Sensitivity of Sentinel-1 backscatter to characteristics of buildings

In this study, Sentinel-1 interferometric wide swath (IW) mode backscatter is analysed with respect to physical parameters of buildings in Tallinn, Estonia. Dependence on height, alignment, density, shape, and material is shown and discussed. Distribution of backscatter was estimated with respect to each of the parameters, and a correlation matrix of all physical parameters and backscatter values was computed. Height has the strongest effect on backscatter values for both polarization bands, while shape and alignment to orbit has weaker effect on the backscatter. Relationship of co-polarized and cross-polarized backscatter with how a building is aligned with respect to the satellite’s look angle indicates that double bounce from wall–ground interactions is still the dominant scattering mechanism detected by Sentinel-1 in IW mode with 20 m resolution. In order to establish possible detection problems related to specifically oriented buildings at different latitudes, dihedral backscatter is modelled for buildings of oblong and square shapes. Results from this study should be used to improve existing and develop new urban area detection methods based on Sentinel-1 data

The Verijarv area, South Estonia over the last millennium: A high resolution quantitative land-cover reconstruction based on pollen and historical data

Integration of palynological proxies with annual lamina counting, C-14, Pb-210, Cs-137 and Am-241 radiometric dating, historical documents and old cadastral maps enabled reconstruction of changes in the cultural landscape resulting from extensive forest clearance, arable farming and slash-and-burn practices in South Estonia over the last millennium. Changes in land-cover were quantitatively reconstructed using Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm (LRA) models. These reconstructions are in accordance with historical data from the last century, while reconstructions for the late 19th century time-slice exhibit a considerably more open landscape with a higher portion of cultivated land than that recorded on maps, and possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. Taxa represented in the pollen spectrum with values 70%) landscape resulting from extensive agrarian activities including slash-and-burn agriculture; AD 1870 to 1950, cultural landscape with variable openness (70-80%) and AD 1950 to 2000, modern overgrowing semi-open (<70%) landscape. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Separability of mowing and ploughing events on short temporal baseline sentinel-1 coherence time series

Short temporal baseline regular Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) interferometry is a tool well suited for wide area monitoring of agricultural activities, urgently needed in European Union Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) enforcement. In this study, we demonstrate and describe in detail, how mowing and ploughing events can be identified from Sentinel-1 6-day interferometric coherence time series. The study is based on a large dataset of 386 dual polarimetric Sentinel-1 VV/VH SAR and 351 Sentinel-2 optical images, and nearly 2000 documented mowing and ploughing events on more than 1000 parcels (average 10.6 ha, smallest 0.6 ha, largest 108.5 ha). Statistical analysis revealed that mowing and ploughing cause coherence to increase when compared to values before an event. In the case of mowing, the coherence increased from 0.18 to 0.35, while Sentinel-2 NDVI (indicating the amount of green chlorophyll containing biomass) at the same time decreased from 0.75 to 0.5. For mowing, there was virtually no difference between the polarisations. After ploughing, VV-coherence grew up to 0.65 and VH-coherence to 0.45, while NDVI was around 0.2 at the same time. Before ploughing, both coherence and NDVI values were very variable, determined by the agricultural management practices of the parcel. Results presented here can be used for planning further studies and developing mowing and ploughing detection algorithms based on Sentinel-1 data. Besides CAP enforcement, the results are also useful for food security and land use change detection applications.Peer reviewe