Classification of sediments on exposed tidal flats in the German Bight using multi-frequency radar data

We present a new method for the extraction of roughness parameters of sand ripples on exposed tidal flats from multi-frequency synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. The method is based on the Integral Equation Model (IEM) which predicts the normalized radar cross-section (NRCS) of randomly rough dielectric surfaces. The data used for this analysis were acquired in the German Bight of the North Sea by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band SAR (SIR-C/X-SAR) in 1994. In-situ measurements of the root-mean-squared (rms) height and the correlation length of the sand ripples clearly demonstrate a relationship between these roughness parameters and the C-band NRCS determined from an ERS SAR image. Using the IEM we have calculated NRCS isolines for the three frequency bands deployed by SIR-C/X-SAR (L, C, and X band), as a function of the rms height and the correlation length of the sand ripples. For each SIR-C/X-SAR image pixel these two roughness parameters were determined from the intersections of the NRCS isolines at different radar bands, and they were used for a crude sediment classification for a small test area at the German North Sea coast. Comparing our results with available sediment maps, we conclude that the presented method is very promising for tidal flat classification by using data from presently existing airborne and future spaceborne multi-frequency SAR systems.     

SAR detection and characterization of sea surface slicks

In this paper we demonstrate SAR system capability for detecting and characterizing marine surface slicks. During an aircraft measurement campaign over the Gulf of Genoa (Italy), a multi-frequency SAR system, operating in P-, L- and C-bands, explored a sea area heavily covered by slicks. At the same time in situ measurements were performed with an interferential microwave probe, installed on board a small boat, capable of measuring high resolution sea spectra up to frequencies of capillary waves. By plotting SAR pixel intensity versus sea wave Bragg frequency we obtained wide portions of the sea spectrum region affected by the surface film damping. Spectra derived from SAR imagery and from gauge data present comparable slopes and furthermore the ratio between clean to slicked water spectrum obtained with the two techniques were surprisingly similar. This demonstrates the multi-frequency SAR systems ability to detect and characterize sea surface films assuming the Bragg mechanism in the radar backscatter. The outlined analysis suggests a simple methodology to monitor coastal water quality by using airborne SAR.     

Three-dimensional space-borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging with multiple pass processing

Three-dimensional (3D) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging via multiple-pass processing is an extension of interferometric SAR imaging. It exploits more than two flight passes to achieve a desired resolution in elevation. In this paper, a novel approach is developed to reconstruct a 3D space-borne SAR image with multiple-pass processing. It involves image registration, phase correction and elevational imaging. An image model matching is developed for multiple image registration, an eigenvector method is proposed for the phase correction and the elevational imaging is conducted using a Fourier transform or a super-resolution method for enhancement of elevational resolution. 3D SAR images are obtained by processing simulated data and real data from the first European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS-1) with the proposed approaches.     

Characterisation of surface roughness and sediment texture of intertidal flats using ERS SAR imagery

High resolution, synoptic information on sediment characteristics of intertidal flats is required for coastal management, e.g., for habitat mapping and dredging studies. This study aims to derive such information from space-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Estimates of the backscattering coefficient were extracted from ERS-1 SAR and ERS-2 SAR PRI imagery of four intertidal flats in the Westerschelde (southwest Netherlands). They were related to field measurements of surface roughness, moisture conditions and sediment texture. The field data were also used as input to the backscattering model IEM. The data and model predictions show that on the intertidal flats, backscattering depends mainly on vertical surface roughness, with rougher surfaces associated with more backscattering. Surface roughness, mainly determined by the ripple structure of the bed, decreased with the amount of mud in the sediment. This resulted in a significant negative correlation between backscattering and mud content, and a significant positive correlation between backscattering and median grain-size of the sediment. Sediment texture was also correlated with the volumetric moisture content of the sediment, with finer sediments being associated with higher moisture contents. However, moisture contents were generally high, and therefore the backscatter signal was not sensitive to differences in moisture content. The relationships allowed the development of regression models for the prediction of surface characteristics from SAR imagery, from which maps of, for example, mud content, have been derived.     

