Evaluation of Polarimetric SAR Decomposition for Classifying Wetland Vegetation Types

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sang-Hoon Hong

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The Florida Everglades is the largest subtropical wetland system in the United States and, as with subtropical and tropical wetlands elsewhere, has been threatened by severe environmental stresses. It is very important to monitor such wetlands to inform management on the status of these fragile ecosystems. This study aims to examine the applicability of TerraSAR-X quadruple polarimetric (quad-pol synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR data for classifying wetland vegetation in the Everglades. We processed quad-pol data using the Hong & Wdowinski four-component decomposition, which accounts for double bounce scattering in the cross-polarization signal. The calculated decomposition images consist of four scattering mechanisms (single, co- and cross-pol double, and volume scattering. We applied an object-oriented image analysis approach to classify vegetation types with the decomposition results. We also used a high-resolution multispectral optical RapidEye image to compare statistics and classification results with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR observations. The calculated classification accuracy was higher than 85%, suggesting that the TerraSAR-X quad-pol SAR signal had a high potential for distinguishing different vegetation types. Scattering components from SAR acquisition were particularly advantageous for classifying mangroves along tidal channels. We conclude that the typical scattering behaviors from model-based decomposition are useful for discriminating among different wetland vegetation types.

Infrastructure monitoring with spaceborne SAR sensors

CERN Document Server

ANGHEL, ANDREI; CACOVEANU, REMUS

2017-01-01

This book presents a novel non-intrusive infrastructure monitoring technique based on the detection and tracking of scattering centers in spaceborne SAR images. The methodology essentially consists of refocusing each available SAR image on an imposed 3D point cloud associated to the envisaged infrastructure element and identifying the reliable scatterers to be monitored by means of four dimensional (4D) tomography. The methodology described in this book provides a new perspective on infrastructure monitoring with spaceborne SAR images, is based on a standalone processing chain, and brings innovative technical aspects relative to conventional approaches. The book is intended primarily for professionals and researchers working in the area of critical infrastructure monitoring by radar remote sensing.

Measurement of pressure ridges in SAR images of sea ice - Preliminary results on scattering theory

Science.gov (United States)

Vesecky, J. F.; Smith, M. P.; Daida, J. M.; Samadani, R.; Camiso, J. C.

1992-01-01

Sea ice ridges and keels (hummocks and bummocks) are important in sea ice research for both scientific and practical reasons. A long-term objective is to make quantitative measurements of sea ice ridges using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. The preliminary results of a scattering model for sea ice ridge are reported. The approach is through the ridge height variance spectrum Psi(K), where K is the spatial wavenumber, and the two-scale scattering model. The height spectrum model is constructed to mimic height statistics observed with an airborne optical laser. The spectrum model is used to drive a two-scale scattering model. Model results for ridges observed at C- and X-band yield normalized radar cross sections that are 10 to 15 dB larger than the observed cross sections of multiyear ice over the range of angles of incidence from 10 to 70 deg.

Monitoring of Land-Surface Deformation in the Karamay Oilfield, Xinjiang, China, Using SAR Interferometry

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Yusupujiang Aimaiti

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR interferometry is a technique that provides high-resolution measurements of the ground displacement associated with various geophysical processes. To investigate the land-surface deformation in Karamay, a typical oil-producing city in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR data were acquired for the period from 2007 to 2009, and a two-pass differential SAR interferometry (D-InSAR process was applied. The experimental results showed that two sites in the north-eastern part of the city exhibit a clear indication of land deformation. For a further evaluation of the D-InSAR result, the Persistent Scatterer (PS and Small Baseline Subset (SBAS-InSAR techniques were applied for 21 time series Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT C-band Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR data from 2003 to 2010. The comparison between the D-InSAR and SBAS-InSAR measurements had better agreement than that from the PS-InSAR measurement. The maximum deformation rate attributed to subsurface water injection for the period from 2003 to 2010 was up to approximately 33 mm/year in the line of sight (LOS direction. The interferometric phase change from November 2007 to June 2010 showed a clear deformation pattern, and the rebound center has been expanding in scale and increasing in quantity.

Underwater Topography Detection in Coastal Areas Using Fully Polarimetric SAR Data

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Xiaolin Bian

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR can provide detailed information on scattering mechanisms that could enable the target or structure to be identified. This paper presents a method to detect underwater topography in coastal areas using high resolution fully polarimetric SAR data, while less prior information is required. The method is based on the shoaling and refraction of long surface gravity waves as they propagate shoreward. First, the surface scattering component is obtained by polarization decomposition. Then, wave fields are retrieved from the two-dimensional (2D spectra by the Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT. Finally, shallow water depths are estimated from the dispersion relation. Applicability and effectiveness of the proposed methodology are tested by using C-band fine quad-polarization mode RADARSAT-2 SAR data over the near-shore area of the Hainan province, China. By comparing with the values from an official electronic navigational chart (ENC, the estimated water depths are in good agreement with them. The average relative error of the detected results from the scattering mechanisms based method and single polarization SAR data are 9.73% and 11.53% respectively. The validation results indicate that the scattering mechanisms based methodology is more effective than only using the single polarization SAR data for underwater topography detection, and will inspire further research on underwater topography detection with fully polarimetric SAR data.

Polarimetric SAR interferometry applied to land ice: modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dall, Jørgen; Papathanassiou, Konstantinos; Skriver, Henning

2004-01-01

This paper introduces a few simple scattering models intended for the application of polarimetric SAR interfer-ometry to land ice. The principal aim is to eliminate the penetration bias hampering ice sheet elevation maps generated with single-channel SAR interferometry. The polarimetric coherent...... scattering models are similar to the oriented-volume model and the random-volume-over-ground model used in vegetation studies, but the ice models are adapted to the different geometry of land ice. Also, due to compaction, land ice is not uniform; a fact that must be taken into account for large penetration...... depths. The validity of the scattering models is examined using L-band polarimetric interferometric SAR data acquired with the EMISAR system over an ice cap located in the percolation zone of the Greenland ice sheet. Radar reflectors were deployed on the ice surface prior to the data acquisition in order...

UAVSAR and TerraSAR-X Based InSAR Detection of Localized Subsidence in the New Orleans Area

Science.gov (United States)

Blom, R. G.; An, K.; Jones, C. E.; Latini, D.

2014-12-01

Vulnerability of the US Gulf coast to inundation has received increased attention since hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Compounding effects of sea level rise, wetland loss, and regional and local subsidence makes flood protection a difficult challenge, and particularly for the New Orleans area. Key to flood protection is precise knowledge of elevations and elevation changes. Analysis of historical and continuing geodetic measurements show surprising complexity, including locations subsiding more rapidly than considered during planning of hurricane protection and coastal restoration projects. Combining traditional, precise geodetic data with interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) observations can provide geographically dense constraints on surface deformation. The Gulf Coast environment is challenging for InSAR techniques, especially with systems not designed for interferometry. We use two InSAR capable systems, the L- band (24 cm wavelength) airborne JPL/NASA UAVSAR, and the DLR/EADS Astrium spaceborne TerraSAR X-band (3 cm wavelength), and compare results. First, we are applying pair-wise InSAR to the longer wavelength UAVSAR data to detect localized elevation changes potentially impacting flood protection infrastructure from 2009 - 2014. We focus on areas on and near flood protection infrastructure to identify changes indicative of subsidence, structural deformation, and/or seepage. The Spaceborne TerraSAR X-band SAR system has relatively frequent observations, and dense persistent scatterers in urban areas, enabling measurement of very small displacements. We compare L-band UAVSAR results with permanent scatterer (PS-InSAR) and Short Baseline Subsets (SBAS) interferometric analyses of a stack composed by 28 TerraSAR X-band images acquired over the same period. Thus we can evaluate results from the different radar frequencies and analyses techniques. Preliminary results indicate subsidence features potentially of a variety of causes, including ground water

Semi-empirical modelling for forest above ground biomass estimation using hybrid and fully PolSAR data

Science.gov (United States)

Tomar, Kiledar S.; Kumar, Shashi; Tolpekin, Valentyn A.; Joshi, Sushil K.

2016-05-01

Forests act as sink of carbon and as a result maintains carbon cycle in atmosphere. Deforestation leads to imbalance in global carbon cycle and changes in climate. Hence estimation of forest biophysical parameter like biomass becomes a necessity. PolSAR has the ability to discriminate the share of scattering element like surface, double bounce and volume scattering in a single SAR resolution cell. Studies have shown that volume scattering is a significant parameter for forest biophysical characterization which mainly occurred from vegetation due to randomly oriented structures. This random orientation of forest structure causes shift in orientation angle of polarization ellipse which ultimately disturbs the radar signature and shows overestimation of volume scattering and underestimation of double bounce scattering after decomposition of fully PolSAR data. Hybrid polarimetry has the advantage of zero POA shift due to rotational symmetry followed by the circular transmission of electromagnetic waves. The prime objective of this study was to extract the potential of Hybrid PolSAR and fully PolSAR data for AGB estimation using Extended Water Cloud model. Validation was performed using field biomass. The study site chosen was Barkot Forest, Uttarakhand, India. To obtain the decomposition components, m-alpha and Yamaguchi decomposition modelling for Hybrid and fully PolSAR data were implied respectively. The RGB composite image for both the decomposition techniques has generated. The contribution of all scattering from each plot for m-alpha and Yamaguchi decomposition modelling were extracted. The R2 value for modelled AGB and field biomass from Hybrid PolSAR and fully PolSAR data were found 0.5127 and 0.4625 respectively. The RMSE for Hybrid and fully PolSAR between modelled AGB and field biomass were 63.156 (t ha-1) and 73.424 (t ha-1) respectively. On the basis of RMSE and R2 value, this study suggests Hybrid PolSAR decomposition modelling to retrieve scattering

SAR: Stroke Authorship Recognition

KAUST Repository

Shaheen, Sara

2015-10-15

Are simple strokes unique to the artist or designer who renders them? If so, can this idea be used to identify authorship or to classify artistic drawings? Also, could training methods be devised to develop particular styles? To answer these questions, we propose the Stroke Authorship Recognition (SAR) approach, a novel method that distinguishes the authorship of 2D digitized drawings. SAR converts a drawing into a histogram of stroke attributes that is discriminative of authorship. We provide extensive classification experiments on a large variety of data sets, which validate SAR\\'s ability to distinguish unique authorship of artists and designers. We also demonstrate the usefulness of SAR in several applications including the detection of fraudulent sketches, the training and monitoring of artists in learning a particular new style and the first quantitative way to measure the quality of automatic sketch synthesis tools. © 2015 The Eurographics Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

SAR and LIDAR fusion: experiments and applications

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Matthew C.; Zaugg, Evan C.; Bradley, Joshua P.; Bowden, Ryan D.

