A Floodplain Inventory for the Danube River Basin Based on GIS and Satellite Technologies, with a Special Focus on Geo-referenced Digital Videography

Abstract

There is a long tradition of using remote sensing applications for the inventory of floodplain areas, in this case particularly wetlands, where in English speaking countries videographic techniques have been extensively used. Videography represents a very cost-effective image acquisition and monitoring procedure that can be used in combination with widely available satellite data (Landsat 7), even when digital video data has an inferior geometric quality when compared to high resolution scanner data and orthophotos. In the following article a proposal for an inventory covering the Danubian floodplains with regard to methodology and operational realisation has been made. Accordingly specific applications, as well as the professional technical aspects under different conditions for various users are illustrated.