Ursa Uses Radar Imagery to Reveal Extent of Texas Flooding

A footprint of the area that was captured the morning Aug. 26 as Hurricane Harvey was underway. (Image credit: Ursa)

SAN FRANCISCO — Ursa Space Systems, a geospatial data and analytics company, is using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery to monitor flooding along the Texas Gulf Coast caused by Hurricane Harvey.

On Aug. 27, Ursa released images of Corpus Christi, Texas, showing the impact of the hurricane. Through its partnership with Italy's e-Geos, the company owned by Telespazio and the Italian space agency ASI that operates four Cosmos-SkyMed SAR satellites, Ursa compared images of Corpus Christi taken in June with images of the same area taken on Aug. 26.

SAR imagery is particularly useful for this type of application because unlike optical imagery it is not hampered by clouds or darkness.

Ursa plans to continue to provide updated imagery as a public service at: http://ursaspace.com/2017/08/27/ursa-provides-information-harvey/

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Debra Werner is a correspondent for SpaceNews based in San Francisco. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Debra is a recipient of the 1989 Gerald Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense. Her SN Commercial Drive newsletter is sent out on Wednesdays.