2013-05-01

In recent years ARTEMIS, Inc. has developed a series of compact, versatile Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems which have been operated on a variety of small manned and unmanned aircraft. The multi-frequency-band SlimSAR has demonstrated a variety of capabilities including maritime and littoral target detection, ground moving target indication, polarimetry, interferometry, change detection, and foliage penetration. ARTEMIS also continues to build upon the radar's capabilities through fusion with other sensors, such as electro-optical and infrared camera gimbals and light detection and ranging (LIDAR) devices. In this paper we focus on experiments and applications employing SAR and LIDAR fusion. LIDAR is similar to radar in that it transmits a signal which, after being reflected or scattered by a target area, is recorded by the sensor. The differences are that a LIDAR uses a laser as a transmitter and optical sensors as a receiver, and the wavelengths used exhibit a very different scattering phenomenology than the microwaves used in radar, making SAR and LIDAR good complementary technologies. LIDAR is used in many applications including agriculture, archeology, geo-science, and surveying. Some typical data products include digital elevation maps of a target area and features and shapes extracted from the data. A set of experiments conducted to demonstrate the fusion of SAR and LIDAR data include a LIDAR DEM used in accurately processing the SAR data of a high relief area (mountainous, urban). Also, feature extraction is used in improving geolocation accuracy of the SAR and LIDAR data.

Automatic Detection and Positioning of Ground Control Points Using TerraSAR-X Multiaspect Acquisitions

Science.gov (United States)

Montazeri, Sina; Gisinger, Christoph; Eineder, Michael; Zhu, Xiao xiang

2018-05-01

Geodetic stereo Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is capable of absolute three-dimensional localization of natural Persistent Scatterer (PS)s which allows for Ground Control Point (GCP) generation using only SAR data. The prerequisite for the method to achieve high precision results is the correct detection of common scatterers in SAR images acquired from different viewing geometries. In this contribution, we describe three strategies for automatic detection of identical targets in SAR images of urban areas taken from different orbit tracks. Moreover, a complete work-flow for automatic generation of large number of GCPs using SAR data is presented and its applicability is shown by exploiting TerraSAR-X (TS-X) high resolution spotlight images over the city of Oulu, Finland and a test site in Berlin, Germany.

An Improved Algorithm to Delineate Urban Targets with Model-Based Decomposition of PolSAR Data

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Dingfeng Duan

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In model-based decomposition algorithms using polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR data, urban targets are typically identified based on the existence of strong double-bounced scattering. However, urban targets with large azimuth orientation angles (AOAs produce strong volumetric scattering that appears similar to scattering characteristics from tree canopies. Due to scattering ambiguity, urban targets can be classified into the vegetation category if the same classification scheme of the model-based PolSAR decomposition algorithms is followed. To resolve the ambiguity and to reduce the misclassification eventually, we introduced a correlation coefficient that characterized scattering mechanisms of urban targets with variable AOAs. Then, an existing volumetric scattering model was modified, and a PolSAR decomposition algorithm developed. The validity and effectiveness of the algorithm were examined using four PolSAR datasets. The algorithm was valid and effective to delineate urban targets with a wide range of AOAs, and applicable to a broad range of ground targets from urban areas, and from upland and flooded forest stands.

Tutorial on Fourier space coverage for scattering experiments, with application to SAR

Science.gov (United States)

Deming, Ross W.

2010-04-01

The Fourier Diffraction Theorem relates the data measured during electromagnetic, optical, or acoustic scattering experiments to the spatial Fourier transform of the object under test. The theorem is well-known, but since it is based on integral equations and complicated mathematical expansions, the typical derivation may be difficult for the non-specialist. In this paper, the theorem is derived and presented using simple geometry, plus undergraduatelevel physics and mathematics. For practitioners of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging, the theorem is important to understand because it leads to a simple geometric and graphical understanding of image resolution and sampling requirements, and how they are affected by radar system parameters and experimental geometry. Also, the theorem can be used as a starting point for imaging algorithms and motion compensation methods. Several examples are given in this paper for realistic scenarios.

3D Tomographic SAR Imaging in Densely Vegetated Mountainous Rural Areas in China and Sweden

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, L.; Muller, J. P., , Prof

2017-12-01

3D SAR Tomography (TomoSAR) and 4D SAR Differential Tomography (Diff-TomoSAR) exploit multi-baseline SAR data stacks to create an important new innovation of SAR Interferometry, to unscramble complex scenes with multiple scatterers mapped into the same SAR cell. In addition to this 3-D shape reconstruction and deformation solution in complex urban/infrastructure areas, and recent cryospheric ice investigations, emerging tomographic remote sensing applications include forest applications, e.g. tree height and biomass estimation, sub-canopy topographic mapping, and even search, rescue and surveillance. However, these scenes are characterized by temporal decorrelation of scatterers, orbital, tropospheric and ionospheric phase distortion and an open issue regarding possible height blurring and accuracy losses for TomoSAR applications particularly in densely vegetated mountainous rural areas. Thus, it is important to develop solutions for temporal decorrelation, orbital, tropospheric and ionospheric phase distortion.We report here on 3D imaging (especially in vertical layers) over densely vegetated mountainous rural areas using 3-D SAR imaging (SAR tomography) derived from data stacks of X-band COSMO-SkyMed Spotlight and L band ALOS-1 PALSAR data stacks over Dujiangyan Dam, Sichuan, China and L and P band airborne SAR data (BioSAR 2008 - ESA) in the Krycklan river catchment, Northern Sweden. The new TanDEM-X 12m DEM is used to assist co - registration of all the data stacks over China first. Then, atmospheric correction is being assessed using weather model data such as ERA-I, MERRA, MERRA-2, WRF; linear phase-topography correction and MODIS spectrometer correction will be compared and ionospheric correction methods are discussed to remove tropospheric and ionospheric delay. Then the new TomoSAR method with the TanDEM-X 12m DEM is described to obtain the number of scatterers inside each pixel, the scattering amplitude and phase of each scatterer and finally extract

Comparison of Laser and Stereo Optical, SAR and InSAR Point Clouds from Air- and Space-Borne Sources in the Retrieval of Forest Inventory Attributes

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Xiaowei Yu

2015-11-01

Full Text Available It is anticipated that many of the future forest mapping applications will be based on three-dimensional (3D point clouds. A comparison study was conducted to verify the explanatory power and information contents of several 3D remote sensing data sources on the retrieval of above ground biomass (AGB, stem volume (VOL, basal area (G, basal-area weighted mean diameter (Dg and Lorey’s mean height (Hg at the plot level, utilizing the following data: synthetic aperture radar (SAR Interferometry, SAR radargrammetry, satellite-imagery having stereo viewing capability, airborne laser scanning (ALS with various densities (0.8–6 pulses/m2 and aerial stereo imagery. Laser scanning is generally known as the primary source providing a 3D point cloud. However, photogrammetric, radargrammetric and interferometric techniques can be used to produce 3D point clouds from space- and air-borne stereo images. Such an image-based point cloud could be utilized in a similar manner as ALS providing that accurate digital terrain model is available. In this study, the performance of these data sources for providing point cloud data was evaluated with 91 sample plots that were established in Evo, southern Finland within a boreal forest zone and surveyed in 2014 for this comparison. The prediction models were built using random forests technique with features derived from each data sources as independent variables and field measurements of forest attributes as response variable. The relative root mean square errors (RMSEs varied in the ranges of 4.6% (0.97 m–13.4% (2.83 m for Hg, 11.7% (3.0 cm–20.6% (5.3 cm for Dg, 14.8% (4.0 m2/ha–25.8% (6.9 m2/ha for G, 15.9% (43.0 m3/ha–31.2% (84.2 m3/ha for VOL and 14.3% (19.2 Mg/ha–27.5% (37.0 Mg/ha for AGB, respectively, depending on the data used. Results indicate that ALS data achieved the most accurate estimates for all forest inventory attributes. For image-based 3D data, high-altitude aerial images and WorldView-2

Automatic Coregistration for Multiview SAR Images in Urban Areas

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Y.; Kang, W.; Wang, F.; You, H.

2017-09-01

Due to the high resolution property and the side-looking mechanism of SAR sensors, complex buildings structures make the registration of SAR images in urban areas becomes very hard. In order to solve the problem, an automatic and robust coregistration approach for multiview high resolution SAR images is proposed in the paper, which consists of three main modules. First, both the reference image and the sensed image are segmented into two parts, urban areas and nonurban areas. Urban areas caused by double or multiple scattering in a SAR image have a tendency to show higher local mean and local variance values compared with general homogeneous regions due to the complex structural information. Based on this criterion, building areas are extracted. After obtaining the target regions, L-shape structures are detected using the SAR phase congruency model and Hough transform. The double bounce scatterings formed by wall and ground are shown as strong L- or T-shapes, which are usually taken as the most reliable indicator for building detection. According to the assumption that buildings are rectangular and flat models, planimetric buildings are delineated using the L-shapes, then the reconstructed target areas are obtained. For the orignal areas and the reconstructed target areas, the SAR-SIFT matching algorithm is implemented. Finally, correct corresponding points are extracted by the fast sample consensus (FSC) and the transformation model is also derived. The experimental results on a pair of multiview TerraSAR images with 1-m resolution show that the proposed approach gives a robust and precise registration performance, compared with the orignal SAR-SIFT method.

TerraSAR-X InSAR multipass analysis on Venice, Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Nitti, D. O.; Nutricato, R.; Bovenga, F.; Refice, A.; Chiaradia, M. T.; Guerriero, L.

