Login With Google
Cloud computing for better flood inundation mapping
Why is it in News?
- Researchers have developed a tool for a near real-time mapping of flood extent.
Details:
- Flood inundation maps can help in better flood risk preparedness.
- Synthetic aperture radar (SAR):
(1) Space-based sensors known as SAR have been used widely for monitoring and mapping of flood-water inundation.
(2) SAR is capable of acquiring data in all-weather condition.
- The data from the satellites was utilised on a cloud-based platform known as Google Earth Engine (GEE) for the rapid processing of big data.
- Cloud Computing:
(1) Cloud computing is the delivery of on-demand computing services -- from applications to storage and processing power -- typically over the internet and on a pay-as-you-go basis.
(2) Rather than owning their own computing infrastructure or data centers, companies can rent access to anything from applications to storage from a cloud service provider
(3) Large clouds, predominant today, often have functions distributed over multiple locations from central servers.