ScanSAR focusing and interferometry

The authors discuss an efficient phase preserving technique for ScanSAR focusing, used to obtain images suitable for ScanSAR interferometry. Given two complex focused ScanSAR images of the same area, an interferogram can be generated as for conventional repeat pass SAR interferometry. However, due to the nonstationary azimuth spectrum of ScanSAR images, the coherence of the interferometric pair and the interferogram resolution are affected, both by the possible scan misregistration between two passes and by the terrain slopes along the azimuth. The resulting decorrelation can be significantly reduced by means of an azimuth varying filter, provided that some conditions on the scan misregistration are met. Finally, the SAR-ScanSAR interferometry is proposed: here the decorrelation can always be removed. With no resolution loss by means of the technique presented     

基于改进Kalman滤波模型的扫描合成孔径雷达图像扇贝效应校正方法

星载扫描合成孔径雷达(ScanSAR)采取Burst工作模式,该模式在获得宽幅测绘能力的同时,也导致图像中产生了固有的扇贝效应,严重影响图像的视觉效果和定量应用。该文结合对ScanSAR图像方位向统计特性的分析,针对现有滤波模型稳定性差和时间复杂度高等缺点,提出了一种改进的Kalman滤波模型,对图像方位向标准差和均值进行滤波以校正扇贝条纹。在高分三号(GF-3)卫星获取的真实ScanSAR图像上的校正结果验证了改进算法的有效性和高效性,此外在建筑群和海陆交界等复杂场景图像上的实验结果表明,改进算法具有较强的鲁棒性。     

基于改进Kalman滤波模型的扫描合成孔径雷达图像扇贝效应校正方法

星载扫描合成孔径雷达(ScanSAR)采取Burst工作模式,该模式在获得宽幅测绘能力的同时,也导致图像中产生了固有的扇贝效应,严重影响图像的视觉效果和定量应用。该文结合对ScanSAR图像方位向统计特性的分析,针对现有滤波模型稳定性差和时间复杂度高等缺点,提出了一种改进的Kalman滤波模型,对图像方位向标准差和均值进行滤波以校正扇贝条纹。在高分三号(GF-3)卫星获取的真实ScanSAR图像上的校正结果验证了改进算法的有效性和高效性,此外在建筑群和海陆交界等复杂场景图像上的实验结果表明,改进算法具有较强的鲁棒性。     

Doppler centroid estimation for ScanSAR data

We introduce a novel accurate technique to estimate the Doppler centroid (DC) in ScanSAR missions. The technique starts from the ambiguous DC measures in the subswaths and uses a method alternative to standard unwrapping to undo the jumps in estimates induced by modulo pulse repetition frequency (PRF) measures. The proposed alternative is less error prone than the usual unwrapping techniques. Doppler Ambiguity is then solved by implementing a maximum-likelihood estimate that exploits the different PRFs used in different subswaths. An azimuth pointing of the antenna that does not change with subswaths, or that changes in a known way, is assumed. However, if the PRF diversity is strong enough, unknown small changes in azimuth pointing are tolerated and accurately estimated. This estimator is much simpler and more efficient, than those in the literature. Results achieved with both RADARSAT 1 and ENVISAT ScanSAR data are reported.     

Estimation of doppler centroid frequency in spaceborne ScanSAR

Doppler centroid frequency is an essential parameter in the imaging processing of the Scanning mode Synthetic Aperture Radar （ScanSAR）. Inaccurate Doppler centroid frequency will result in ghost images in imaging result. In this letter, the principle and algorithms of Doppler centroid frequency estimation are introduced. Then the echo data of ScanSAR system is analyzed. Based on the algorithms of energy balancing and correlation Doppler estimator in the estimation of Doppler centroid frequency in strip mode SAR, an improved method for Doppler centroid frequency estimation in ScanSAR is proposed. The method has improved the accuracy of Doppler centroid frequency estimation in ScanSAR by zero padding between burst data. Finally, the proposed method is validated with the processing of ENVironment SATellite Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar （ENVISAT ASAR） wide swath raw data.     

ScanSAR processing using standard high precision SAR algorithms

Processing ScanSAR or burst-mode SAR data by standard high precision algorithms (e.g., range/Doppler, wavenumber domain, or chirp scaling) is shown to be an interesting alternative to the normally used SPECAN (or deramp) algorithm. Long burst trains with zeroes inserted into the interburst intervals can be processed coherently. This kind of processing preserves the phase information of the data-an important aspect for ScanSAR interferometry. Due to the interference of the burst images the impulse response shows a periodic modulation that can be eliminated by a subsequent low-pass filtering of the detected image. This strategy allows an easy and safe adaptation of existing SAR processors to ScanSAR data if throughput is not an issue. The images are automatically consistent with regular SAR mode images both with respect to geometry and radiometry. The amount and diversity of the software for a multimode SAR processor are reduced. The impulse response and transfer functions of a burst-mode end-to-end system are derived. Special attention is drawn to the achievable image quality, the radiometric accuracy, and the effective number of looks. The scalloping effect known from burst-mode systems can be controlled by the spectral weighting of the processor transfer function. It is shown that the fact that the burst cycle period is in general not an integer multiple of the sampling grid distance does not complicate the algorithm. An image example using X-SAR data for simulation of a burst system is presented     

