{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,4]],"date-time":"2026-02-04T17:24:52Z","timestamp":1770225892986,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,11]],"date-time":"2020-07-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1594425600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004489","name":"Mitacs","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["IT08294"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["IT08294"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004489","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100009192","name":"Alberta Innovates","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["E323726"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["E323726"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100009192","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Mapping and monitoring surface water features is important for sustainably managing this critical natural resource that is in decline due to numerous natural and anthropogenic pressures. Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar is a popular and inexpensive solution for such exercises over large scales through the application of thresholds to distinguish water from non-water. Despite improvements to threshold methods, threshold selection is traditionally manual, which introduces subjectivity and inconsistency over large scales. This study presents a novel method for objectively determining and applying a threshold to determine water masks from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery on a scene-by-scene basis. The method was applied to Radarsat-2 and simulated Radarsat Constellation Mission scenes, and validated against two independent validation sources with high accuracy (Kappa ranging from 0.85 to 0.93). Expectedly, greatest misclassification occurs near shorelines, which are often ecologically important zones. Comparisons between Radarsat-2 and Radarsat Constellation Mission thresholds and outputs suggest that the latter is a capable successor for surface water applications. This work represents a foundational step toward objectivity and consistency in large-scale water mapping and monitoring.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs12142223","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,14]],"date-time":"2020-07-14T09:30:49Z","timestamp":1594719049000},"page":"2223","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":19,"title":["Automated SAR Image Thresholds for Water Mask Production in Alberta\u2019s Boreal Region"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Craig","family":"Mahoney","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Resource Stewardship Division, Alberta Environment and Parks, 200 5 Avenue S, Lethbridge, AB T1J 4L1, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive W, Lethbridge, AB T1H 3M4, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Merchant","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Boreal Program, Ducks Unlimited Canada, 13370 78 Avenue, Surrey, BC V3W 0H6, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lyle","family":"Boychuk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Prairie Region, Ducks Unlimited Canada, 1030 Winnipeg Street, Regina, SK S4R 8P8, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chris","family":"Hopkinson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive W, Lethbridge, AB T1H 3M4, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8439-362X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Brian","family":"Brisco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Natural Resources Canada, 560 Rochester Street, Ottawa, ON K1S 5K2, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kyzivat, E.D., Smith, L.C., Pitcher, L.H., Fayne, J.V., Cooley, S.W., Cooper, M.G., Topp, S.N., Langhorst, T., Harlan, M.E., and Horvat, C. 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