Change detection techniques for ERS-1 SAR data

Several techniques for detecting temporal changes in satellite synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) imagery are compared, using both theoretical predictions and spaceborne SAR data collected by the first European Remote Sensing Satellite, ERS-1. In a first set of techniques, changes are detected based on differences in the magnitude of the signal intensity between two dates. Ratioing of the multidate radar intensities is shown to be better adapted to the statistical characteristics of SAR data than subtracting, and works best when the number of looks is large. In a second set of techniques, changes are detected based on estimates of the temporal decorrelation of speckle. This method works best with one-look complex amplitude data, but can also be used with intensity data provided that the number of looks is small. The two techniques are compared using actual SAR data collected by ERS-1. The results illustrate the viability as well as the complementary character of these techniques for detecting changes in the structural and dielectric properties of remotely sensed surfaces     

Radar polarimetry: analysis tools and applications

The authors have developed several techniques to analyze polarimetric radar data from the NASA/JPL airborne SAR for Earth science applications. The techniques determine the heterogeneity of scatterers with subregions, optimize the return power from these areas, and identify probable scattering mechanisms for each pixel in a radar image. These techniques are applied to the discrimination and characterization of geologic surfaces and vegetation cover, and it is found that their utility varies depending on the terrain type. It is concluded that there are several classes of problems amenable to single-frequency polarimetric data analysis, including characterization of surface roughness and vegetation structure, and estimation of vegetation density. Polarimetric radar remote sensing can thus be a useful tool for monitoring a set of Earth science parameters     

空载合成孔径雷达技术及展望

空载合成孔径雷达（ＳＡＲ）是一种现代高分辨率侧视成象雷达，它应用合成孔径技术、脉冲压缩技术和数字信息处理技术，获得方位向和距离向的高分辨率。本文将对空载ＳＡＲ的现状及发展趋势进行综述，并主要讨论ＳＡＲ的有关技术，涉及星载ＳＡＲ工作模式和体制，雷达数字图象的信息获取与成象处理等，最后，给出了ＳＥＡＳＡＴ－Ａ卫星ＳＡＲ数字成象结果。     

Retrieving snowpack properties and accumulation estimates from a combination of SAR and scatterometer measurements

This study combines two satellite radar techniques, low-resolution C-/Ku-band scatterometer and high-resolution C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for glaciological studies, in particular mass-balance estimations. Three parameters expressing the mean backscattering and its dependency on azimuth and incidence angle are used to describe and classify the Antarctic ice sheets backscattering behavior. Simple linear regression analyses are carried out between ground truth accumulation data and the SAR backscattering coefficient along continuous profile lines. From this we parameterize the accumulation rate separately for certain snow pack regimes. We find that SAR data can be used to map mass-balance changes, however only within limited areas. Applying this method therefore generally requires accurate ground truth for regional calibration together with additional information regarding mean air temperature or elevation. This investigation focuses on the area of Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. We present the first high-resolution accumulation map based on SAR data for the surrounding area of the EPICA deep ice core drilling site Kohnen, which is compared to reliable ground truth records as well as to a surface-mass-balance map interpolated from these at low resolution.     

Generalized Frequency-Domain SAR Processing

The range-Doppler algorithm and the chirp-scaling algorithm (CSA) process synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data with approximations to ideal SAR processing. These approximations are invalid for data from systems with wide beamwidths, large bandwidths, and/or low center frequencies. While simple and efficient, these frequency-domain methods are thus limited by the SAR parameters. This paper explores these limits and proposes a generalized chirp-scaling approach for extending the utility of frequency-domain processing. We demonstrate how different order approximations of the SAR signal in the 2-D frequency domain affect image focusing for varying SAR parameters. From these results, a guideline is set forth, which suggests the required order of approximation terms for proper focusing. A proposed generalized frequency-domain processing approach is derived. This method is an efficient arbitrary-order CSA that processes the data using the appropriate number of approximation terms. The new method is demonstrated using simulated data.      