Optimal “focusing” for low resolution ScanSAR

Deals with the focusing of low resolution ScanSAR data, for both detected amplitude images and interferometric applications. The SAR reference is exploited to achieve ScanSAR focusing in conventional techniques. Such techniques provide quite effective compensation of the azimuth antenna pattern (e.g. no scalloping) when the azimuth time-bandwidth product of the ScanSAR echo is large, but fail to do so as the burst shortens, being reduced to an ineffective weighting of the output. The result is an azimuth varying distortion of the focused impulse responses, a distortion that is partly compensated for in the multilook average (not available for interferometric applications) at the price of a reduction in the processed Doppler bandwidth. This paper proposes quite a different approach. A set of short kernels, each suitable for “focusing” at a specific azimuth bin, has been optimized to reconstruct source reflectivity in the minimum mean square error sense. That pseudoinversion converges to the “conventional” focusing when the burst extent is large and for short bursts, edge effects are accounted for. These azimuth-varying kernels can be suitably tuned to meet constraints in the resolution/sidelobes trade-off and have proved capable of providing fairly undistorted output and fine resolution. They better exploit the available Doppler bandwidth, maximizing the number of looks and the interferometric quality. A decomposition is suggested that implements the inverse operator as a fast preprocessing to be followed by a conventional ScanSAR processor     

星载ScanSAR干涉处理研究

星载ScanSAR干涉测量是一种宽测绘带的三维测高模式。该文结合ScanSAR工作原理,研究该模式干涉信号的频谱特点及ScanSAR干涉处理中特有的方位扫描同步;分析ENVISAT卫星ASAR Wide Swath模式单视复图像数据的特点,提出ScanSAR干涉数据处理的具体实现方案,并通过处理真实数据验证该方法的有效性。     

ScanSAR的Scalloping辐射误差研究

由于在观测带内采用了多波束扫描的工作模式,使得ScanSAR产生了固有的周期性的scalloping效应,影响了ScanSAR的辐射特性。该文基于ScanSAR工作模式的特点,研究了scalloping产生的机理和性质,定量地分析了scalloping引起的辐射误差以及多普勒中心误差与scalloping的关系,并研究了对scalloping进行校正后的剩余误差问题。     

星载ScanSAR工作模式研究与设计

该文系统地阐述了星载ScanSAR系统的基本工作原理,由ScanSAR系统的空间几何模型,确定了ScanSAR系统各子条带的空间位置,研究了ScanSAR系统的方位分辨率问题,确定了ScanSAR系统工作的时间关系,各子条带的脉冲重复频率的选择及每个burst的样本数,为系统设计提供了依据。重点研究了 ScanSAR系统的信噪比及距离模糊问题,提出了一种新的 ScanSAR系统特有的模糊概念ARASR,并提出新的分析方法,对其影响做了定量的计算,最后对 ScanSAR系统的数据下载格式提出了建议。     

Optimal range and Doppler centroid estimation for a ScanSAR system

This paper presents a new range and Doppler centroid estimation algorithm for a ScanSAR system. This algorithm is based on processing the image data in the overlapped region of two bursts of the same beam or adjacent beams. It leads to highly accurate radar pointing angles that are paramount to achieving good radiometric performance in ScanSAR imagery. The achievable accuracy is derived theoretically and verified by tests performed using SIR-C ScanSAR data and ERS data. This algorithm is computationally efficient and easy to implement. The proposed Doppler centroid estimation algorithm is also an excellent candidate for a strip mode SAR system     

A new algorithm for scansar processing

In this paper, a new phase preserving algorithm-the short IFFT algorithm for the burst-mode ScanSAR processing is presented. Analysis and simulation are done to verify the phase accuracy of this algorithm. Finally, the phase accuracy of this algorithm by making interferogram with simulated burst-mode INSAR data is illustrated. The results show that this new algorithm works well for interferometric application of ScanSAR data.     

用于HJ-1C 卫星ScanSAR 的等效RD 几何校正方法

HJ-1C 卫星是我国第1 颗民用合成孔径雷达卫星,具有条带和扫描两种工作模式。该文根据HJ-1C 卫星ScanSAR 模式的工作特点,在ECS 成像算法和传统斜距多普勒定位方法基础上,提出一种适用于ScanSAR 的等效RD 几何校正方法。首先根据方位时刻关系进行方位拼接,然后根据斜距关系拼接各个子带,接着拟合等效参数,进行斜距多普勒定位,最后实现ScanSAR 图像的几何校正。HJ-1C 卫星的实际数据实验结果表明:HJ-1C 卫星ScanSAR 模式的定位精度可以达到100 m; 24 核CPU 并行情况下实现10 s 处理完一景图像。      

Incidence angle dependence of the statistical properties of C-band HH-polarization backscattering signatures of the Baltic Sea ice