基于FPGA的星载SAR方位压缩处理器设计与实现

介绍了基于FPGA芯片的星载合成孔径雷达实时成像处理器中方位压缩处理器的设计与实现。该处理器可根据参数实时生成匹配滤波参考函数，用频域方法实现雷达回波的方位向压缩，并输出实图像。处理器与主控间采用ISA总线接口。介绍了方位压缩的原理和功能，详细描述了处理器硬件开发和FPGA设计。测试结果表明，该处理器可以实现星载条件下雷达数据的方位压缩。     

基于ENVISat的海洋污染性油膜雷达散射特征与扩散趋势分析

污染性海洋溢油一旦发生,快速获取油膜信息对有效控制溢油危害具有重要意义。以渤海湾一次溢油污染事件为例,利用ENVISat数据根据油膜雷达后向散射特征分析溢油的发生,并利用溢油期间的连续风场信息和连续SAR数据对比研究油膜的扩散趋势以及扩散过程中油膜尺度的变化。结果表明：污染性油膜在海上扩散的不同阶段具有不同的SAR图像特征,海上溢油雷达遥感检测分析方法与检测效果因SAR图像获取时油膜所处扩散阶段不同而有所不同,通过SAR连续观测结合辅助信息可以对污染油膜及其运动进行有效监控与预测。     

Floodplain water storage in the Negro River basin estimated from microwave remote sensing of inundation area and water levels

The objective of this study is to determine spatio-temporal variations of water volume over inundated areas located in large river basins using combined observations from the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) onboard the Japanese Earth Resources Satellite (JERS-1), the Topex/Poseidon (T/P) altimetry satellite, and in-situ hydrographic stations. Ultimately, the goal is to quantify the role of floodplains for partitioning water and sediment fluxes over the great fluvial basins of the world. SAR images are used to identify the type of surface (open water, inundated areas, forest) and, hence, the areas covered with water. Both radar altimetry data and in-situ hydrographic measurements yield water level time series. The basin of the Negro River, the tributary which carries the largest discharge to the Amazon River, was selected as a test site. By combining area estimates derived from radar images classification with changes in water level, variations of water volume (focusing on a seasonal cycle) have been obtained. The absence of relationship between water volume and inundated area, reflecting the diverse and widely dispersed floodplains of the basin, is one of the main result of this study.     

基于仿真数据的HJ-1C卫星SAR成像处理方法

合成孔径雷达(SAR,synthetic aperture radar)是对地遥感观测的重要技术手段.作为民用星载SAR的第一颗卫星,HJ-1C卫星即将发射,因此文中针对其成像处理中涉及的关键技术开展了研究工作,包括精确的斜视等效距离模型下的扩展ECS(extended chirp scaling)算法的补偿因子、三次相位误差补偿因子形式的分析,快速的回波数据模拟算法的建模和实现,以及精确的Doppler参数计算方法以及对扫描模式成像算法中拼接环节的算法改进.通过理论研究分析和仿真验证,证明基于等效斜视模型的扩展chirp scaling算法是适应条带、扫描成像模式的精确算法.     

Nearshore circulation and synthetic aperture radar: An exploratory study

We use a sequence of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images to map differences in the flood and ebb tidal currents in a cove along the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. The asymmetry in the tidal flow determines the flushing rate of the cove which, in turn, has a significant effect on biological production within the cove and its potential for aquaculture. We find significant differences in the SAR images collected on flood and ebb tides. Specifically there are well-defined lines on the flood images and large whorls on the ebb. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model of the tidal currents is used to interpret the SAR images. In particular we use the model flow fields to wind back the SAR images to an earlier stage of the tide in an attempt to determine the physical origin of the features in the images. We conclude that the most likely explanation for the ebb-tide whorls is the advection of surface slicks.     

Automated delineation of coastline from polarimetric SAR imagery

In this paper we present a new diffusion-based method for the delineation of coastlines from space-borne polarimetric SAR imagery of coastal urban areas. Both polarimetric filtering and speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion (SRAD) are exploited to generate a base image where speckle is reduced and edges are enhanced. The primary edge information is then derived from the base image using the instantaneous coefficient of variation edge detector. Next, the resulting edge image is parsed by a watershed transform, which partitions the image into disjoint segments where the division lines between segments are collocated with detected edges. The over-segmentation problem associated with the watershed transform is solved by a region merging technique that combines neighbouring segments with similar radar brightness. As a result, undesired boundary segments are eliminated and true coastlines are correctly delineated. The proposed algorithm has been applied to a space-borne polarimetric SAR dataset, demonstrating a good visual match between the detected coastline and the manually contoured coastline. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with those of two polarimetric SAR classification algorithms and two edge-based shoreline detection methods that are tailored to single polarization SAR images. Experimental results are shown using polarimetric SAR data from Hong Kong.     

