Optical data processing and projected applications of the ERTS-1 imagery covering the 1973 Mississippi River Valley floods

Flooding was detected along the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries by the multispectral scanner (MSS) on the ERTS-1 on at least three orbits during the spring of 1973. The ERTS data provided the first opportunity for mapping the regional extent of flooding. Special optical data processing techniques were used to produce a variety of multispectral color composites enhancing flood-plain details. One of these, a 2-color composite of near infrared bands 6 and 7, was enlarged and registered to 1:250,000-scale topographic maps and used as the basis for preparation of flood image maps. Two specifically filtered 3-color composites of MSS bands 5,6, and 7 and 4, 5, and 7 were prepared.