... 439 Surface Wetness Phenology ......................................................................................................440 Compounded Soil Surface Wetness Indices .............................................................................. 441 Topographic Wetness, Water Balances, and Wetlands ..............................................................442
