Guest Editor:
Prof. Dr. Daniele Riccio
UNIVERSITY OF NAPOLI FEDERICO II
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering
Add: Via Claudio, 21, I-80125, Napoli, Italy.
Tel. +39-0817683114, Fax +39-0815934448
E-mail: Daniele.Riccio@unina.it, http://www.docenti.unina.it/daniele.riccio
Deadline for Paper submission: 31 May 2008
Summary
A new generation of Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors is being operational to map, monitor and analyze the Earth: new available configurations and operational modes increase the flexibility of SAR sensors that are now able to obtain microwave 2-D images and data as well as 3-D interferometric products within a wide range of space and time resolution and coverage. This unprecedented development in the SAR sensors requires definition of new techniques and algorithms for SAR data usage as well as assessment of existing methods for SAR products exploitation. Hence, main purpose of this Special issue is to provide a reference of the SAR sensors and their operating characteristics, as well as to advance the exploitation of their data for monitoring applications.
The Special Issue is open to all researchers. Papers are solicited on:
- existing and future SAR and ISAR sensors;
- SAR data processing and simulation for 2-D images, polarimetric, interferometric and differential interferometric products;
- SAR data processing and simulation for Stripmap, Spotlight, Hybrid Strip-Spot, ScanSAR, Bistatic, operational modes;
- SAR data usage and information retrieval for application to land, ocean, urban areas, forestry, volcanoes, ice monitoring;
- SAR data elaboration, parameters estimation, and feature extraction for retrieval of value added information;
- integration of SAR data with other remote sensing products;
- use of SAR data in conjunction with demographic, social and economics data;
- comparison of SAR products with measurement on field campaigns and in situ data.
Keywords
Synthetic Aperture Radar, SAR, ISAR, Remote Sensing, Imaging Radar, Earth Observation, Spaceborne SAR, Airborne SAR, Shuttle Imaging Radar, ERS, J-ERS, SRTM, Radarsat, ASAR, ALOS, COSMO Skymed, TerraSAR
Published Papers
Wolfgang Wagner 1,*, Carsten Pathe 1, Marcela Doubkova 1, Daniel Sabel 1, Annett Bartsch 1, Stefan Hasenauer 1, Günter Blöschl 2, Klaus Scipal 3,
José Martínez-Fernández 4 and Alexander Löw 5
1 Vienna University of Technology, Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Gußhausstraße 27-29, 1040 Vienna, Austria; E-mails: ww@ipf.tuwien.ac.at; cp@ipf.tuwien.ac.at; mdo@ipf.tuwien.ac.at; ds@ipf.tuwien.ac.at; ab@ipf.tuwien.ac.at; sh@ipf.tuwien.ac.at
2 Vienna University of Technology, Institut für Wasserbau und Ingenieurhydrologie, Karlsplatz 13/222, A-1040 Wien, Vienna, Austria; E-mail: Bloeschl@hydro.tuwien.ac.at
3 European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, Shinfield Park, Reading RG2 9AX, United Kingdom; E-mail: Klaus.Scipal@ecmwf.int
4 Department of Geography, University of Salamanca, Cervantes 3, 37002 Salamanca, Spain; E-mail: jmf@usal.es
5 University of Munich, Munich, University of Munich, Munich, Department of Geography, Luisenstrasse 37, 80333 Munich, Germany; E-mail: a.loew@lmu.de
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 11 January 2008 / Accepted: 19 February 2008 / Published: 22 February 2008
Full Research Paper: Temporal Stability of Soil Moisture and Radar Backscatter Observed by the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR)
Sensors 2008, 8, 1174-1197 (PDF format, 1334 K)
Xian-Bin Wen 1,2,*, Hua Zhang 1,2 and Ze-Tao Jiang 3
1 School of Computer Science and Technology, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300191, P.R. China
2 Tianjin Key Laboratory of Intelligence Computing and Novel Software Technology, Tianjin, 300191, China
3 Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang, 330034, China
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-mail: xbwen@tjut.edu.cn
Received: 17 January 2008 / Accepted: 25 February 2008 / Published: 12 March 2008
Full Research Paper: Multiscale Unsupervised Segmentation of SAR Imagery Using Genetic Algorithm
Sensors 2008, 8, 1704-1711 (PDF format, 172 K)
Planned and Submitted Papers
Title: "Deformation Field of Bam Mw6.6 Earthquake Derived from DInSAR, Okada Program and FEPG Finite Element Method"
Authors: Yang LUO, Yong LING, Qiming ZENG, Xiaofan LI and Yong-Hong ZHAO *
School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
yangluo@caltech.edu, Will.lingyong@gmail.com, qmzeng@pku.edu.cn, xiaofanlee@hotmail.com, zhaoyh@pku.edu.cn
Abstract: The Bam Mw6.6 earthquake took place in the southeastern part of Iran at 1:56 UTC (5:26 in local time) on 26 December 2003. We have carried out the quantitative calculation of the displacement, deformation and stress fields of the earthquake in this paper. First of all, the coherence images and the surface displacement in the LOS direction were derived using the D-InSAR (Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry) method. The location of the source fault was determined on the coherence images. Secondly, the northern, eastern, and vertical displacement components of Arg-e-Bam rupture were calculated using the Okada program and then compared to the results from D-InSAR. The strain and stress fields induced by the earthquake were calculated as well. Thirdly, the FEPG finite element program was used to carry out a dynamic simulation of the earthquake process. From the results of the calculation, the parameters combination and the stress field were obtained, which match the InSAR measurement as well as the Okada calculation very well. Our results verified the conclusion that the Arg-e-Bam fault is the rupture fault of the Bam earthquake.
