OPERA DYNAMIC SURFACE WATER EXTENTS (DSWX) VALIDATION ACTIVITIES - Proceedings

We present the validation methodology and results of Dynamic Surface Water eXtent from Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (DSWx-HLS). The DSWx-HLS product is the first of the DSWx suite, comprised of products each which map water from Earth-facing optical and SAR satellites. We detail the generation of high-resolution (3 m) validation datasets from a globally-stratified sample of dry, moderate, and wet sites. We also provide the precise accounting of the classification metrics used to verify the OPERA project requirements. We also report broader classification metrics across the validation datasets considered. OPERA is perform- ing validation in the public domain. The validation datasets and provisional OPERA products are publicly available; the software used for validation is also open-source. This ensures that the validation activities are transparent and reproducible.