2009-09-01

The TerraSAR-X (copyright) mission, launched in 2007, carries a new X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor optimally suited for SAR interferometry (InSAR), thus allowing very promising application of InSAR techniques for the risk assessment on areas with hydrogeological instability and especially for multi-temporal analysis, such as Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) techniques, originally developed at Politecnico di Milano. The SPINUA (Stable Point INterferometry over Unurbanised Areas) technique is a PSI processing methodology which has originally been developed with the aim of detection and monitoring of coherent PS targets in non or scarcely-urbanized areas. The main goal of the present work is to describe successful applications of the SPINUA PSI technique in processing X-band data. Venice has been selected as test site since it is in favorable settings for PSI investigations (urban area containing many potential coherent targets such as buildings) and in view of the availability of a long temporal series of TerraSAR-X stripmap acquisitions (27 scenes in all). The Venice Lagoon is affected by land sinking phenomena, whose origins are both natural and man-induced. The subsidence of Venice has been intensively studied for decades by determining land displacements through traditional monitoring techniques (leveling and GPS) and, recently, by processing stacks of ERS/ENVISAT SAR data. The present work is focused on an independent assessment of application of PSI techniques to TerraSAR-X stripmap data for monitoring the stability of the Venice area. Thanks to its orbital repeat cycle of only 11 days, less than a third of ERS/ENVISAT C-band missions, the maximum displacement rate that can be unambiguously detected along the Line-of-Sight (LOS) with TerraSAR-X SAR data through PSI techniques is expected to be about twice the corresponding value of ESA C-band missions, being directly proportional to the sensor wavelength and inversely proportional to the

Robust adaptive multichannel SAR processing based on covariance matrix reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Zhen-ya; He, Feng

2018-04-01

With the combination of digital beamforming (DBF) processing, multichannel synthetic aperture radar(SAR) systems in azimuth promise well in high-resolution and wide-swath imaging, whereas conventional processing methods don't take the nonuniformity of scattering coefficient into consideration. This paper brings up a robust adaptive Multichannel SAR processing method which utilizes the Capon spatial spectrum estimator to obtain the spatial spectrum distribution over all ambiguous directions first, and then the interference-plus-noise covariance Matrix is reconstructed based on definition to acquire the Multichannel SAR processing filter. The performance of processing under nonuniform scattering coefficient is promoted by this novel method and it is robust again array errors. The experiments with real measured data demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.

SAR: Stroke Authorship Recognition

KAUST Repository

Shaheen, Sara; Rockwood, Alyn; Ghanem, Bernard

2015-01-01

Are simple strokes unique to the artist or designer who renders them? If so, can this idea be used to identify authorship or to classify artistic drawings? Also, could training methods be devised to develop particular styles? To answer these questions, we propose the Stroke Authorship Recognition (SAR) approach, a novel method that distinguishes the authorship of 2D digitized drawings. SAR converts a drawing into a histogram of stroke attributes that is discriminative of authorship. We provide extensive classification experiments on a large variety of data sets, which validate SAR's ability to distinguish unique authorship of artists and designers. We also demonstrate the usefulness of SAR in several applications including the detection of fraudulent sketches, the training and monitoring of artists in learning a particular new style and the first quantitative way to measure the quality of automatic sketch synthesis tools. © 2015 The Eurographics Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

SAR Data Fusion Imaging Method Oriented to Target Feature Extraction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Wei

2015-02-01

Full Text Available To deal with the difficulty for target outlines extracting precisely due to neglect of target scattering characteristic variation during the processing of high-resolution space-borne SAR data, a novel fusion imaging method is proposed oriented to target feature extraction. Firstly, several important aspects that affect target feature extraction and SAR image quality are analyzed, including curved orbit, stop-and-go approximation, atmospheric delay, and high-order residual phase error. Furthermore, the corresponding compensation methods are addressed as well. Based on the analysis, the mathematical model of SAR echo combined with target space-time spectrum is established for explaining the space-time-frequency change rule of target scattering characteristic. Moreover, a fusion imaging strategy and method under high-resolution and ultra-large observation angle range conditions are put forward to improve SAR quality by fusion processing in range-doppler and image domain. Finally, simulations based on typical military targets are used to verify the effectiveness of the fusion imaging method.

On Sea Ice Characterisation By Multi-Frequency SAR

Science.gov (United States)

Grahn, Jakob; Brekke, Camilla; Eltoft, Torbjorn; Holt, Benjamin

2013-12-01

By means of polarimetric target decomposition, quad-pol SAR data of sea ice is analysed at two frequency bands. In particular, the non negative eigenvalue decomposition (NNED) is applied on L- and C-band NASA/JPL AIR- SAR data acquired over the Beaufort sea in 2004. The de- composition separates the scattered radar signal into three types, dominated by double, volume and single bounce scattering respectively. Using ground truth derived from RADARSAT-1 and meteorological data, we investigate how the different frequency bands compare in terms of these scattering types. The ground truth contains multi year ice and three types of first year ice of different age and thickness. We find that C-band yields a higher scattered intensity in most ice and scattering types, as well as a more homogeneous intensity. L-band on the other hand yields more pronounced deformation features, such as ridges. The mean intensity contrast between the two thinnest ice types is highest in the double scattering component of C- band, although the contrast of the total signal is greater in L-band. This may indicate that the choice of polarimetric parameters is important for discriminating thin ice types.

Beyond PSInSAR: the SQUEESAR Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Ferretti, A.; Novali, F.; Fumagalli, A.; Prati, C.; Rocca, F.; Rucci, A.

2009-12-01

After a decade since the first results on ERS data, Permanent Scatterer (PS) InSAR has become an operational technology for detecting and monitoring slow surface deformation phenomena such as subsidence and uplift, landslides, seismic fault creeping, volcanic inflation, etc. Processing procedures have been continuously updated, but the core of the algorithm has not been changed significantly. As well known, in PSInSAR, the main target is the identification of individual pixels that exhibit a “PS behavior”, i.e. they are only slightly affected by both temporal and geometrical decorrelation. Typically, these scatterers correspond to man-made objects, but PS have been identified also in non-urban areas, where exposed rocks or outcrops can indeed create good radar benchmarks and enable high-quality displacement measurements. Contrary to interferogram stacking techniques, PS analyses are carried out on a pixel-by-pixel basis, with no filtering of the interferograms, in order to preserve phase values from possible incoherent clutter surrounding good radar targets. In fact, any filtering process implies a spatial smoothing of the data that could compromise - rather than improve - phase coherence, at least for isolated PS. Although the PS approach usually allows one to retrieve high quality deformation measurements on a sparse grid of good radar targets, in some datasets it is quite evident how the number of pixels where some information can be extracted could be significantly increased by relaxing the hypothesis on target coherence and searching for pixels where the coherence level is high enough at least in some interferograms of the data-stack, not necessarily all. The idea of computing a “coherence matrix” for each pixel of the area of interest have been already proposed in previous papers, together with a statistical estimation of some physical parameters of interest (e.g. the average displacement rate) based on the covariance matrix. In past publications

Subsidence detection by TerraSAR-X interferometry on a network of natural persistent scatterers and artificial corner reflectors

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Bing; Liu, Guoxiang; Li, Zhilin; Zhang, Rui; Jia, Hongguo; Wang, Xiaowen; Cai, Guolin

2013-08-01

The German satellite TerraSAR-X (TSX) is able to provide high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images for mapping surface deformation by the persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) technique. To extend the application of PSI in detecting subsidence in areas with frequent surface changes, this paper presents a method of TSX PSI on a network of natural persistent scatterers (NPSs) and artificial corner reflectors (CRs) deployed on site. We select a suburban area of southwest Tianjin (China) as the testing site where 16 CRs and 10 leveling points (LPs) are deployed, and utilize 13 TSX images collected over this area between 2009 and 2010 to extract subsidence by the method proposed. Two types of CRs are set around the fishponds and crop parcels. 6 CRs are the conventional ones, i.e., fixed CRs (FCRs), while 10 CRs are the newly-designed ones, i.e., so-called portable CRs (PCRs) with capability of repeatable installation. The numerical analysis shows that the PCRs have the higher temporal stability of radar backscattering than the FCRs, and both of them are better than the NPSs in performance of radar reflectivity. The comparison with the leveling data at the CRs and LPs indicates that the subsidence measurements derived by the TSX PSI method can reach up to a millimeter level accuracy. This demonstrates that the TSX PSI method based on a network of NPSs and CRs is useful for detecting land subsidence in cultivated lands.

AUTOMATIC COREGISTRATION FOR MULTIVIEW SAR IMAGES IN URBAN AREAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Xiang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Due to the high resolution property and the side-looking mechanism of SAR sensors, complex buildings structures make the registration of SAR images in urban areas becomes very hard. In order to solve the problem, an automatic and robust coregistration approach for multiview high resolution SAR images is proposed in the paper, which consists of three main modules. First, both the reference image and the sensed image are segmented into two parts, urban areas and nonurban areas. Urban areas caused by double or multiple scattering in a SAR image have a tendency to show higher local mean and local variance values compared with general homogeneous regions due to the complex structural information. Based on this criterion, building areas are extracted. After obtaining the target regions, L-shape structures are detected using the SAR phase congruency model and Hough transform. The double bounce scatterings formed by wall and ground are shown as strong L- or T-shapes, which are usually taken as the most reliable indicator for building detection. According to the assumption that buildings are rectangular and flat models, planimetric buildings are delineated using the L-shapes, then the reconstructed target areas are obtained. For the orignal areas and the reconstructed target areas, the SAR-SIFT matching algorithm is implemented. Finally, correct corresponding points are extracted by the fast sample consensus (FSC and the transformation model is also derived. The experimental results on a pair of multiview TerraSAR images with 1-m resolution show that the proposed approach gives a robust and precise registration performance, compared with the orignal SAR-SIFT method.

SAR Target Recognition Using the Multi-aspect-aware Bidirectional LSTM Recurrent Neural Networks

OpenAIRE

Zhang, Fan; Hu, Chen; Yin, Qiang; Li, Wei; Li, Hengchao; Hong, Wen

2017-01-01

The outstanding pattern recognition performance of deep learning brings new vitality to the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) automatic target recognition (ATR). However, there is a limitation in current deep learning based ATR solution that each learning process only handle one SAR image, namely learning the static scattering information, while missing the space-varying information. It is obvious that multi-aspect joint recognition introduced space-varying scattering information should improve ...

Spaceborne Polarimetric SAR Interferometry: Performance Analysis and Mission Concepts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shane R. Cloude

2005-12-01

Full Text Available We investigate multichannel imaging radar systems employing coherent combinations of polarimetry and interferometry (Pol-InSAR. Such systems are well suited for the extraction of bio- and geophysical parameters by evaluating the combined scattering from surfaces and volumes. This combination leads to several important differences between the design of Pol-InSAR sensors and conventional single polarisation SAR interferometers. We first highlight these differences and then investigate the Pol-InSAR performance of two proposed spaceborne SAR systems (ALOS/PalSAR and TerraSAR-L operating in repeat-pass mode. For this, we introduce the novel concept of a phase tube which enables (1 a quantitative assessment of the Pol-InSAR performance, (2 a comparison between different sensor configurations, and (3 an optimization of the instrument settings for different Pol-InSAR applications. The phase tube may hence serve as an interface between system engineers and application-oriented scientists. The performance analysis reveals major limitations for even moderate levels of temporal decorrelation. Such deteriorations may be avoided in single-pass sensor configurations and we demonstrate the potential benefits from the use of future bi- and multistatic SAR interferometers.

