SPATIOTEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF SURFACE WATER EXTENT FROM THREE DECADES OF SEASONALLY CONTINUOUS LANDSAT TIME SERIES AT SUBCONTINENTAL SCALE

We statistically modeled surface water extent (SWE) and inundation dynamics from a unique Landsat-based time series (1986–2011) for Australia's Murray–Darling Basin as a function of river flow and spatially explicit time series of rainfall, evapotranspiration and soil moisture. We present a data-driven and transferable approach that allowed us to model SWE through periods of flooding and drying for 363 floodplain units and to identify local combinations of variables that drive SWE dynamics.