Simplified radar mapping equations for terrain correction of space-borne SAR images

Correction of a space-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image for the effects of terrain distortion requires the use of mapping equations that relate the coordinates of a scatterer in three dimensions to its position in the twodimensional image. These mapping equations are complicated since they take into account the curved geometry of the Earth's surface, and since they must be evaluated of the order of 10 to 100 million times in the course of correcting a typical SAR image, the complexity is a disadvantage. In this paper we derive two approximations, one quadratic and one linear, to the mapping equation, and evaluate their performance relative to the observational parameters of a variety of space-borne SAR systems and the range of topographic variation present in the scene. We show that the quadratic approximation is sufficiently accurate in virtually all circumstances likely to be encountered. In most cases the linear approximation is also valid, although it is unsuitable where the topographic variation is large and the near-swath incidence angle is small.     

The accuracy of sequential aerial photography and SAR data for observing urban flood dynamics, a case study of the UK summer 2007 floods

In this paper we examine, for the first time, the potential of remote sensing to monitor flood dynamics in urban areas and constrain mathematical models of these processes. This is achieved through the development of a unique data set consisting of a series of eight space-borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and aerial photographic images of flooding of the UK town of Tewkesbury acquired over an eight day period in summer 2007. Previous observations of urban flooding have used single image and wrack mark data and have therefore been unable to adequately chart the propagation and recession of flood waves through complex urban topography. By using a combination of space-borne radar and aerial imagery we are able to show that remotely sensed imagery, particularly from the new TerraSAR-X radar, can reproduce dynamics adequately and support flood modelling in urban areas. We illustrate that image data from different remote sensing platforms reveal sufficient information to distinguish between models with varying degrees of channel-floodplain connectivity, particularly toward the end of the recession phase of the event. For this test case, our results also show that high resolution SAR imagery even when acquired from satellites can reveal important hydraulic characteristics difficult to simulate with current dynamic flood models. Hence, it is established, at least for this test case and event, that SAR imagery from as far as several hundred kilometers from the Earth's surface can deliver important information about floodplain dynamics that can be used to identify and help build suitable models, even in built-up environments.     

Monitoring land deformation in Changzhou city (China) with multi-band InSAR data sets from 2006 to 2012

Over exploitation of groundwater in Changzhou city, China can cause land deformation, which in turn proves detrimental to the urban infrastructure. In this study, multi-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data sets (C-band Envisat ASAR, L-band ALOS PALSAR, and X-band COSMO-SkyMed) acquired from 2006 to 2012 were analysed using the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry (InSAR) time-series method to investigate the relationship between spatial–temporal distribution of land deformation and groundwater exploitation. Annual deformation rate inferred from multi-band interferograms ranges from ?58 to 24 mm year^?1. Levelling-survey data were used to validate the multi-band InSAR measurements. The results showed that these two types of measurements were generally in agreement. Correlating groundwater-table and multi-band InSAR measurements at six groundwater-well stations showed that with the rise of the water table, the land rebounded. But in some areas with larger subsidence, continual subsidence was observed even though the water table rose after the prohibition of groundwater exploitation. This may have been caused by the hysteresis effect due to the consolidation of strata (especially for the creep deformation). Our study provides scientific evidence on the management of groundwater extraction and the assessment of land-subsidence hazards.     

Analysis of ALOS PALSAR InSAR data for mapping water level changes in Yellow River Delta wetlands

Wetlands play a key role in regional and global environments and are critically linked to many major issues such as climate change, water quality, hydrological and carbon cycles, and wildlife habitat and biodiversity. It is very important to measure water level changes and consequently water storage capacity changes in wetlands to enable wetland protection and reconstruction. In this study, HH polarization L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data were used in conjunction with synchronous field measurements and investigations to investigate the potential to detect water level changes under different types of wetlands. After evaluating factors that influence interferometric coherence, the framework for measuring water level changes using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) phase information is presented in this article. Additionally, the SAR data obtained are used to investigate InSAR-derived water level changes in Yellow River Delta wetlands. The results show that InSAR technology has great potential for application in mapping water level changes in coastal wetlands, and InSAR-derived water level changes can supply unprecedented spatial details.     

An automatic method for mapping inland surface waterbodies with Radarsat-2 imagery

The use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery is generally considered to be an effective method for detecting surface water. Among various supervised/unsupervised classification methods, a SAR-intensity-based histogram thresholding method is widely used to distinguish waterbodies from land. A SAR texture-based automatic thresholding method is presented in this article. The use of texture images substantially enhances the contrast between water and land in intensity images. It also makes the method less sensitive to incidence angles than intensity-based methods. A modified Otsu thresholding algorithm is applied to selected sub-images to determine the optimal threshold value. The sub-images were selected using k-means results to ensure a sufficient number of pixels for both water and land classes. This is critical for the Otsu algorithm being able to detect an optimal threshold for a SAR image. The method is completely unsupervised and is suitable for large SAR image scenes. Tests of this method on a Radasat-2 image mosaicked from 8 QuadPol scenes covering the Spritiwood valley in Manitoba, Canada, show a substantial increase in land–water classification accuracy over the commonly used SAR intensity thresholding method (kappa indices are 0.89 vs. 0.79). The method is less computationally intensive and requires less user interaction. It is therefore well suited for detecting waterbodies and monitoring their dynamic changes from a large SAR image scene in a near-real time environment).     

