Tandem-L: And innovative interferometric and polarimetric SAR mission to monitor earth system dynamics with high resolution

Krieger, Gerhard; Hajnsek, Irena; Papathanassiou, Kostas; Eineder, Michael; Younis, Marwan; Zan, Francesco De; Huber, Sigurd; López-Dekker, Paco; Prats, Pau; Shen, Yuecheng; Freeman, A.; Rosen, P. A.; Hensley, Scott; Johnson, W. L.; Veilleux, Louise; Grafmueller, B.; Werninghaus, R.; Bamler, Richard; Moreira, Alberto

doi:10.1109/igarss.2010.5650322

Cited by 18 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Therefore, air-and space-borne systems are suited to apply our method when low enough frequencies are used. Low-frequency systems with high repeat times like TanDEM-L [34] are promising candidates. Fig.…”

Section: Application On Air-and Space-borne Sensorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Snow Water Equivalent of Dry Snow Measured by Differential Interferometry

Leinß

Wiesmann

Lemmetyinen

et al. 2015

IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl. Earth Observations Remote Sensing

107

102

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Large scale mapping of snow water equivalent (SWE) is a long-lasting request in many scientific and economical fields. Active and passive microwave remote sensing methods are explored, as local methods cannot be generalized due to the spatial inhomogeneity of the snow pack. Microwaves interact with snow by absorption, scattering, and refraction. For dry snow of a few meters depth and frequencies below 20 GHz, absorption and scattering in the snow volume are negligible compared with the backscattered energy from the underlying ground. The signal delay caused by refraction can be measured with differential radar interferometry, but phase wrapping errors and temporal decorrelation must be considered. We demonstrate that large ΔSWE can be accurately determined from dense time series of differential interferograms at X-and Ku-band by temporal integration. Lost phase cycles are reconstructed with a two-frequency approach. Temporal decorrelation is minimized by a temporal resolution of 4 h. A linear function between ΔSWE and phase difference is derived, which deviates only a few percent from the exact solution and which depends negligibly on snow density and stratigraphy. ΔSWE retrieved from observations of the SnowScat instrument (SSI) were validated against observed SWE from different reference instruments, installed at a test site near the town of Sodankylä, Finland. An accuracy below ±6 mm SWE was achieved at frequencies of 10 and 16 GHz for up to 200 mm of ΔSWE. An exceptionally high temporal coherence was observed for up to 30 days for dry snow, whereas for wet snow it decayed within hours.

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Section: Application On Air-and Space-borne Sensorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Snow Water Equivalent of Dry Snow Measured by Differential Interferometry

Leinß

Wiesmann

Lemmetyinen

et al. 2015

IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl. Earth Observations Remote Sensing

107

102

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“…Among the available space-borne SAR missions, L-band SAR systems are preferred to measure ∂h/∂t in Amazon floodplains. Besides the historical JERS, ALOS, and currently operating ALOS2 systems, several L-band SAR systems are planned to be launched in the future, such as the Tandem-L and NISAR systems [38,39]. Hitherto, only ALOS2 ScanSAR data can be used currently to estimate ∂h/∂t in large-scale Amazon floodplains.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of Water Level Changes of Large-Scale Amazon Wetlands Using ALOS2 ScanSAR Differential Interferometry

et al. 2018

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Differential synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry (DInSAR) has been successfully used to estimate water level changes (∂h/∂t) over wetlands and floodplains. Specifically, amongst ALOS PALSAR datasets, the fine-beam stripmap mode has been mostly implemented to estimate ∂h/∂t due to its availability of multitemporal images. However, the fine-beam observation mode provides limited swath coverage to study large floodplains and wetlands, such as the Amazon floodplains. Therefore, for the first time, this paper demonstrates that ALOS2 ScanSAR data can be used to estimate the large-scale ∂h/∂t in Amazon floodplains. The basic procedures and challenges of DInSAR processing with ALOS2 ScanSAR data are addressed and final ∂h/∂t maps are generated based on the Satellite with ARgos and ALtiKa (SARAL) altimetry's reference data. This study reveals that the local ∂h/∂t patterns of Amazon floodplains are spatially complex with highly interconnected floodplain channels, but the large-scale (with 350 km swath) ∂h/∂t patterns are simply characterized by river water flow directions.

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“…PolInSAR is a very powerful tool for estimating forest height, and to first order, the structure of vegetation canopies (Cloude et al, 2003;Li et al, 2003), as seen in Figure 10. It is a foundational technique for the European Space Agency (ESA)'s future BIOMASS mission (Le Toan et al, 2011), NASA and ISRO's future NISAR mission (JPL, 2019), and for DLR's planned Tandem-L mission (Krieger et al, 2010;Moreira et al, 2015). (Cloude and Papathanassiou, 1998).…”

Section: First Acquisition Of Polinsar Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

The legacy of the SIR-C/X-SAR radar system: 25 years on

Freeman

Zink

Caro

et al. 2019

Remote Sensing of Environment

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Twenty-five years ago, the two flights of the SIR-C/X-SAR Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system on the Space Shuttle Endeavour blazed a trail toward the future with a series of radar system innovations-that nearly every spaceborne SAR flown since then has benefited from, and in some cases improved upon. Many of the SAR techniques adopted by SAR system designers worldwide as part of their toolkit, such as: ScanSAR, Spotlight mode, along-track interferometry, polarization diversity and polarimetry, polarimetric calibration, variable length and bandwidth pulses, and onboard processing, can trace their heritage back to this first-of-a-kind, civil-use SAR system. The electronic steering capability of SIR-C's phased array antenna, combined with the exquisite orbit track control provided by the Space Shuttle, paved the way for systematic mapping of the Earth's topography by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, and later by TanDEM-X. Some techniques, such as multi-frequency SAR, multi-frequency repeat-pass interferometry and onboard processing have yet to be fully exploited. The richness of the SIR-C/X-SAR data set has proved to be a treasure trove for opening up entirely new remote sensing techniques, such as Polarimetric SAR Interferometry (or PolInSAR), and GPS or now GNSS reflections (also known as Signals of Opportunity), which were both demonstrated from archive data, years after the 1994 flights. The groundbreaking legacy of SIR-C/X-SAR lives on in the many SAR systems collecting data in Earth orbit today, and in those planned for the future.

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Tandem-L: And innovative interferometric and polarimetric SAR mission to monitor earth system dynamics with high resolution

Cited by 18 publications

References 7 publications

Snow Water Equivalent of Dry Snow Measured by Differential Interferometry

Snow Water Equivalent of Dry Snow Measured by Differential Interferometry

Estimation of Water Level Changes of Large-Scale Amazon Wetlands Using ALOS2 ScanSAR Differential Interferometry

The legacy of the SIR-C/X-SAR radar system: 25 years on

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Tandem-L: And innovative interferometric and polarimetric SAR mission to monitor earth system dynamics with high resolution

Cited by 18 publications

References 7 publications

Snow Water Equivalent of Dry Snow Measured by Differential Interferometry

Snow Water Equivalent of Dry Snow Measured by Differential Interferometry

Estimation of Water Level Changes of Large-Scale Amazon Wetlands Using ALOS2 ScanSAR Differential Interferometry

The legacy of the SIR-C/X-SAR radar system: 25 years on

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The legacy of the SIR-C/X-SAR radar system: 25 years on