Rotating Parabolic-Reflector Antenna Target in SAR Data: Model, Characteristics, and Parameter Estimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bin Deng

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Parabolic-reflector antennas (PRAs, usually possessing rotation, are a particular type of targets of potential interest to the synthetic aperture radar (SAR community. This paper is aimed to investigate PRA’s scattering characteristics and then to extract PRA’s parameters from SAR returns, for supporting image interpretation and target recognition. We at first obtain both closed-form and numeric solutions to PRA’s backscattering by geometrical optics (GO, physical optics, and graphical electromagnetic computation, respectively. Based on the GO solution, a migratory scattering center model is at first presented for representing the movement of the specular point with aspect angle, and then a hybrid model, named the migratory/micromotion scattering center (MMSC model, is proposed for characterizing a rotating PRA in the SAR geometry, which incorporates PRA’s rotation into its migratory scattering center model. Additionally, we in detail analyze PRA’s radar characteristics on radar cross-section, high-resolution range profiles, time-frequency distribution, and 2D images, which also confirm the models proposed. A maximal likelihood estimator is developed for jointly solving the MMSC model for PRA’s multiple parameters by optimization. By exploiting the aforementioned characteristics, the coarse parameter estimation guarantees convergency upon global minima. The signatures recovered can be favorably utilized for SAR image interpretation and target recognition.

ANALYSIS OF MULTIPATH PIXELS IN SAR IMAGES

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J. W. Zhao

2016-06-01

Full Text Available As the received radar signal is the sum of signal contributions overlaid in one single pixel regardless of the travel path, the multipath effect should be seriously tackled as the multiple bounce returns are added to direct scatter echoes which leads to ghost scatters. Most of the existing solution towards the multipath is to recover the signal propagation path. To facilitate the signal propagation simulation process, plenty of aspects such as sensor parameters, the geometry of the objects (shape, location, orientation, mutual position between adjacent buildings and the physical parameters of the surface (roughness, correlation length, permittivitywhich determine the strength of radar signal backscattered to the SAR sensor should be given in previous. However, it's not practical to obtain the highly detailed object model in unfamiliar area by field survey as it's a laborious work and time-consuming. In this paper, SAR imaging simulation based on RaySAR is conducted at first aiming at basic understanding of multipath effects and for further comparison. Besides of the pre-imaging simulation, the product of the after-imaging, which refers to radar images is also taken into consideration. Both Cosmo-SkyMed ascending and descending SAR images of Lupu Bridge in Shanghai are used for the experiment. As a result, the reflectivity map and signal distribution map of different bounce level are simulated and validated by 3D real model. The statistic indexes such as the phase stability, mean amplitude, amplitude dispersion, coherence and mean-sigma ratio in case of layover are analyzed with combination of the RaySAR output.

Separating volcanic deformation and atmospheric signals at Mount St. Helens using Persistent Scatterer InSAR

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Welch, Mark D.; Schmidt, David A.

2017-09-01

Over the past two decades, GPS and leveling surveys have recorded cycles of inflation and deflation associated with dome building eruptions at Mount St. Helens. Due to spatial and temporal limitations of the data, it remains unknown whether any deformation occurred prior to the most recent eruption of 2004, information which could help anticipate future eruptions. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), which boasts fine spatial resolution over large areas, has the potential to resolve pre-eruptive deformation that may have occurred, but eluded detection by campaign GPS surveys because it was localized to the edifice or crater. Traditional InSAR methods are challenging to apply in the Cascades volcanic arc because of a combination of environmental factors, and past attempts to observe deformation at Mount St. Helens were unable to make reliable observations in the crater or on much of the edifice. In this study, Persistent Scatterer InSAR, known to mitigate issues of decorrelation caused by environmental factors, is applied to four SAR data sets in an attempt to resolve localized sources of deformation on the volcano between 1995 and 2010. Many interferograms are strongly influenced by phase delay from atmospheric water vapor and require correction, evidenced by a correlation between phase and topography. To assess the bias imposed by the atmosphere, we perform sensitivity tests on a suite of atmospheric correction techniques, including several that rely on the correlation of phase delay to elevation, and explore approaches that directly estimate phase delay using the ERA-Interim and NARR climate reanalysis data sets. We find that different correction methods produce velocities on the edifice of Mount St. Helens that differ by up to 1 cm/yr due to variability in how atmospheric artifacts are treated in individual interferograms. Additionally, simple phase-based techniques run the risk of minimizing any surface deformation signals that may themselves be

A Least Square Approach for Joining Persistent Scatterer InSAR Time Series Acquired by Different Satellites

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Caro Cuenca, Miguel; Esfahany, Sami Samiei; Hanssen, Ramon F.

2010-12-01

Persistent scatterer Radar Interferometry (PSI) can provide with a wealth of information on surface motion. These methods overcome the major limitations of the antecessor technique, interferometric SAR (InSAR), such as atmospheric disturbances, by detecting the scatterers which are slightly affected by noise. The time span that surface deformation processes are observed is limited by the satellite lifetime, which is usually less than 10 years. However most of deformation phenomena last longer. In order to fully monitor and comprehend the observed signal, acquisitions from different sensors can be merged. This is a complex task for one main reason. PSI methods provide with estimations that are relative in time to one of the acquisitions which is referred to as master or reference image. Therefore, time series acquired by different sensors will have different reference images and cannot be directly compared or joint unless they are set to the same time reference system. In global terms, the operation of translating from one to another reference systems consist of calculating a vertical offset, which is the total deformation that occurs between the two master times. To estimate this offset, different strategies can be applied, for example, using additional data such as leveling or GPS measurements. In this contribution we propose to use a least squares to merge PSI time series without any ancillary information. This method treats the time series individually, i.e. per PS, and requires some knowledge of the deformation signal, for example, if a polynomial would fairly describe the expected behavior. To test the proposed approach, we applied it to the southern Netherlands, where the surface is affected by ground water processes in abandoned mines. The time series were obtained after processing images provided by ERS1/2 and Envisat. The results were validated using in-situ water measurements, which show very high correlation with deformation time series.

Monitoring Line-Infrastructure With Multisensor SAR Interferometry : Products and Performance Assessment Metrics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chang, L.; Dollevoet, R.P.B.J.; Hanssen, R.F.

2018-01-01

Satellite radar interferometry (InSAR) is an emerging technique to monitor the stability and health of line-infrastructure assets, such as railways, dams, and pipelines. However, InSAR is an opportunistic approach as the location and occurrence of its measurements (coherent scatterers) cannot be

Decomposition of Polarimetric SAR Images Based on Second- and Third-order Statics Analysis

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Kojima, S.; Hensley, S.

2012-12-01

There are many papers concerning the research of the decomposition of polerimetric SAR imagery. Most of them are based on second-order statics analysis that Freeman and Durden [1] suggested for the reflection symmetry condition that implies that the co-polarization and cross-polarization correlations are close to zero. Since then a number of improvements and enhancements have been proposed to better understand the underlying backscattering mechanisms present in polarimetric SAR images. For example, Yamaguchi et al. [2] added the helix component into Freeman's model and developed a 4 component scattering model for the non-reflection symmetry condition. In addition, Arii et al. [3] developed an adaptive model-based decomposition method that could estimate both the mean orientation angle and a degree of randomness for the canopy scattering for each pixel in a SAR image without the reflection symmetry condition. This purpose of this research is to develop a new decomposition method based on second- and third-order statics analysis to estimate the surface, dihedral, volume and helix scattering components from polarimetric SAR images without the specific assumptions concerning the model for the volume scattering. In addition, we evaluate this method by using both simulation and real UAVSAR data and compare this method with other methods. We express the volume scattering component using the wire formula and formulate the relationship equation between backscattering echo and each component such as the surface, dihedral, volume and helix via linearization based on second- and third-order statics. In third-order statics, we calculate the correlation of the correlation coefficients for each polerimetric data and get one new relationship equation to estimate each polarization component such as HH, VV and VH for the volume. As a result, the equation for the helix component in this method is the same formula as one in Yamaguchi's method. However, the equation for the volume

Initial assessment of an airborne Ku-band polarimetric SAR.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raynal, Ann Marie; Doerry, Armin Walter

2013-02-01

Polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has been used for a variety of dual-use research applications since the 1940s. By measuring the direction of the electric field vector from radar echoes, polarimetry may enhance an analysts understanding of scattering effects for both earth monitoring and tactical surveillance missions. Polarimetry may provide insight into surface types, materials, or orientations for natural and man-made targets. Polarimetric measurements may also be used to enhance the contrast between scattering surfaces such as man-made objects and their surroundings. This report represents an initial assessment of the utility of, and applications for, polarimetric SAR at Ku-band for airborne or unmanned aerial systems.

Performance Analysis of Satellite Missions for Multi-Temporal SAR Interferometry.

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Bovenga, Fabio; Belmonte, Antonella; Refice, Alberto; Pasquariello, Guido; Nutricato, Raffaele; Nitti, Davide O; Chiaradia, Maria T

2018-04-27

Multi-temporal InSAR (MTI) applications pose challenges related to the availability of coherent scattering from the ground surface, the complexity of the ground deformations, atmospheric artifacts, and visibility problems related to ground elevation. Nowadays, several satellite missions are available providing interferometric SAR data at different wavelengths, spatial resolutions, and revisit time. A new and interesting opportunity is provided by Sentinel-1, which has a spatial resolution comparable to that of previous ESA C-band sensors, and revisit times improved by up to 6 days. According to these different SAR space-borne missions, the present work discusses current and future opportunities of MTI applications in terms of ground instability monitoring. Issues related to coherent target detection, mean velocity precision, and product geo-location are addressed through a simple theoretical model assuming backscattering mechanisms related to point scatterers. The paper also presents an example of a multi-sensor ground instability investigation over Lesina Marina, a village in Southern Italy lying over a gypsum diapir, where a hydration process, involving the underlying anhydride, causes a smooth uplift and the formation of scattered sinkholes. More than 20 years of MTI SAR data have been processed, coming from both legacy ERS and ENVISAT missions, and latest-generation RADARSAT-2, COSMO-SkyMed, and Sentinel-1A sensors. Results confirm the presence of a rather steady uplift process, with limited to null variations throughout the whole monitored time-period.

