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Data Processing, SAR Sensors

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Remote Sensing

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Synonyms

Doppler sharpening; Imaging radars

Definition

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). A coherent radar system that records data in a way that allows later processing of the radar returns into images.

SAR Data Processing. The process by which radar signals are converted into images.

Introduction

The word RADAR is an acronym for Radio Detection and Ranging. A radar measures the distance, or range, to an object by transmitting an electromagnetic signal and receiving an echo reflected from the object. Since electromagnetic waves propagate at the speed of light, one only has to measure the time it takes the radar signal to propagate to the object and back to calculate the range to the object. The total distance traveled by the signal is twice the distance between the radar and the object, since the signal travels from the radar to the object and then back from the object to the radar after reflection. Therefore, once we measured the propagation time, we can easily calculate the distance...

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Bibliography

  • Curlander, J. C., and McDonough, R. N., 1991. Synthetic Aperture Radar System and Signal Processing. New York: Wiley.

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  • Elachi, C., and van Zyl, J. J., 2007. Introduction to the Physics and Techniques of Remote Sensing. New York: Wiley.

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Acknowledgment

This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the NASA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Jakob van Zyl

Authors
  1. Jakob van Zyl
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jakob van Zyl .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

    Eni G. Njoku

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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van Zyl, J. (2014). Data Processing, SAR Sensors. In: Njoku, E.G. (eds) Encyclopedia of Remote Sensing. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36699-9_37

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