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Land Applications of SAR Interferometry

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Microwave Physics and Techniques

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASHT,volume 33))

Abstract

Land applications of SAR interferometry are presented and discussed. In recent years significant progress was achieved in microwave remote sensing due to SAR interferometric data analysis. Data acquired during repeat orbits by the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors on the European Remote Sensing Satellites ERS-1 and 2 can be used for SAR interferometric data analysis. SAR interferometry combines SAR images acquired by two antennae on the same platform or by one antenna at different times during repeat orbits. The interferometric phase is a measure of the path length difference between the target and the two sensor positions. Topographic height, surface deformation occurring between the acquisition of the two images, and path length variations influence the interferometric phase. Under the assumption of a stationary situation (no surface deformation, no propagation effects) the three dimensional position of the image resolution element can be determined, allowing the derivation of height maps. Surface deformation may be mapped if the phase caused by the topographic height is known from an independent source or derived from an additional interferometric image pair. Propagation effects may be isolated for a known stationary topography.

The interferometric correlation, a measure for the variance of the interferometric phase, depends on radar system and data processing parameters, geometric parameters, and parameters related to the land surface. Random dislocation of the individual scatterers between the two acquisitions of an interferometric image pair reduces the interferometric correlation. Over forest, for example, the ERS repeat-pass interferometric correlation is small due to the dominance of volume scattering from the small, rather unstable tree components in the crown. The potential of the interferometric correlation for landuse classification, change detection and monitoring, and the retrieval of geophysical and biophysical parameters will be discussed based on examples and theoretical considerations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gamma Remote Sensing AG, Thunstrasse 130, CH-3074, Muri BE, Switzerland

    Urs Wegmüller

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  1. Urs Wegmüller
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Microwave Department, Technical University of Munich, Germany

    Horst Groll

  2. Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Ivan Nedkov

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© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Wegmüller, U. (1997). Land Applications of SAR Interferometry. In: Groll, H., Nedkov, I. (eds) Microwave Physics and Techniques. NATO ASI Series, vol 33. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5540-3_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5540-3_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6333-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-5540-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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