A wavelet-based algorithm to estimate ocean wave group parameters from radar images

In recent years, new remote sensing techniques have been developed to measure two-dimensional (2-D) sea surface elevation fields. The availability of these data has led to the necessity to extend the classical analysis methods for one-dimensional (1-D) buoy time series to two dimensions. This paper is concerned with the derivation of group parameters from 2-D sea surface elevation fields using a wavelet-based technique. Wave grouping is known to be an important factor in ship and offshore safety, as it plays a role in dangerous resonance phenomenons and the generation of extreme waves. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data are used for the analysis. The wavelet technique is introduced using synthetic ocean surfaces and simulated SAR data. It is shown that the group structure of the ocean wave field can be recovered from the SAR image if the nonlinear imaging effects are moderate. The method is applied to a global dataset of European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS-2) wave mode data. Different group parameters including the area covered by the largest group and the number of groups in a given area are calculated for over 33 000 SAR images. Global maps of the parameters are presented. For comparison, classical 1-D grouping parameters are calculated from colocated wave model data showing good overall agreement with the wavelet-derived parameters. ERS-2 image mode data are used to study wave fields in coastal areas. Waves approaching the island of Sylt in the North Sea are investigated, showing the potential of the wavelet technique to analyze the spatial wave dynamics associated with the bottom topography. Observations concerning changes of wavelength and group parameters are compared to linear wave theory.     

Absolute radiometric calibration of the CCRS SAR

Determining the radar scattering coefficients from SAR (synthetic aperture radar) image data requires absolute radiometric calibration of the SAR system. The authors describe an internal calibration methodology for the airborne Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) SAR system, based on radar theory, a detailed model of the radar system, and measurements of system parameters. The methodology is verified by analyzing external calibration data acquired over a six-month period in 1988 by the C-band radar using HH polarization. The results indicate that the overall error is ±0.8 dB (1σ) for incidence angles ±20° from antenna boresight. The dominant error contributions are due to the antenna radome and uncertainties in the elevation angle relative to the antenna boresight     

Analytical modelling and software implementation of synthetic aperture radars

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging systems are a complement to passive remote sensing. However, the process of image formation is so complex that the final image in the system is formed only after three basic steps: raw data acquisition, forming the signal and the image space. In addition, there are various factors that are involved in the information recorded by SAR within the system and outside the system, such as radar, platform, processing algorithm, imaging region and channel. Each of these factors has been formed by many parameters and this issue adds to the complexity of the behaviour of SAR. Therefore, due to the complexity, providing a model that describes how the SAR imaging system works is highly important. In this paper, the performance of SAR in the image formation section is analytically modelled at first, and then implemented as software. Raw data acquisition is performed in CST software and the signal and image formation are performed in MATLAB software. This implementation provides many abilities, such as better interpretation of SAR images, simulating the effect of the important parameters in SAR images, etc.     

星载寄生式SAR多普勒特性分析

本文基于星载双基地雷达空间几何关系,给出了星载寄生式SAR系统中小卫星多普勒参数的两种表达形式,进一步给出了与多普勒特性相关的几个重要系统参数的表达式。分析了基线和相对速度对小卫星多普勒特性参数偏移主星参数的影响,指出基线是主要影响因素;对多普勒中心频率影响大,对多普勒调频斜率及方位分辨率影响小。分析了利用寄生式SAR提高方位分辨率的能力和限制因素。     

A statistical approach for determining radiometric precisions andaccuracies in the calibration of synthetic aperture radar imagery

A model that estimates a relative error bound for the radiometric calibration of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery is presented. This model is based on a statistical `Coefficient of Variation of Error Model', which produces a relative error bound by propagating the measured or estimated uncertainties in the radar system parameters utilized to correct digitally processed SAR image intensity values. Using this model, algorithms are generated for absolute and relative radiometric calibration of SAR imagery. These algorithms are parametrically exercised using radar system parameters from an existing airborne SAR system to determine their impact on the relative error bound     

SAR target recognition using behaviour library of different shapes in different incidence angles and polarisations