Performance Analysis of Satellite Missions for Multi-Temporal SAR Interferometry

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Fabio Bovenga

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Multi-temporal InSAR (MTI applications pose challenges related to the availability of coherent scattering from the ground surface, the complexity of the ground deformations, atmospheric artifacts, and visibility problems related to ground elevation. Nowadays, several satellite missions are available providing interferometric SAR data at different wavelengths, spatial resolutions, and revisit time. A new and interesting opportunity is provided by Sentinel-1, which has a spatial resolution comparable to that of previous ESA C-band sensors, and revisit times improved by up to 6 days. According to these different SAR space-borne missions, the present work discusses current and future opportunities of MTI applications in terms of ground instability monitoring. Issues related to coherent target detection, mean velocity precision, and product geo-location are addressed through a simple theoretical model assuming backscattering mechanisms related to point scatterers. The paper also presents an example of a multi-sensor ground instability investigation over Lesina Marina, a village in Southern Italy lying over a gypsum diapir, where a hydration process, involving the underlying anhydride, causes a smooth uplift and the formation of scattered sinkholes. More than 20 years of MTI SAR data have been processed, coming from both legacy ERS and ENVISAT missions, and latest-generation RADARSAT-2, COSMO-SkyMed, and Sentinel-1A sensors. Results confirm the presence of a rather steady uplift process, with limited to null variations throughout the whole monitored time-period.

Speckle Filtering of GF-3 Polarimetric SAR Data with Joint Restriction Principle.

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Xie, Jinwei; Li, Zhenfang; Zhou, Chaowei; Fang, Yuyuan; Zhang, Qingjun

2018-05-12

Polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) scattering characteristics of imagery are always obtained from the second order moments estimation of multi-polarization data, that is, the estimation of covariance or coherency matrices. Due to the extra-paths that signal reflected from separate scatterers within the resolution cell has to travel, speckle noise always exists in SAR images and has a severe impact on the scattering performance, especially on single look complex images. In order to achieve high accuracy in estimating covariance or coherency matrices, three aspects are taken into consideration: (1) the edges and texture of the scene are distinct after speckle filtering; (2) the statistical characteristic should be similar to the object pixel; and (3) the polarimetric scattering signature should be preserved, in addition to speckle reduction. In this paper, a joint restriction principle is proposed to meet the requirement. Three different restriction principles are introduced to the processing of speckle filtering. First, a new template, which is more suitable for the point or line targets, is designed to ensure the morphological consistency. Then, the extent sigma filter is used to restrict the pixels in the template aforementioned to have an identical statistic characteristic. At last, a polarimetric similarity factor is applied to the same pixels above, to guarantee the similar polarimetric features amongst the optional pixels. This processing procedure is named as speckle filtering with joint restriction principle and the approach is applied to GF-3 polarimetric SAR data acquired in San Francisco, CA, USA. Its effectiveness of keeping the image sharpness and preserving the scattering mechanism as well as speckle reduction is validated by the comparison with boxcar filters and refined Lee filter.

BUILT-UP AREA DETECTION BASED ON SUBSPACE PROJECTIONS USING POLARIMETRIC SAR DATA

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R. Bordbari

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The task of detecting and identifying objects remotely has long been an area of intense interest and active research. Active sensing of objects with radio waves is a whole new domain of target detection which is made available by radar remote sensors. Land cover/use information extraction is one of the most important applications of radar remote sensing, especially in urban areas. In this paper, we take a new look at the built-up area extraction problem in polarimetric SAR (PolSAR data and assume canonical scattering mechanisms as our signal sources which combination of them with appropriate weight fractions formed a scattering vector of each pixel. The set of the scattering mechanisms is divided into two groups: the scattering mechanism of built-up area, and non-objected scattering mechanisms. Then, we describe a technique which simultaneously annihilates the effect of non-objected scattering mechanisms, and detects the presence of a scattering mechanism of interest. The experimental results on several quad-polarimetric datasets show the significant agreement with expected results, while saving computational complexity.

A New Approach to Estimate Forest Parameters Using Dual-Baseline Pol-InSAR Data

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Bai, L.; Hong, W.; Cao, F.; Zhou, Y.

2009-04-01

In POL-InSAR applications using ESPRIT technique, it is assumed that there exist stable scattering centres in the forest. However, the observations in forest severely suffer from volume and temporal decorrelation. The forest scatters are not stable as assumed. The obtained interferometric information is not accurate as expected. Besides, ESPRIT techniques could not identify the interferometric phases corresponding to the ground and the canopy. It provides multiple estimations for the height between two scattering centers due to phase unwrapping. Therefore, estimation errors are introduced to the forest height results. To suppress the two types of errors, we use the dual-baseline POL-InSAR data to estimate forest height. Dual-baseline coherence optimization is applied to obtain interferometric information of stable scattering centers in the forest. From the interferometric phases for different baselines, estimation errors caused by phase unwrapping is solved. Other estimation errors can be suppressed, too. Experiments are done to the ESAR L band POL-InSAR data. Experimental results show the proposed methods provide more accurate forest height than ESPRIT technique.

INVENTORY OF IRRIGATED RICE ECOSYSTEM USING POLARIMETRIC SAR DATA

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P. Srikanth

2012-08-01

Full Text Available An attempt has been made in the current study to assess the potential of polarimetric SAR data for inventory of kharif rice and the major competing crop like cotton. In the process, physical process of the scattering mechanisms occurring in rice and cotton crops at different phonological stages was studied through the use of temporal Radarsat 2 Fine quadpol SAR data. The temporal dynamics of the volume, double and odd bounce, entropy, anisotropy, alpha parameters and polarimertic signatures, classification through isodata clustering and Wishart techniques were assessed. The Wishart (H-a classification showed higher overall as well as rice and cotton crop accuracies compared to the isodata clustering from Freeman 3-component decomposition. The classification of temporal SAR data sets independently showed that the rice crop forecasting can be advanced with the use of appropriate single date polarimetric SAR data rather than using temporal SAR amplitude data sets with the single polarization in irrigated rice ecosystems

Monitoring Building Deformation with InSAR: Experiments and Validation

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Yang, Kui; Yan, Li; Huang, Guoman; Chen, Chu; Wu, Zhengpeng

2016-01-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) techniques are increasingly applied for monitoring land subsidence. The advantages of InSAR include high accuracy and the ability to cover large areas; nevertheless, research validating the use of InSAR on building deformation is limited. In this paper, we test the monitoring capability of the InSAR in experiments using two landmark buildings; the Bohai Building and the China Theater, located in Tianjin, China. They were selected as real examples to compare InSAR and leveling approaches for building deformation. Ten TerraSAR-X images spanning half a year were used in Permanent Scatterer InSAR processing. These extracted InSAR results were processed considering the diversity in both direction and spatial distribution, and were compared with true leveling values in both Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and measurement of error analyses. The detailed experimental results for the Bohai Building and the China Theater showed a high correlation between InSAR results and the leveling values. At the same time, the two Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) indexes had values of approximately 1 mm. These analyses show that a millimeter level of accuracy can be achieved by means of InSAR technique when measuring building deformation. We discuss the differences in accuracy between OLS regression and measurement of error analyses, and compare the accuracy index of leveling in order to propose InSAR accuracy levels appropriate for monitoring buildings deformation. After assessing the advantages and limitations of InSAR techniques in monitoring buildings, further applications are evaluated. PMID:27999403

Monitoring Building Deformation with InSAR: Experiments and Validation

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Kui Yang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR techniques are increasingly applied for monitoring land subsidence. The advantages of InSAR include high accuracy and the ability to cover large areas; nevertheless, research validating the use of InSAR on building deformation is limited. In this paper, we test the monitoring capability of the InSAR in experiments using two landmark buildings; the Bohai Building and the China Theater, located in Tianjin, China. They were selected as real examples to compare InSAR and leveling approaches for building deformation. Ten TerraSAR-X images spanning half a year were used in Permanent Scatterer InSAR processing. These extracted InSAR results were processed considering the diversity in both direction and spatial distribution, and were compared with true leveling values in both Ordinary Least Squares (OLS regression and measurement of error analyses. The detailed experimental results for the Bohai Building and the China Theater showed a high correlation between InSAR results and the leveling values. At the same time, the two Root Mean Square Error (RMSE indexes had values of approximately 1 mm. These analyses show that a millimeter level of accuracy can be achieved by means of InSAR technique when measuring building deformation. We discuss the differences in accuracy between OLS regression and measurement of error analyses, and compare the accuracy index of leveling in order to propose InSAR accuracy levels appropriate for monitoring buildings deformation. After assessing the advantages and limitations of InSAR techniques in monitoring buildings, further applications are evaluated.

Spaceborne Differential SAR Interferometry: Data Analysis Tools for Deformation Measurement

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Michele Crosetto

2011-02-01

Full Text Available This paper is focused on spaceborne Differential Interferometric SAR (DInSAR for land deformation measurement and monitoring. In the last two decades several DInSAR data analysis procedures have been proposed. The objective of this paper is to describe the DInSAR data processing and analysis tools developed at the Institute of Geomatics in almost ten years of research activities. Four main DInSAR analysis procedures are described, which range from the standard DInSAR analysis based on a single interferogram to more advanced Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI approaches. These different procedures guarantee a sufficient flexibility in DInSAR data processing. In order to provide a technical insight into these analysis procedures, a whole section discusses their main data processing and analysis steps, especially those needed in PSI analyses. A specific section is devoted to the core of our PSI analysis tools: the so-called 2+1D phase unwrapping procedure, which couples a 2D phase unwrapping, performed interferogram-wise, with a kind of 1D phase unwrapping along time, performed pixel-wise. In the last part of the paper, some examples of DInSAR results are discussed, which were derived by standard DInSAR or PSI analyses. Most of these results were derived from X-band SAR data coming from the TerraSAR-X and CosmoSkyMed sensors.

SAR Polarimetric Scattering from Natural Terrains

Science.gov (United States)

2017-02-17

land surfaces. In addition, NMM3D will also be useful for C-, X-, and Ku-bands. NMM3D results will also be implemented in the NASA Earth Observing...unlimited. (3) Multiple Scattering Effects with Cyclical Terms in Active Remote Sensing of Vegetated Surface Using Vector Radiative Transfer Theory...IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, vol. 9, pp. 1414-1429 (2016)) The multiple scattering and

MERGING AIRBORNE LIDAR DATA AND SATELLITE SAR DATA FOR BUILDING CLASSIFICATION

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T. Yamamoto

2015-05-01

Full Text Available A frequent map revision is required in GIS applications, such as disaster prevention and urban planning. In general, airborne photogrammetry and LIDAR measurements are applied to geometrical data acquisition for automated map generation and revision. However, attribute data acquisition and classification depend on manual editing works including ground surveys. In general, airborne photogrammetry and LiDAR measurements are applied to geometrical data acquisition for automated map generation and revision. However, these approaches classify geometrical attributes. Moreover, ground survey and manual editing works are finally required in attribute data classification. On the other hand, although geometrical data extraction is difficult, SAR data have a possibility to automate the attribute data acquisition and classification. The SAR data represent microwave reflections on various surfaces of ground and buildings. There are many researches related to monitoring activities of disaster, vegetation, and urban. Moreover, we have an opportunity to acquire higher resolution data in urban areas with new sensors, such as ALOS2 PALSAR2. Therefore, in this study, we focus on an integration of airborne LIDAR data and satellite SAR data for building extraction and classification.