Keywords: Bam earthquake, D-InSAR (Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry), Okada program, FEPG finite element program.
Title: "A Novel Modified Omega-K Algorithm for Synthetic Aperture Imaging Ladar through the atmosphere"
Authors: Liang Guo 1,*, Mendao Xing 1, Yu Tang 2 and Jing Dan 2
1 The National Key Laboratory of Radar Signal Processing, Xidian University, Xi’an, P.R. China
E-mail: lguo@mail.xidian.edu.cn. E-mail: xmd@xidian.edu.cn
2 The National Key Laboratory of Radar Signal Processing, Xidian University, Xi’an, P.R. China
E-mail: tangyu0905@yahoo.com.cn. E-mail: 411jingdan@163.com
Abstract: The spatial resolution of a conventional imaging ladar system is constrained by the diffraction limit of the telescope’s aperture. The combination of the ladar and SA processing techniques should overcome the diffraction limit and pave the way for higher resolution air borne or space borne remote sensor. Regarding ladar transmitting FMCW signal, the motion during the transmission of a sweep and the reception of the corresponding echo were expected to be one of the major problems. The given modified Omega-K algorithm is taking the continuous motion into account, which can compensate for the Doppler shift induced by the continuous motion efficiently and azimuth ambiguity for low pulse recurrence frequency limited by the tunable laser. And then, simulation of Phase Screen (PS) distorted by atmospheric turbulence following the von Karman spectrum by using Fourier Transform is implemented in order to simulate turbulence. Finally, the computer simulation shows the validity of the modified algorithm and if in the turbulence the synthetic aperture length does not exceed the similar coherence length of the atmosphere for SAIL, we can ignore the effect of the turbulence.
Keywords: Synthetic aperture, ladar, FMCW, Omega-K algorithm, phase screens, coherence length of atmosphere.
Title: "Forest Stem Volume Retrieval from VHF SAR Data under the Condition of Incomplete A Priori Information"
Authors: Anatoliy Kononov * and Min-Ho Ka
Department of Electronic Engineering, Korea Polytechnic University, 2121, Jeongwang-Dong, Siheung-City, Gyeonggi-Do, 429-793, Korea
Tel: +82-31-8041-0481, Fax: +82-31-8041-1743
E-mails: kaa50ua@gmail.com (Anatoliy Kononov), kaminho@kpu.ac.kr (Min-Ho Ka)
Abstract: This paper presents a statistical performance comparison between two algorithms for retrieving the mean stem volume for mature forest stands on relatively flat ground. The first algorithm combines two specially selected estimators (CE-algorithm) and the second one is based on the maximum likelihood method (ML-algorithm). A forest backscatter model at the individual tree level is used to derive the algorithms. The model interprets the tree trunk volume as a random variable and employs a concept of random forest reflection coefficient to characterize fluctuations of radar returns at the individual tree level. The algorithms are derived under the assumption that both the trunk volume and forest reflection coefficient are non-random constant values and the only a priori information on the areal tree density and mean value of the forest reflection coefficient is known. Performance (normalized standard deviation and bias) of the algorithms is analyzed by means of Monte-Carlo simulation for various scenarios in terms of statistical distributions for the trunk volume and forest reflection coefficient. The results of the simulation have shown that while both of the algorithms exhibit robustness to the distributions, the ML-algorithm performs essentially better than the CE-algorithm over relatively wide ranges of the unknown variances of the distributions. Some issues of further research are outlined in conclusion.