Target recognition is one of the most important issues in the interpretation of the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. Modelling, analysis, and recognition of the effects of influential parameters in the SAR can provide a better understanding of the SAR imaging systems, and therefore facilitates the interpretation of the produced images. Influential parameters in SAR images can be divided into five general categories of radar, radar platform, channel, imaging region, and processing section, each of which has different physical, structural, hardware, and software sub-parameters with clear roles in the finally formed images. In this paper, for the first time, a behaviour library that includes the effects of polarisation, incidence angle, and shape of targets, as radar and imaging region sub-parameters, in the SAR images are extracted. This library shows that the created pattern for each of cylindrical, conical, and cubic shapes is unique, and due to their unique properties these types of shapes can be recognised in the SAR images. This capability is applied to data acquired with the Canadian RADARSAT1 satellite.     

Resolution of the ocean wave propagation direction in SAR imagery

There is an inherent 180° ambiguity in the derived wave propagation direction when using conventional spectral analysis techniques on standard synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image products. Three different techniques are successfully used to resolve this ambiguity in propagation direction using a single pass of airborne SAR data. The fact that the SAR is characterized by a large time-bandwidth product is used to advantage. A sequence of individual looks extracted from the Doppler spectrum represents images of the scene collected at a sequence of discretely delayed intervals of time. The techniques utilized include cross-correlation-based motion analysis of a pair of looks, phase weighting based upon a pair of looks and the ocean wave dispersion relation, and a three-dimensional spectral analysis. The phase weighting technique is also demonstrated for a Seasat SAR scene     

基于Vega的SAR成像仿真系统设计

利用软件平台VC＋＋、Muhigen Creator和Vega设计机载合成孔径雷达（SAR）成像仿真系统，分析了影响机载SAR成像质量的各种参数，论述了利用Vega的雷达仿真模块——Radar Works开发机载SAR成像仿真软件的流程以及整体系统的实现等关键技术。仿真结果表明，该系统能较好地模拟各种参数下机载SAR的成像效果，对机载SAR成像系统性能评估有一定的辅助作用。     

SAR Images of Rooms and Buildings Based on FDTD Computer Models

This paper presents synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of rooms and buildings based on numerical simulations, with application to sensing through the wall (STTW) scenarios. We use the finite-difference time-domain modeling technique to compute the radar return from configurations of increasing complexity, where humans and furniture objects are placed in a room. We apply SAR image formation techniques and analyze the images obtained for various wall materials, aspect angles, and radar parameters. We investigate the multipath propagation issues relevant to STTW imaging radar and discuss the radar parameter tradeoff based on image quality. We also look at images obtained in cross-polarization, demonstrating how this radar operational mode can achieve significant clutter rejection. The phenomenological results obtained in this paper can be used as guidance by radar engineers in order to optimize the performance of STTW SAR imaging systems.     

Prediction of SAR focus performance using ephemeris covariance

Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) focus can be achieved based on either accurate ephemeris data or SAR processing parameters obtained from an autofocus process. For an SAR mapping project, a decision to choose one approach must be made in the early phase of system design. This requires a detailed analysis to predict the focus performance based on the predicted performance of the ephemeris data. For the Magellan project, this analysis is complicated by the facts that the Magellan radar is operated in a burst mode, and the Magellan radar maps the surface of Venus from a highly elliptical orbit. An analysis that is general enough so that both the strip mapping mode SAR system and the burst mode SAR system are considered is presented. The final result indicates that the ephemeris data obtained from the Magellan navigation system provides sufficient accuracy for meeting the Magellan image resolution requirement     

Lognormal Random-Field Models and Their Applications to Radar Image Synthesis

Lognormal random fields with multiplicative spatial interaction are proposed for modeling radar image intensity. Two particular classes of two-dimensional (2-D) lognormal random fields are introduced: multiplicative autoregressive (MAR), and multiplicative Mnrkov random fields (MMRF). The MAR and MMRF models are formulated as invertible point-transformations of Gaussian autoregressive and Gaussian Markov random fields (GMRF) and therefore possess many desirable properties. Least squares and maximum likelihood estimates for random-field parameters are presented, a decision rule is developed for selecting model order and transformations to normality as well, and techniques for synthesizing 2-D lognormal random fields are provided. Several Seasat synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images were tested using the decision rule developed in this paper and using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) goodness-of-fit test. With both tests they were found to possess a good fit to lognormal statistics. MAR and MMRF models were fit to Seasat SAR images, and then the models were used to generate synthetic images that closely resemble the original SAR images both visually and in their variograms. This demonstrates the generality and appropriateness of the MAR and MMRF models for radar imagery.     

