Interferometric synthetic aperture radar: Building tomorrow's tools today

Alaska Satellite Facility News and Notes
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Abstract

A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system transmits electromagnetic (EM) waves at a wavelength that can range from a few millimeters to tens of centimeters. The radar wave propagates through the atmosphere and interacts with the Earth’s surface. Part of the energy is reflected back to the SAR system and recorded. Using a sophisticated image processing technique, called SAR processing (Curlander and McDonough, 1991), both the intensity and phase of the reflected (or backscattered) signal of each ground resolution element (a few meters to tens of meters) can be calculated in the form of a complex-valued SAR image representing the reflectivity of the ground surface. The amplitude or intensity of the SAR image is determined primarily by terrain slope, surface roughness, and dielectric constants, whereas the phase of the SAR image is determined primarily by the distance between the satellite antenna and the ground targets, slowing of the signal by the atmosphere, and the interaction of EM waves with ground surface. Interferometric SAR (InSAR) imaging, a recently developed remote sensing technique, utilizes the interaction of EM waves, referred to as interference, to measure precise distances. Very simply, InSAR involves the use of two or more SAR images of the same area to extract landscape topography and its deformation patterns.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Interferometric synthetic aperture radar: Building tomorrow's tools today
Series title Alaska Satellite Facility News and Notes
Volume 15
Year Published 2006
Language English
Publisher Alaska Satellite Facility
Contributing office(s) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Volcano Hazards Program
Description 3 p.
First page 12
Last page 14
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details