Monitoring Heavy Rains and Floods of July 1996 in South China by Using SSM/I Data

The remote sensing data of DMSP SSM/I over south China during heavy rains and flooding of July 1996 are analyzed.Some new brightness temperature indices,such as the scattering index SI for rain detection,flood alarming index FI,and polarization index PI for surface wetness,are defined,and the thermal emissions at SSM/I seven channels during July observations are studied.By using SSM/I data,temporal and spatial variation of these indices are presented.The detection of heavy rains and floods,and the anomalo us distribution of precipitation are discussed.