With Radarsat-1 presently in operation and Radarsat-2 approved, Canada is starting to develop synthetic aperture radar (SAR) applications that require imagery on an operational schedule.Sea ice surveillance is now a proven near-real-time application, and new
marine and coastal roles for SAR imagery are emerging. Although some image quality and calibration issues remain to be addressed, ship detection and coastal wind field retrieval are now in demonstration phases, with significant participation from the Canadian private sector.
Surface deformation, measured from space, provides a means to remotely monitor Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) activities. Using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) to measure surface deformation allows for a common measuring stick with no access issues. Currently surface deformation is measured using many alternative approaches, some of which are less economical and not feasible at the regional scale when compared to InSAR. Information collected from InSAR could be used to develop an informed planning mechanism.
Space based SAR data from January 2009 to August 2011 was examined over a SAGD site in Alberta, Canada. The data was extracted from the satellite archives and advanced InSAR processing techniques were applied to measure the surface deformation over the site.
The InSAR results show the extreme variability in the ground conditions that are to be expected in the region. The surface deformation was measured using a combination of corner reflectors and infrastructure targets. The highly variable ground conditions make monitoring of subtle deformation signals (2.5 – 5 cm/yr) difficult to measure without the use of installed targets. The challenges of InSAR monitoring without installed targets are addressed to emphasize the importance of on-site ground control points.
Furthermore, the surface changes observed with the InSAR results are related to reservoir changes. Geomechanical simulation is dependent on many rock physics parameters and complex geological frameworks. History matching with InSAR observation provides enhanced prediction and estimation of reservoir growth, which can inform decisions related to reservoir performance and caprock integrity.
This paper is a result of a collaboration between the Alberta Energy Regulator, MDA Geospatial Services Inc. (MDA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to examine the requirements for rapid-turnaround measurement of ground deformation over enhanced oil recovery sites in the Alberta Oil Sands. Funding for this effort was partially provided by the CSA.
Soil moisture is a key factor in the reclamation of wetland habitats. Understanding the distribution and relative amount of water can be critical in reintroducing trees and grasses to disturbed soils. Soil moisture is also one of the main factors affecting microwave radar backscatter from the ground; while there are other factors determining backscatter levels (for instance, surface roughness, vegetation and incident angle) relative variations in soil moisture can be estimated using spacebased, high resolution, multi-temporal synthetic aperture radar (SAR). In this work, relative soil moisture indicators are derived from a time series of Sentinel-1 SAR data over previously mined oil sands in Alberta, Canada. The algorithm provides a relative assessment of soil moisture and requires calibration over wet and dry periods. An evaluation of the soil moisture product is validated using in situ measurements at multiple sites with observations showing agreement from May to August. Comparisons with precipitation records show that SAR derived surface soil moisture is influenced by discreet precipitation events; that is, rainfall that is coincident with the satellite observation reduces the effectiveness of the measurement. The resulting algorithm controls for rain events by including local weather records to adjust estimates based on the known precipitation.
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