Integration of remote sensing data into hydrological models for flood forecasting.

The purpose of this paper is to present the methodology set up to derive catchment soil moisture from Earth Observation (EO) data using microwave spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images from ERS satellites, and to study the improvements in flood forecasting introduced by an assimilation of this information into hydrological models. This methodology has been put forward for use in the European AIMWATER project on the Seine catchment upstream of Paris (France) and on the Arade catchment in southern Portugal.