CFAR edge detector for polarimetric SAR images

Finding the edges between different regions in an image is one of the fundamental steps of image analysis, and several edge detectors suitable for the special statistics of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) intensity images have previously been developed. In this paper, a new edge detector for polarimetric SAR images is presented using a newly developed test statistic in the complex Wishart distribution to test for equality of covariance matrices. The new edge detector can be applied to a wide range of SAR data from single-channel intensity data to multifrequency and/or multitemporal polarimetric SAR data. By simply changing the parameters characterizing the test statistic according to the applied SAR data, constant false-alarm rate detection is always obtained. An adaptive filtering scheme is presented, and the distributions of the detector are verified using simulated polarimetric SAR images. Using SAR data from the Danish airborne polarimetric SAR, EMISAR, it is demonstrated that superior edge detection results are obtained using polarimetric and/or multifrequency data compared to using only intensity data.     

一种新的机载宽波束SAR前向运动补偿算法

工作于低频段的机载宽波束SAR为了获取高分辨图像,对前向运动误差补偿精度的要求很高。前向运动补偿通常采用方位向重采样或实时PRF调整,前者的计算量较大,而后者又需要额外的硬件设备。文中提出一种新的适用于机载宽波束SAR的前向运动补偿算法,利用信号的时频对应关系,在子孔径距离多普勒域中构造相位补偿因子以消除前向运动误差的影响。算法计算量较小,适合于机载宽波束SAR实时处理。仿真和实测数据处理结果验证了算法的有效性。     

MIMO雷达三维干涉诊断成像方法

2维合成孔径雷达(Synthetic Aperture Radar, SAR)和逆合成孔径雷达(Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar, ISAR)成像是目标散射机理高分辨率分析和散射诊断测量的重要手段,现有被广泛采用的技术主要包括转台ISAR和导轨SAR成像技术。相比于传统的2维成像,3维成像可以提供目标局部散射中心在空间的3维位置和散射强度信息。因此,探索新的、可工程化实现与应用的目标3维成像技术是一项极具吸引力的工作。该文提出一种基于多输入多输出(Multiple-Input Multiple-Output, MIMO)阵列技术的3维干涉成像方法。首先,设计并试验了一种具有高孔径利用率和通过虚拟孔径实现干涉成像功能的MIMO阵列;其次,分析了MIMO阵列合成的两组虚拟孔径所成两幅2维雷达像的干涉相位与目标散射中心高度之间的关系,发展了MIMO雷达3维干涉成像算法;最后,通过数值仿真和原理样机实验验证了所提方法在目标散射机理分析和诊断测量应用中的可行性和有效性。      

Focused synthetic aperture radar processing of ice-sounder datacollected over the Greenland ice sheet

The authors developed a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing algorithm for airborne/spaceborne ice-sounding radar systems and applied it to data collected in Greenland. By using focused SAR (phase-corrected coherent averaging), they improved along-track resolution by a factor of four and provided a 6-dB processing gain over unfocused SAR (coherent averaging without phase correction) based on a point-target analysis for a Greenland ice-sounding data set. Also, They demonstrated that the focused-SAR processing reduced clutter and enabled them to identify bedrock-interface returns buried in clutter. Using focused-SAR technique, they processed data collected over a key 360-km-long portion of the 2000-m contour line of southwest Greenland. To the best of their knowledge, these are the first high-quality radar ice thickness measurements over this key location. Moreover, these ice-thickness measurements have been used for improving mass-balance estimates of the Greenland ice sheet