Applying persistent scatterer interferometry for surface displacement mapping in the Azul open pit manganese mine (Amazon region) with TerraSAR-X StripMap data

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Athayde Pinto, Carolina de; Paradella, Waldir Renato; Mura, José Claudio; Gama, Fabio Furlan; Ribeiro dos Santos, Athos; Silva, Guilherme Gregório; Hartwig, Marcos Eduardo

2015-01-01

The Azul mining complex, located in the Carajás Mineral Province, Amazon region, encompasses the most important manganese mine in Brazil. Vale S.A. company operates three simultaneous open pit excavations (mines 1, 2, and 3) in the area, which are conducted on rock alteration products of low geomechanical quality related to sandstones, siltstones, and a lateritic cover. In order to monitor ground deformation, 33 TerraSAR-X (TSX-1) StripMap images covering the period of March 2012-April 2013 were used in the investigation. An advanced differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (A-DInSAR) approach based on persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) using an interferometric point target analysis algorithm was applied, and the results showed that most of the area was considered stable during the time span of the synthetic aperture radar acquisitions. However, persistent scatterers (PS) with high deformation rates were mapped over a waste pile, probably related to settlements, and also along the north flank of mine 1, indicative of cut slope movements toward the center of the pit. A spatial relationship of geological structures with PS was observed for this sector of the mine, given by PS showing deformation rates concentrated along a structural corridor with faults, fractures, and folds related to the Carajás fault system. Though only ground-based radar measurements for wall benches of mine 1 were available for a short time period of the TSX-1 coverage, the PS movement patterns showed concordance with geotechnical field measurements. The investigation emphasized the important role that satellite-based A-DInSAR can play for deformation monitoring and risk assessment in this kind of mining area.

Permanent Scatterer interferometry: a look at the future

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Ferretti, A.; Novali, F.; Perissin, D.; Prati, C.; Rocca, F.

2006-12-01

In the last six years extensive processing of thousands of SAR scenes acquired by ERS-1/2, ENVISAT and RADARSAT has demonstrated how multi-temporal data-sets can be successfully exploited for terrain monitoring, by identifying objects on the landscape that have a stable, point-like behaviour. These objects, referred to as Permanent Scatterers (PS), can be geo-coded and monitored for movement very accurately, acting as a "natural" geodetic network, possibly integrating continuous GPS data. The paper presents examples of applications of monitoring landslides, seismic faults and subsidence areas, using experience in Europe, US and Canada, and concludes with a discussion on future directions for PSInSAR analysis. This second part will briefly discuss the technical features of the new radar sensors to be launched in the near future (namely: TerraSAR-X, RADARSAT-2, CosmoSkyMed and the new ESA mission) and their impact on PSInSAR analyses, highlighting the importance of data continuity and standardized acquisition policies for almost all DInSAR and PSInSAR applications. Finally, recent advances in the algorithms applied in PS analysis, allowing the detection of "temporary PS", PS characterization and exploitation of distributed scatterers, will be briefly addressed based on the processing of real SAR data.

C/X-band SAR interferometry applied to ground monitoring: examples and new potential

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Nutricato, Raffaele; Nitti, Davide O.; Bovenga, Fabio; Refice, Alberto; Wasowski, Janusz; Chiaradia, Maria T.

2013-10-01

Classical applications of the MTInSAR techniques have been carried out in the past on medium resolution data acquired by the ERS, Envisat (ENV) and Radarsat sensors. The new generation of high-resolution X-Band SAR sensors, such as TerraSAR-X (TSX) and the COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) constellation allows acquiring data with spatial resolution reaching metric/submetric values. Thanks to the finer spatial resolution with respect to C-band data, X-band InSAR applications result very promising for monitoring single man-made structures (buildings, bridges, railways and highways), as well as landslides. This is particularly relevant where C-band data show low density of coherent scatterers. Moreover, thanks again to the higher resolution, it is possible to infer reliable estimates of the displacement rates with a number of SAR scenes significantly lower than in C-band within the same time span or by using more images acquired in a narrower time span. We present examples of the application of a Persistent Scatterers Interferometry technique, namely the SPINUA algorithm, to data acquired by ENV, TSX and CSK on selected number of sites. Different cases are considered concerning monitoring of both instable slopes and infrastructure. Results are compared and commented with particular attention paid to the advantages provided by the new generation of X-band high resolution space-borne SAR sensors.

A general rough-surface inversion algorithm: Theory and application to SAR data

Science.gov (United States)

Moghaddam, M.

1993-01-01

Rough-surface inversion has significant applications in interpretation of SAR data obtained over bare soil surfaces and agricultural lands. Due to the sparsity of data and the large pixel size in SAR applications, it is not feasible to carry out inversions based on numerical scattering models. The alternative is to use parameter estimation techniques based on approximate analytical or empirical models. Hence, there are two issues to be addressed, namely, what model to choose and what estimation algorithm to apply. Here, a small perturbation model (SPM) is used to express the backscattering coefficients of the rough surface in terms of three surface parameters. The algorithm used to estimate these parameters is based on a nonlinear least-squares criterion. The least-squares optimization methods are widely used in estimation theory, but the distinguishing factor for SAR applications is incorporating the stochastic nature of both the unknown parameters and the data into formulation, which will be discussed in detail. The algorithm is tested with synthetic data, and several Newton-type least-squares minimization methods are discussed to compare their convergence characteristics. Finally, the algorithm is applied to multifrequency polarimetric SAR data obtained over some bare soil and agricultural fields. Results will be shown and compared to ground-truth measurements obtained from these areas. The strength of this general approach to inversion of SAR data is that it can be easily modified for use with any scattering model without changing any of the inversion steps. Note also that, for the same reason it is not limited to inversion of rough surfaces, and can be applied to any parameterized scattering process.

Polarimetric Scattering Properties of Landslides in Forested Areas and the Dependence on the Local Incidence Angle

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Takashi Shibayama

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the local incidence angle dependence of several polarimetric indices corresponding to landslides in forested areas. Landslide is deeply related to the loss of human lives and their property. Various kinds of remote sensing techniques, including aerial photography, high-resolution optical satellite imagery, LiDAR and SAR interferometry (InSAR, have been available for landslide investigations. SAR polarimetry is potentially an effective measure to investigate landslides because fully-polarimetric SAR (PolSAR data contain more information compared to conventional single- or dual-polarization SAR data. However, research on landslide recognition utilizing polarimetric SAR (PolSAR is quite limited. Polarimetric properties of landslides have not been examined quantitatively so far. Accordingly, we examined the polarimetric scattering properties of landslides by an assessment of how the decomposed scattering power components and the polarimetric correlation coefficient change with the local incidence angle. In the assessment, PolSAR data acquired from different directions with both spaceborne and airborne SARs were utilized. It was found that the surface scattering power and the polarimetric correlation coefficient of landslides significantly decrease with the local incidence angle, while these indices of surrounding forest do not. This fact leads to establishing a method of effective detection of landslide area by polarimetric information.

The Establishment of the SAR images database System Based on Oracle and ArcSDE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Jijin; Li, Zhen; Chen, Quan; Tian, Bangsen

2014-01-01

Synthetic aperture radar is a kind of microwave imaging system, and has the advantages of multi-band, multi-polarization and multi-angle. At present, there is no SAR images database system based on typical features. For solving problems in interpretation and identification, a new SAR images database system of the typical features is urgent in the current development need. In this article, a SAR images database system based on Oracle and ArcSDE was constructed. The main works involving are as follows: (1) SAR image data was calibrated and corrected geometrically and geometrically. Besides, the fully polarimetric image was processed as the coherency matrix[T] to preserve the polarimetric information. (2) After analyzing multiple space borne SAR images, the metadata table was defined as: IMAGEID; Name of features; Latitude and Longitude; Sensor name; Range and Azimuth resolution etc. (3) Through the comparison between GeoRaster and ArcSDE, result showed ArcSDE is a more appropriate technology to store images in a central database. The System stores and manages multisource SAR image data well, reflects scattering, geometry, polarization, band and angle characteristics, and combines with analysis of the managed objects and service objects of the database as well as focuses on constructing SAR image system in the aspects of data browse and data retrieval. According the analysis of characteristics of SAR images such as scattering, polarization, incident angle and wave band information, different weights can be given to these characteristics. Then an interpreted tool is formed to provide an efficient platform for interpretation

Assessment of Polarimetric SAR Interferometry for Improving Ship Classification based on Simulated Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jordi J. Mallorqui

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This paper uses a complete and realistic SAR simulation processing chain, GRECOSAR, to study the potentialities of Polarimetric SAR Interferometry (POLInSAR in the development of new classification methods for ships. Its high processing efficiency and scenario flexibility have allowed to develop exhaustive scattering studies. The results have revealed, first, vessels’ geometries can be described by specific combinations of Permanent Polarimetric Scatterers (PePS and, second, each type of vessel could be characterized by a particular spatial and polarimetric distribution of PePS. Such properties have been recently exploited to propose a new Vessel Classification Algorithm (VCA working with POLInSAR data, which, according to several simulation tests, may provide promising performance in real scenarios. Along the paper, explanation of the main steps summarizing the whole research activity carried out with ships and GRECOSAR are provided as well as examples of the main results and VCA validation tests. Special attention will be devoted to the new improvements achieved, which are related to simulations processing a new and highly realistic sea surface model. The paper will show that, for POLInSAR data with fine resolution, VCA can help to classify ships with notable robustness under diverse and adverse observation conditions.

Multi-temporal InSAR Datastacks for Surface Deformation Monitoring: a Review

Science.gov (United States)

Ferretti, A.; Novali, F.; Prati, C.; Rocca, F.

