Seasonal contrast in Chambeshi floodplains, Zambia

Sentinel-1 CSAR IW acquired on 08 September 2018 from 16:17:21 to 16:17:46 UTC
Sentinel-1 CSAR IW acquired on 07 March 2019 from 16:17:19 to 16:17:44 UTC
Sentinel-2 MSI acquired on 17 April 2019 at 07:46:19 UTC
Sentinel-2 MSI acquired on 08 November 2019 at 07:51:31 UTC
Author(s): Sentinel Vision team, VisioTerra, France - svp@visioterra.fr
Keyword(s): Wetland, marshes, tropical climate, dry season, wet season, flooding, biodiversity, Congo river, Great Rift Valley.
Fig. 1 - S1 (07.03.2019) - vv,vh,ndi(vh,vv) - The Chambeshi River floodplains belong to the Zambezian flooded grasslands ecoregion.
2D view
Fig. 2 - S2 (17.04.2019) - 4,3,2 natural colour - They are located in Zambia, located west of Lake Malawi, south-east of Lake Tanganyika.
2D view
Fig. 3 - S2 (17.04.2019) - 11,8,2 colour composite - Chambeshi is the most remote source of the Congo river.
2D view
By the end of the rainy season in May, it delivers a flood which recharges the swamps and inundates a vast floodplain to the southeast
Fig. 4 - S1 (08.09.2018) - vv,vh,ndi(vh,vv) colour composite - During the dry season, most of the marsh vegetation regresses.
2D animation 2D view
Even during the dry season the floodplains sustain a great deal of wildlife including buffalos, antelopes, elephants, zebras, giraffes, a large numbers of birds with hippopotamus and crocodiles in the waters.
Fig. 5 - S2 (08.11.2019) - 4,3,2 natural colour - The red soil of the plateau shows as the grassland vegetation has shrunk.
2D animation 2D view
Fig. 6 - 08.11.2019 - 12,11,2 colour composite - The floodplain extent shows in purple, vastly beyond the river banks at its narrowest.
2D view
The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency or the European Union.
Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025, processed by VisioTerra.
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