Validation and Improvement of Data Assimilation for Flood Hydrodynamic Modelling Using SAR Imagery Data

Relevant comprehension of flood hazards has emerged as a crucial necessity, especially as the severity and the occurrence of flood events intensify with climate changes. Flood simulation and forecast capability have been greatly improved thanks to advances in data assimilation. This approach combines in-situ gauge measurements with hydrodynamic models, aiming to correct the hydraulic states and reduce the uncertainties in the model parameters, e.g., friction coefficients, inflow discharge. These methods depend strongly on the availability and quality of observations, thus requiring other data sources to improve the flood simulation and forecast quality. Sentinel-1 images collected during a flood event were used to classify an observed scene into dry and wet areas. The study area concerns the Garonne Marmandaise catchment, and focuses on recent flood event in January-February 2021. In this paper, seven experiments are carried out, two in free run modes (FR1 and FR2) and five in data assimilation modes (DA1 to DA5). A model-observation bias was diagnosed and corrected over the beginning of the flood event. Quantitative assessments are carried out involving 1D metrics at Vigicrue observing stations and 2D metrics with respect to the Sentinel-1 derived flood extent maps. They demonstrate improvements on flood extent representation thanks to the data assimilation and bias correction.