Keywords: forest backscatter model, maximum likelihood method, method of moments, stem volume estimation, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), very high frequency (VHF) band.
Title: “Using a LiDAR Vegetation Model to Predict UHF SAR Attenuation in Coniferous Forests”
Authors: Swanson1, A., Huang12, S., and R. Crabtree1.
1 Yellowstone Ecological Research Center, 2048 Analysis Drive, Suite B, Bozeman, MT 59718, USA.
2 NASA Ames Research Center Mail Stop 242-4, Moffett Field, CA 94035 USA
2 Corresponding author: Email: huang@yellowstoneresearch.org
Abstract: Attenuation of radar signals by vegetation can be a problem for object detection and GPS reception, and is an important parameter in models describing vegetation backscatter. Here we first present a model describing the 3D distribution of bole and foliage biomass based on small footprint LiDAR data. Secondly we present a model that uses ray-tracing methodology to record detailed interactions between simulated radar beams and vegetation structure described by the LiDAR model. These interactions are combined over the SAR aperture and used to predict two-way attenuation of the SAR signal. Accuracy of the model is demonstrated using UHF SAR observations of large trihedral corner reflectors in coniferous forest stands. Our study showed that the model explains between 70 and 84% of the variability in observed attenuation.
Title: "Detecting Ground Subsidence over Shanghai by PS-Networking SAR Interferometry"
Authors: Guoxiang Liu 1, Xiaoli Ding 2, Qiang Chen 1, Xiaojun Luo1 and Guolin Cai 1
1. Dept. of Surveying Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China
2. Dept. of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
Abstract: Existing studies have shown that satellite synthetic aperture radar interferometry has two drawbacks, i.e., spatio-temporal decorrelation and atmospheric contamination, for the application of regional deformation mapping. It is possible to improve deformation analysis by tracking some objects with steady radar reflectivity, i.e., permanent scatterers (PS), in the frame of time series of SAR images covering the same area. For detecting ground subsidence over Shanghai metropolitan, this paper presents an attempt to explore an approach of PS-neighborhood networking SAR interferometry. With use of 26 ERS-1/2 SAR images acquired 1992 through 2002 over Shanghai, the analysis of subsiding process in time and space is performed on the basis of a strong network which is formed by connecting neighboring PS points according to a distance threshold. The subsidence signature, atmospheric effect and topographic error can be separated effectively, and the subsidence velocity field over Shanghai is also derived.
Title: "Atmospheric Effects on InSAR Measurements and Their Mitigations"
Authors: X.L. Ding1, Z.W. Li1,2, J.J. Zhu2 and G.C. Feng1
1 Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
2 School of Info-Physics and Geomatics Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, China.
Abstract: Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a powerful technology for observing the earth surface, especially for mapping the topography and deformations of the Earth. InSAR measurements are however often significantly affected by the atmosphere as the radar signals propagate through the atmosphere whose state varies both in space and in time. Great efforts have been made in recent years to better understand the properties of the atmospheric effects and to develop methods for mitigating the effects. This paper provides a systematic review of the work carried out in this area. The basic principles of atmospheric effects on repeat-pass InSAR are first introduced. The studies on the properties of the atmospheric effects, including the magnitudes of the effects determined in the various parts of the world, the spectra of the atmospheric effects, the isotropic properties and the statistical distributions of the effects. The various methods developed for mitigating the atmospheric effects are then reviewed, including the methods that are based on PS-InSAR processing, the methods that are based on interferogram modeling, and those that are based on external data such as GPS observations, ground meteorological data, and satellite data including those from the MODIS and MERIS.
Proposed Title: "Improvement of Image Co-registration in SAR Interferometry -- A Review"
Author: Weibao ZOU; E-mail: hkzouwb@yahoo.com
Details to be added.
Title: "Observation of a wide scale landslide in La Reunion Island using Differential SAR Interferometry (JERS and radarsat)
and correlation of optical images (SPOT5)"
Author: Christophe Delacourt, Institut Universitaire Europeen de la Mer (IUEM), Universite de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO), Domaines Oceaniques - UMR, 6538, Place Copernic, 29280-PLOUZANE
tel: 02-98-49-87-42, fax: 02-98-49-87-60, port : 06-20-96-73-38
E-mail: christophe.delacourt@univ-brest.fr
Details to be added.
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MDPI - Matthias Burkhalter - 12 March 2008