2009-04-01

In the last decade extensive processing of thousands of satellite radar scenes acquired by different sensors (e.g. ERS-1/2, ENVISAT and RADARSAT) has demonstrated how multi-temporal data-sets can be successfully exploited for surface deformation monitoring, by identifying objects on the terrain that have a stable, point-like behaviour. These objects, referred to as Permanent or Persistent Scatterers (PS), can be geo-coded and monitored for movement very accurately, acting as a "natural" geodetic network, integrating successfully continuous GPS data. After a brief analysis of both advantages and drawbacks of InSAR datastacks, the paper presents examples of applications of PS measurements for detecting and monitoring active faults, aquifers and oil/gas reservoirs, using experience in Europe, North America and Japan, and concludes with a discussion on future directions for PSInSAR analysis. Special attention is paid to the possibility of creating deformation maps over wide areas using historical archives of data already available. This second part of the paper will briefly discuss the technical features of the new radar sensors recently launched (namely: TerraSAR-X, RADARSAT-2, and CosmoSkyMed) and their impact on space geodesy, highlighting the importance of data continuity and standardized acquisition policies for almost all InSAR and PSInSAR applications. Finally, recent advances in the algorithms applied in PS analysis, such as detection of "temporary PS", PS characterization and exploitation of distributed scatterers, will be briefly discussed based on the processing of real data.

Utility of Characterizing and Monitoring Suspected Underground Nuclear Sites with VideoSAR

Science.gov (United States)

Dauphin, S. M.; Yocky, D. A.; Riley, R.; Calloway, T. M.; Wahl, D. E.

2016-12-01

Sandia National Laboratories proposed using airborne synthetic aperture RADAR (SAR) collected in VideoSAR mode to characterize the Underground Nuclear Explosion Signature Experiment (UNESE) test bed site at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The SNL SAR collected airborne, Ku-band (16.8 GHz center frequency), 0.2032 meter ground resolution over NNSS in August 2014 and X-band (9.6 GHz), 0.1016 meter ground resolution fully-polarimetric SAR in April 2015. This paper reports the findings of processing and exploiting VideoSAR for creating digital elevation maps, detecting cultural artifacts and exploiting full-circle polarimetric signatures. VideoSAR collects a continuous circle of phase history data, therefore, imagery can be formed over the 360-degrees of the site. Since the Ku-band VideoSAR had two antennas suitable for interferometric digital elevation mapping (DEM), DEMs could be generated over numerous aspect angles, filling in holes created by targets with height by imaging from all sides. Also, since the X-band VideoSAR was fully-polarimetric, scattering signatures could be gleaned from all angles also. Both of these collections can be used to find man-made objects and changes in elevation that might indicate testing activities. VideoSAR provides a unique, coherent measure of ground objects allowing one to create accurate DEMS, locate man-made objects, and identify scattering signatures via polarimetric exploitation. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. The authors would like to thank the National Nuclear Security Administration, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development, for sponsoring this work. We would also like to thank the Underground Nuclear Explosion Signatures Experiment team, a multi

Time-of-flight scattering and recoiling spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabalais, J.W.

1991-01-01

Ion scattering and recoiling spectrometry consists of directing a collimated beam of monoenergetic ions towards a surface and measuring the flux of scattered and recoiled particles from this surface. When the neutral plus ion flux is velocity selected by measuring the flight times from the sample to the detector, the technique is called time-of-flight scattering and recoiling spectrometry (TOF-SARS). TOF-SARS is capable of (1) surface elemental analysis by applying classical mechanics to the velocities of the particles, (2) surface structural analysis by monitoring the angular anisotropies in the particle flux, and (3) ion-surface electron exchange probabilities by analysis of the ion/neutral fractions in the particle flux. Examples of these three areas are presented herein

Detection and Monitoring of Surface Motions in Active Open Pit Iron Mine in the Amazon Region, Using Persistent Scatterer Interferometry with TerraSAR-X Satellite Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcos E. Hartwig

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Persistent Scatterer interferometry (PSI represents a powerful tool for the detection and monitoring of tiny surface deformations in vast areas, allowing a better understanding of its triggering mechanisms, planning of mitigation measures, as well as to find better solutions for social and environmental issues. However, there is no record hitherto of its use in active open pit mine in tropical rainforest environment. In this paper we evaluate the use of the PSI technique for the detection and monitoring of mine slope deformations in the N4W iron mine and its surroundings, Pará State, Northern Brazil. The PSI processing was performed with 18 ascending SAR scenes of the TerraSAR-X satellite acquired in the dry season of 2012. The results showed a significant number of widely distributed persistent scatterers. It was observed that most of the study area was stable during the time span. Nevertheless, high deformation rates (312 mm/year were mapped over the mine waste piles, but do not offer any hazard, since they are expected displacements of meters in magnitude for these manmade land structures. Additionally, it was mapped tiny deformation rates in both the east and west flanks of pits 1 and 2. The main underlying reasons can be assigned to the accommodation phenomena of very poor rock masses, to the local geometric variations of the slope cuts, to the geological contact between ironstones and the country rocks, to the exploitation activities, as well as to the major geological structures. This study showed the applicability of the PSI technique using TerraSAR-X scenes in active open pit mines in tropical moist environment. However, the PSI technique is not capable in providing real-time warnings, and faces limitations due to SAR viewing geometry. In this sense, we strongly recommend the use of radar scenes acquired in both ascending and descending orbits, which would also provide a more complete understanding of the deformation patterns.

Estimating soil moisture using the Danish polarimetric SAR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jiankang, Ji; Thomsen, A.; Skriver, Henning

1995-01-01

The results of applying data from the Danish polarimetric SAR (EMISAR) to estimate soil moisture for bare fields are presented. Fully calibrated C-band SAR images for hh, vv and cross polarizations have been used in this study. The measured surface roughness data showed that classical roughness a...... of surface parameters with the bilinear model, the correlation coefficient between the estimated and measured soil moisture, as well as rms height, is about 0.77. To improve the result, the local incidence angles need to be taken into account......The results of applying data from the Danish polarimetric SAR (EMISAR) to estimate soil moisture for bare fields are presented. Fully calibrated C-band SAR images for hh, vv and cross polarizations have been used in this study. The measured surface roughness data showed that classical roughness...... autocorrelation functions (Gaussian and Exponential) were not able to fit natural surfaces well. A Gauss-Exp hybrid model which agreed better with the measured data has been proposed. Theoretical surface scattering models (POM, IEM), as well as an empirical model for retrieval of soil moisture and surface rms...

Chinese HJ-1C SAR And Its Wind Mapping Capability

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Weigen; Chen, Fengfeng; Yang, Jingsong; Fu, Bin; Chen, Peng; Zhang, Chan

2010-04-01

Chinese Huan Jing (HJ)-1C synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite has been planed to be launched in 2010. HJ-1C satellite will fly in a sun-synchronous polar orbit of 500-km altitude. SAR will be the only sensor on board the satellite. It operates in S band with VV polarization. Its image mode has the incidence angles 25°and 47°at the near and far sides of the swath respectively. There are two selectable SAR modes of operation, which are fine resolution beams and standard beams respectively. The sea surface wind mapping capability of the SAR has been examined using M4S radar imaging model developed by Romeiser. The model is based on Bragg scattering theory in a composite surface model expansion. It accounts for contributions of the full ocean wave spectrum to the radar backscatter from ocean surface. The model reproduces absolute normalized radar cross section (NRCS) values for wide ranges of wind speeds. The model results of HJ-1C SAR have been compared with the model results of Envisat ASAR. It shows that HJ-1C SAR is as good as Envisat ASAR at sea surface wind mapping.

Sensitivity Analysis of the Scattering-Based SARBM3D Despeckling Algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Simone, Alessio

2016-06-25

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery greatly suffers from multiplicative speckle noise, typical of coherent image acquisition sensors, such as SAR systems. Therefore, a proper and accurate despeckling preprocessing step is almost mandatory to aid the interpretation and processing of SAR data by human users and computer algorithms, respectively. Very recently, a scattering-oriented version of the popular SAR Block-Matching 3D (SARBM3D) despeckling filter, named Scattering-Based (SB)-SARBM3D, was proposed. The new filter is based on the a priori knowledge of the local topography of the scene. In this paper, an experimental sensitivity analysis of the above-mentioned despeckling algorithm is carried out, and the main results are shown and discussed. In particular, the role of both electromagnetic and geometrical parameters of the surface and the impact of its scattering behavior are investigated. Furthermore, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis of the SB-SARBM3D filter against the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) resolution and the SAR image-DEM coregistration step is also provided. The sensitivity analysis shows a significant robustness of the algorithm against most of the surface parameters, while the DEM resolution plays a key role in the despeckling process. Furthermore, the SB-SARBM3D algorithm outperforms the original SARBM3D in the presence of the most realistic scattering behaviors of the surface. An actual scenario is also presented to assess the DEM role in real-life conditions.

Two-dimensional Fast ESPRIT Algorithm for Linear Array SAR Imaging

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Zhao Yi-chao

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The linear array Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR system is a popular research tool, because it can realize three-dimensional imaging. However, owning to limitations of the aircraft platform and actual conditions, resolution improvement is difficult in cross-track and along-track directions. In this study, a twodimensional fast Estimation of Signal Parameters by Rotational Invariance Technique (ESPRIT algorithm for linear array SAR imaging is proposed to overcome these limitations. This approach combines the Gerschgorin disks method and the ESPRIT algorithm to estimate the positions of scatterers in cross and along-rack directions. Moreover, the reflectivity of scatterers is obtained by a modified pairing method based on “region growing”, replacing the least-squares method. The simulation results demonstrate the applicability of the algorithm with high resolution, quick calculation, and good real-time response.

Rice status and microwave characteristics: Analysis of rice paddy fields at Kojima Bay [Okayama, Japan] using multi-frequency and polarimetric Pi-SAR radar data images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishitsuka, N.; Saito, G.; Ouchi, K.; Davidson, G.; Mohri, K.; Uratsuka, S.

