A novel approach to monitoring wetland dynamics using CYGNSS: Everglades case study

Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) is a remote sensing technique that uses scattered navigation signals opportunistically for science applications. The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) is the first science-driven GNSS-R satellite mission. Although the CYGNSS mission is motivated and designed to better observe weather processes, the data are also useful for other applications, including surface hydrology. This paper aims to demonstrate that CYGNSS has a capability for frequent, high-resolution observations of the wetland dynamics across a wide range of timescales in the tropics. Using matched estimates of water depth from the Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN), we develop methods for mapping inundation over the South Florida Everglades wetland region using CYGNSS data. CYGNSS enables inundation mapping at rapid timescales throughout the diverse Everglades ecosystem, and the data could be complementary to those of well-established observational platforms. The strengths of GNSS-R could be leveraged with the strengths of other techniques to enable studies of wetlands dynamically at short timescales.