Novel perspectives in the monitoring of transport infrastructures by sentinel-1 and cosmo-skymed multi-temporal SAR interferometry

In recent years, successful applications of the Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) for the monitoring of subsidence and deformations in transport infrastructures have been reported in the literature. The main advantage of this technique compared to other non-destructive surveying methodologies is in the possibility to perform fast network-level surveys as well as the provision of time-series of the displacements by multi-temporal data acquisitions. Given the medium ground resolution, C-band imagery are usually not employed for structural transport infrastructure monitoring as it is considered unlikely to obtain sufficiently accurate information. However, this has not been thoroughly investigated until now. This study presents a novel approach for transport assets monitoring, based on the synergistic use of medium resolution (C-Band) and high resolution (X-Band) SAR imagery. To this effect, a multi-temporal SAR Interferometry analysis of high and medium-resolution datasets is performed on a runway of the Leonardo Da Vinci Airport in Rome, Italy. The data were acquired by the Sentinel-1A and the COSMO-SkyMed missions, respectively. A comparison between the results from medium and high-resolution datasets demonstrates the viability of using multi-frequency SAR imagery, and pave the way to the development of new methodologies for the monitoring of transport infrastructures

Real-time multiple-look synthetic aperture radar processor for spacecraft applications

A spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) having pipeline multiple-look data processing is described which makes use of excessive azimuth bandwidth in radar echo signals to produce multiple-looking images. Time multiplexed single-look image lines from an azimuth correlator go through an energy analyzer which analyzes the mean energy in each separate look to determine the radar antenna electric boresight for use in generating the correct reference functions for the production of high quality SAR images. The multiplexed single look image lines also go through a registration delay to produce multi-look images

Selection of the key earth observation sensors and platforms focusing on applications for Polar Regions in the scope of Copernicus system 2020-2030

An optimal payload selection conducted in the frame of the H2020 ONION project (id 687490) is presented based on the ability to cover the observation needs of the Copernicus system in the time period 2020–2030. Payload selection is constrained by the variables that can be measured, the power consumption, and weight of the instrument, and the required accuracy and spatial resolution (horizontal or vertical). It involved 20 measurements with observation gaps according to the user requirements that were detected in the top 10 use cases in the scope of Copernicus space infrastructure, 9 potential applied technologies, and 39 available commercial platforms. Additional Earth Observation (EO) infrastructures are proposed to reduce measurements gaps, based on a weighting system that assigned high relevance for measurements associated to Marine for Weather Forecast over Polar Regions. This study concludes with a rank and mapping of the potential technologies and the suitable commercial platforms to cover most of the requirements of the top ten use cases, analyzing the Marine for Weather Forecast, Sea Ice Monitoring, Fishing Pressure, and Agriculture and Forestry: Hydric stress as the priority use cases.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A Framework for SAR-Optical Stereogrammetry over Urban Areas

Currently, numerous remote sensing satellites provide a huge volume of diverse earth observation data. As these data show different features regarding resolution, accuracy, coverage, and spectral imaging ability, fusion techniques are required to integrate the different properties of each sensor and produce useful information. For example, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data can be fused with optical imagery to produce 3D information using stereogrammetric methods. The main focus of this study is to investigate the possibility of applying a stereogrammetry pipeline to very-high-resolution (VHR) SAR-optical image pairs. For this purpose, the applicability of semi-global matching is investigated in this unconventional multi-sensor setting. To support the image matching by reducing the search space and accelerating the identification of correct, reliable matches, the possibility of establishing an epipolarity constraint for VHR SAR-optical image pairs is investigated as well. In addition, it is shown that the absolute geolocation accuracy of VHR optical imagery with respect to VHR SAR imagery such as provided by TerraSAR-X can be improved by a multi-sensor block adjustment formulation based on rational polynomial coefficients. Finally, the feasibility of generating point clouds with a median accuracy of about 2m is demonstrated and confirms the potential of 3D reconstruction from SAR-optical image pairs over urban areas.Comment: This is the pre-acceptance version, to read the final version, please go to ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing on ScienceDirec

Theory and measure of certain image norms in SAR

The principal properties of synthetic aperture radar SAR imagery of point and distributed objects are summarized. Against this background, the response of a SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) to the moving surface of the sea is considered. Certain conclusions are drawn as to the mechanism of interaction between microwaves and the sea surface. Focus and speckle spectral tests may be used on selected SAR imagery for areas of the ocean. The fine structure of the sea imagery is sensitive to processor focus and adjustment. The ocean reflectivity mechanism must include point like scatterers of sufficient radar cross section to dominate the return from certain individual resolution elements. Both specular and diffuse scattering mechanisms are observed together, to varying degree. The effect is sea state dependent. Several experiments are proposed based on imaging theory that could assist in the investigation of reflectivity mechanisms

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data processing

The available and optimal methods for generating SAR imagery for NASA applications were identified. The SAR image quality and data processing requirements associated with these applications were studied. Mathematical operations and algorithms required to process sensor data into SAR imagery were defined. The architecture of SAR image formation processors was discussed, and technology necessary to implement the SAR data processors used in both general purpose and dedicated imaging systems was addressed

Coseismic surface deformation from air photos: The Kickapoo step over in the 1992 Landers rupture

Coseismic deformation of the ground can be measured from aerial views taken before and after an earthquake. We chose the area of the Kickapoo-Landers step over along the 1992 Landers earthquake zone, using air photos (scale 1:40,000) scanned at 0.4 m resolution. Two photos acquired after the earthquake are used to assess the accuracy and to evaluate various sources of noise. Optical distortions, film deformation, scanning errors, or errors in viewing parameters can yield metric bias at wavelength larger than 1 km. Offset field at shorter wavelength is more reliable and mainly affected by temporal decorrelation of the images induced by changes in radiometry with time. Temporal decorrelation and resulting uncertainty on offsets are estimated locally from the correlation degree between the images. Relative surface displacements are measured independently every about 15 m and with uncertainty typically below 10 cm (RMS). The offset field reveals most of the surface ruptures mapped in the field. The fault slip is accurate to about 7 cm (RMS) and measured independently every 200 m from stacked profiles. Slip distribution compares well with field measurements at the kilometric scale but reveals local discrepancies suggesting that deformation is generally, although not systematically, localized on the major fault zone located in the field. This type of data can provide useful insight into the fault zone's mechanical properties. Our measurements indicate that elastic coseismic strain near the fault zone can be as large as 0.5 × 10^(−3), while anelastic yielding was attained for strain in excess of about 1–2 × 10^(−3)

An introduction to the interim digital SAR processor and the characteristics of the associated Seasat SAR imagery

Basic engineering data regarding the Interim Digital SAR Processor (IDP) and the digitally correlated Seasat synthetic aperature radar (SAR) imagery are presented. The correlation function and IDP hardware/software configuration are described, and a preliminary performance assessment presented. The geometric and radiometric characteristics, with special emphasis on those peculiar to the IDP produced imagery, are described