SAR imaging of a topography-induced current front in a tidal channel

A quasi-linear dark-bright feature was observed on a TerraSAR-X synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image acquired in the area of Pearl River Estuary (PRE), China, on 25 October 2010. Examining the detailed local bathymetry chart, we find that the feature is collocated with major axis of Lingding Channel in the waterway of PRE. In the study, we first run a 3-D hydrodynamic model to simulate the tidal currents within PRE, and then used the simulated current and local wind data as input to run a radar simulation model to calculate the variation of normalized radar cross section induced by these parameters. Ocean model simulation shows that surface currents were parallel to the major axis of the channel at the satellite overpass time. Radar model simulation results show good agreement between the simulated and actual SAR images. The quasi-linear dark-bright feature on the SAR image was found to be due to the surface current convergence and divergence caused by the bathymetry-induced tidal current variation.     

基于特征融合卷积神经网络的SAR图像目标检测方法

针对合成孔径雷达图像目标在背景复杂、场景较大、干扰杂波较多情况下检测困难的问题,设计一种层数较少的卷积神经网络,在完备数据集验证其特征提取效果后,作为基础特征提取网络使用。在训练数据集中补充复杂的大场景下目标训练样本。同时设计一种多层次卷积特征融合网络,增强对大场景下小目标的检测能力。通过对候选区域网络和目标检测网络近似联合训练后,得到一个完整的可用于不同的复杂大场景下SAR图像目标检测的模型。实验结果表明,该方法在SAR图像目标检测方面具有较好的效果,在测试数据集中具有0.86的AP值。     

超宽带雷达的发展、现状及应用

超宽带雷达以其高距高分辩率、强穿透国、低截获率与强抗干扰性在军事、商业、环保等领域得到日益关注。本文综述了超宽带雷达的发展历史,结合国外实际超宽带合成孔径雷达系统阐明了超宽带合成孔径雷达的现状,并深入探讨了超宽带雷达的特性及其应用前景。超宽带雷达经过几十年的发展仍存在一些值得深入研究的问题,本文简要分析了部分技术难点,指出了超宽带雷达今后的发展和应用方向。     

Applications of Radarsat‐1 synthetic aperture radar imagery to assess hurricane‐related flooding of coastal Louisiana

The Louisiana coast is subjected to hurricane impacts including flooding of human settlements, river channels and coastal marshes, and salt water intrusion. Information on the extent of flooding is often required quickly for emergency relief, repairs of infrastructure, and production of flood risk maps. This study investigates the feasibility of using Radarsat‐1 SAR imagery to detect flooded areas in coastal Louisiana after Hurricane Lili, October 2002. Arithmetic differencing and multi‐temporal enhancement techniques were employed to detect flooding and to investigate relationships between backscatter and water level changes. Strong positive correlations (R ² = 0.7–0.94) were observed between water level and SAR backscatter within marsh areas proximate to Atchafalaya Bay. Although variations in elevation and vegetation type did influence and complicate the radar signature at individual sites, multi‐date differences in backscatter largely reflected the patterns of flooding within large marsh areas. Preliminary analyses show that SAR imagery was not useful in mapping urban flooding in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina's landfall on 29 August 2005.     

Ionospheric and tropospheric effects on synthetic aperture radar performance†

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) produces high-resolution images of the Earth's surface (and subsurface, under some conditions) by coherently processing the returns from a pulsed radar. It is an active sensor, hence is not dependent on natural illumination for its operation, and the comparative transparency of the atmosphere at centimetre wavelengths allows penetration of clouds and haze. SAR therefore offers considerable potential as an all-weather, all-time-of-day sensor, as long as propagation effects do not destroy signal coherence. A particularly useful way of viewing SAR performance is in terms of the synthetic antenna gain pattern, and performance measures derived from this pattern (e.g. spatial resolution, sidelobe energy). Perturbations of the phase due to irregularities in the refractive index structure of the ionosphere and troposphere lead to changes in the system performance. We have used a phase screen model to generate phase perturbations of the form expected due to propagation through a disturbed ionosphere. Simulations have been undertaken and used to assess the performance of a variety of SAR systems under particular geophysical conditions. These simulations indicate that at the longer wavelengths (C band and above), severe disturbances may greatly reduce image contrast, to the extent of destroying the image. Geometric distortions will also be introduced.