Incidence angle dependence of three statistical parameters-the mean of the backscattering coefficient (/spl sigma//spl deg/), standard deviation, and autocorrelation coefficient of texture (/spl sigma//sub T/ and /spl rho//sub T/)-of the C-band horizontal-horizontal (HH) polarization backscattering signatures of the Baltic Sea ice are investigated using RADARSAT ScanSAR Narrow images and helicopter-borne Helsinki University of Technology Scatterometer (HUTSCAT) data. The analysis of the large amount of data shows that the relationship between the mean /spl sigma//spl deg/ in decibel scale and the incidence angle in the range from 19/spl deg/ to 46/spl deg/ is usually well described by a linear model. In general, the RADARSAT and HUTSCAT results agree with each other, and they are also supported by theoretical backscattering model calculations; the more deformed the ice, the smaller the slope between /spl sigma//spl deg/ and the incidence angle, and the higher the moisture content of snow or ice, the larger the slope. The derived /spl sigma//spl deg/ incidence angle dependencies can be used to roughly compensate the /spl sigma//spl deg/ incidence angle variation in the SAR images to help their visual and automated classification. The variability of /spl sigma//sub T/ and /spl rho//sub T/ with the increasing incidence angle is insignificant compared to the variability within each ice type. Their average changes with the incidence angle are so small that, in practice, their trends do not need to be compensated. The results of this study can be utilized when developing classification algorithms for the RADARSAT ScanSAR and ENVISAT HH-polarization Wide Swath images of the Baltic Sea ice.     

地形因素对ScanSAR辐射特性的影响

地形对精确的ScanSAR辐射定标来说是个不容忽视的因素。目前，有关地形因素对条带模式SAR辐射特性的影响已做过大量研究，文中针对ScanSAR模式的特点，研究地形对ScanSAR辐射特性的影响，包括地形对散射面积效应的影响以及地形对scalloping效应和波束边界现象的影响，并对其进行了定量分析。     

基于MNMP的ScanSAR并行成像系统设计

该文对星载ScanSAR成像并行处理进行了详细的研究。首先,针对ScanSAR成像机制的特殊性,给出了基于传统主-从模式的并行实现流程。根据主-从模式的不足,该文提出了一种基于多节点-多进程的异步并行模式的星载ScanSAR并行处理的技术。实验结果表明,相对于传统的并行处理方法,该文所采用方法的成像时间得到了较好的改善,具有一定的优越性。     

基于自注意力机制和CycleGAN的高分三号ScanSAR图像的扇贝效应抑制

高分三号卫星是我国首颗分辨率达到1 m的C波段 多极化合成孔径雷达(synthetic aperture radar,SAR) 卫星,其中扫描 式合成孔径雷达(scan synthetic aperture radar,ScanSAR)模式是高分三号卫星重要的工 作模式之一,由于该模式的工作机制导致生成的图像可能发生扇贝效应,一般呈现为明暗相 间的条纹。本文针对高分三号卫星ScanSAR模式下存在的扇贝效应,提出自注意力机制与循 环一致对抗网络(cycle-consistent adversarial networks,CycleGAN)结合的模型对Scan S AR图像进行处理,从而抑制扇贝效应产生的条纹现象。本文所示方法与传统扇贝效应抑制方 法和深度学习相关算法进行比较,并通过亮度均值、平均梯度等指标进行分析。实验结果表 明,本文方法可以对高分三号ScanSAR图像存在的扇贝效应进行较好的处理,有效抑制图像 的条纹现象,使得图像质量得到提升,具有较大的实用意义。     

基于斜视TOPSAR的星载区域监视GMTI方法研究

无论在军事上还是在民用中,对大范围区域内的运动目标进行实时监视与检测都非常重要,传统区域监视采用机载扫描模式(ScanSAR),受到国界领空限制,并且ScanSAR固有的特性导致其不适用于在星载平台上进行运动目标区域监视。该文提出一种基于斜视TOPSAR的星载区域监视GMTI方法。该方法采用TOPSAR模式,改善了ScanSAR在星载条件下的低信杂比和信噪比问题。该方法利用斜视TOPSAR全孔径成像算法进行成像,并采用相位中心偏置天线(DPCA)和双门限单元平均恒虚警(CFAR)检测方法对动目标进行检测,利用推导出的运动目标的干涉相位与速度关系,对运动目标的速度进行估计和定位。另外,该文还分析了真实数据和仿真数据之间可能存在的差异及如何降低差异带来的影响。仿真结果验证了该方法的有效性。      

TOPSAR: Terrain Observation by Progressive Scans

In this paper, a novel (according to the authors' knowledge) type of scanning synthetic aperture radar (ScanSAR) that solves the problems of scalloping and azimuth-varying ambiguities is introduced. The technique employs a very simple counterrotation of the radar beam in the opposite direction to a SPOT: hence, the name terrain observation with progressive scan (TOPS). After a short summary of the characteristics of the ScanSAR technique and its problems, TOPSAR, which is the technique of design, the limits, and a focusing technique are introduced. A synthetic example based on a possible future system follows.