2003-01-01

Abstract South-east Asia has a rainy-season at the crop growing period, and it is difficult to observe agricultural land in this season using optical remote sensing. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can observe the earth's surface without being influenced by of clouds. However, it is less useful for observing agricultural land, because satellite SAR has only one data band. Recently, SAR is able to provide multi band and multi polarimetric data. Pi-SAR, an airborne SAR developed by NASDA and CRL, can provide L and X bands and fully polarimetric data. Rice is the main crop in Asia, and we studied the characteristic microwave scatter on rice paddy fields using Pi-SAR data. Our study area was the rice paddy fields in Kojima reclaimed land in Japan. We had two fully polarimetric data sets from 13 July 1999 and 4 October 2000. First, we processed the color polarimetric composite image. Next we calibrated the phase of each polarimetric data using river area by the Kimura method. After that we performed decomposition analysis and drew polarimetric signatures for understanding the status of rice paddy fields. At the rice planting period, rice paddy fields are filled with water and rice plants are very small. The SAR microwave scatters on water surfaces like a mirror, called 'mirror (or specular) reflection'. This phenomenon makes backscatter a small value at the water-covered area. The image from July is about one month after trans-planting and rice plants are 20-40 cm in height. X-band microwave scatters on the rice surface, but L-band microwave passes through rice bodies and shows mirror refraction on water surfaces. Some strong backscatter occur on rice paddy fields especially VV polarization because of bragg scattering. The fields where bragg scattering returns strong VV scatter because the space between rice stems cause resonation in the L-band wavelength. We can easily understand bragg scatter by using polarimetric data. Using the image from October at

Robust Ground Target Detection by SAR and IR Sensor Fusion Using Adaboost-Based Feature Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sungho; Song, Woo-Jin; Kim, So-Hyun

2016-01-01

Long-range ground targets are difficult to detect in a noisy cluttered environment using either synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images or infrared (IR) images. SAR-based detectors can provide a high detection rate with a high false alarm rate to background scatter noise. IR-based approaches can detect hot targets but are affected strongly by the weather conditions. This paper proposes a novel target detection method by decision-level SAR and IR fusion using an Adaboost-based machine learning scheme to achieve a high detection rate and low false alarm rate. The proposed method consists of individual detection, registration, and fusion architecture. This paper presents a single framework of a SAR and IR target detection method using modified Boolean map visual theory (modBMVT) and feature-selection based fusion. Previous methods applied different algorithms to detect SAR and IR targets because of the different physical image characteristics. One method that is optimized for IR target detection produces unsuccessful results in SAR target detection. This study examined the image characteristics and proposed a unified SAR and IR target detection method by inserting a median local average filter (MLAF, pre-filter) and an asymmetric morphological closing filter (AMCF, post-filter) into the BMVT. The original BMVT was optimized to detect small infrared targets. The proposed modBMVT can remove the thermal and scatter noise by the MLAF and detect extended targets by attaching the AMCF after the BMVT. Heterogeneous SAR and IR images were registered automatically using the proposed RANdom SAmple Region Consensus (RANSARC)-based homography optimization after a brute-force correspondence search using the detected target centers and regions. The final targets were detected by feature-selection based sensor fusion using Adaboost. The proposed method showed good SAR and IR target detection performance through feature selection-based decision fusion on a synthetic database generated

Robust Ground Target Detection by SAR and IR Sensor Fusion Using Adaboost-Based Feature Selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sungho Kim

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Long-range ground targets are difficult to detect in a noisy cluttered environment using either synthetic aperture radar (SAR images or infrared (IR images. SAR-based detectors can provide a high detection rate with a high false alarm rate to background scatter noise. IR-based approaches can detect hot targets but are affected strongly by the weather conditions. This paper proposes a novel target detection method by decision-level SAR and IR fusion using an Adaboost-based machine learning scheme to achieve a high detection rate and low false alarm rate. The proposed method consists of individual detection, registration, and fusion architecture. This paper presents a single framework of a SAR and IR target detection method using modified Boolean map visual theory (modBMVT and feature-selection based fusion. Previous methods applied different algorithms to detect SAR and IR targets because of the different physical image characteristics. One method that is optimized for IR target detection produces unsuccessful results in SAR target detection. This study examined the image characteristics and proposed a unified SAR and IR target detection method by inserting a median local average filter (MLAF, pre-filter and an asymmetric morphological closing filter (AMCF, post-filter into the BMVT. The original BMVT was optimized to detect small infrared targets. The proposed modBMVT can remove the thermal and scatter noise by the MLAF and detect extended targets by attaching the AMCF after the BMVT. Heterogeneous SAR and IR images were registered automatically using the proposed RANdom SAmple Region Consensus (RANSARC-based homography optimization after a brute-force correspondence search using the detected target centers and regions. The final targets were detected by feature-selection based sensor fusion using Adaboost. The proposed method showed good SAR and IR target detection performance through feature selection-based decision fusion on a synthetic

Multi-linear sparse reconstruction for SAR imaging based on higher-order SVD

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Yu-Fei; Gui, Guan; Cong, Xun-Chao; Yang, Yue; Zou, Yan-Bin; Wan, Qun

2017-12-01

This paper focuses on the spotlight synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging for point scattering targets based on tensor modeling. In a real-world scenario, scatterers usually distribute in the block sparse pattern. Such a distribution feature has been scarcely utilized by the previous studies of SAR imaging. Our work takes advantage of this structure property of the target scene, constructing a multi-linear sparse reconstruction algorithm for SAR imaging. The multi-linear block sparsity is introduced into higher-order singular value decomposition (SVD) with a dictionary constructing procedure by this research. The simulation experiments for ideal point targets show the robustness of the proposed algorithm to the noise and sidelobe disturbance which always influence the imaging quality of the conventional methods. The computational resources requirement is further investigated in this paper. As a consequence of the algorithm complexity analysis, the present method possesses the superiority on resource consumption compared with the classic matching pursuit method. The imaging implementations for practical measured data also demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm developed in this paper.

PolinSAR coherence optimisation for deformation measurement in an agricultural region

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Engelbrecht, Jeanine

2015-10-01

Full Text Available of the scattering processes implied that different phase centres were present in interferograms which introduced a spatially heterogeneous topographic phase contribution. Consequently, the polInSAR techniques are considered to be unsuccessful in enhancing...

Comparisons of Circular Transmit and Linear Receive Compact Polarimetric SAR Features for Oil Slicks Discrimination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Compact polarimetric (CP synthetic aperture radar (SAR has proven its potential in distinguishing oil slicks and look-alikes. Polarimetric information can be retrieved directly from scattering vector or from reconstructed pseudo-Quad-Pol covariance matrix of CP SAR data. In this paper, we analysed features from Circular Transmit and Linear Receive (CTLR CP SAR data that are derived by taking both of these two methods. K-means clustering followed by accuracy assessment was also implemented for performance evaluation. Through experiments that were conducted based on L-band UAVSAR fully polarimetric data, it was found that optimum extraction methods varied for different features. The histogram analysis and segmentation results also demonstrated the comparable performance of CP SAR features in distinguishing different damping properties within oil slicks. This study proposed a framework of statistically analyzing polarimetric SAR (Pol-SAR features and provided guidelines for determining optimum feature extraction methods from CP SAR data and for marine oil-spills detection and classification.

Field Experiments on SAR Detection of Film Slicks

Science.gov (United States)

Ermakov, S.; da Silva, J. C. B.; Kapustin, I.; Sergievskaya, I.

2013-03-01

Field experiments on radar detection of film slicks using satellite synthetic aperture radar TerraSAR-X and X-band scatterometer on board a research vessel are described. The experiments were carried out with surfactant films with known physical parameters, the surface tension and the film elasticity, at low to moderate wind conditions and at different radar incidence angles. It is shown that the depression of radar backscatter (contrast) in films slicks for X-band SAR weakly depends on wind velocity/direction, film elasticity and incidence angles within the range of 200-400. Scatterometer contrasts obtained at incidence angles of about 600 are larger than SAR contrasts. Theoretical analysis of radar contrasts for low-to-moderate incidence angles has been carried out based on a hydrodynamic model of wind wave damping due to films and on a composite radar imaging model. The hydrodynamic model takes into account wave damping due to viscoelastic films, wind wave generation and a phenomenological term describing nonlinear limitation of the wind wave spectrum. The radar model takes into account Bragg scattering and specular scattering mechanisms, the latter is usually negligible compared to the Bragg mechanism at moderate incidence angles (larger than 30-35 degrees), but gives noticeable contribution to radar backscattering at smaller incidence angles particularly for slick areas when cm-scale ripples are strongly depressed by films. Calculated radar contrasts in slicks are compared with experiments and it is concluded that development of the model is needed to predict quantitatively observations.

Satellite SAR interferometric techniques applied to emergency mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Stefanova Vassileva, Magdalena; Riccardi, Paolo; Lecci, Daniele; Giulio Tonolo, Fabio; Boccardo Boccardo, Piero; Chiesa, Giuliana; Angeluccetti, Irene

2017-04-01

This paper aim to investigate the capabilities of the currently available SAR interferometric algorithms in the field of emergency mapping. Several tests have been performed exploiting the Copernicus Sentinel-1 data using the COTS software ENVI/SARscape 5.3. Emergency Mapping can be defined as "creation of maps, geo-information products and spatial analyses dedicated to providing situational awareness emergency management and immediate crisis information for response by means of extraction of reference (pre-event) and crisis (post-event) geographic information/data from satellite or aerial imagery". The conventional differential SAR interferometric technique (DInSAR) and the two currently available multi-temporal SAR interferometric approaches, i.e. Permanent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) and Small BAseline Subset (SBAS), have been applied to provide crisis information useful for the emergency management activities. Depending on the considered Emergency Management phase, it may be distinguished between rapid mapping, i.e. fast provision of geospatial data regarding the area affected for the immediate emergency response, and monitoring mapping, i.e. detection of phenomena for risk prevention and mitigation activities. In order to evaluate the potential and limitations of the aforementioned SAR interferometric approaches for the specific rapid and monitoring mapping application, five main factors have been taken into account: crisis information extracted, input data required, processing time and expected accuracy. The results highlight that DInSAR has the capacity to delineate areas affected by large and sudden deformations and fulfills most of the immediate response requirements. The main limiting factor of interferometry is the availability of suitable SAR acquisition immediately after the event (e.g. Sentinel-1 mission characterized by 6-day revisiting time may not always satisfy the immediate emergency request). PSI and SBAS techniques are suitable to produce

Estimation of rice grain yield from dual-polarization Radarsat-2 SAR data by integrating a rice canopy scattering model and a genetic algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yuan; Yang, Bin; Liu, Xiaohui; Wang, Cuizhen

2017-05-01

Fast and accurate estimation of rice yield plays a role in forecasting rice productivity for ensuring regional or national food security. Microwave synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data has been proved to have a great potential for rice monitoring and parameters retrieval. In this study, a rice canopy scattering model (RCSM) was revised and then was applied to simulate the backscatter of rice canopy. The combination of RCSM and genetic algorithm (GA) was proposed for retrieving two important rice parameters relating to grain yield, ear length and ear number density, from a C-band, dual-polarization (HH and HV) Radarsat-2 SAR data. The stability of retrieved results of GA inversion was also evaluated by changing various parameter configurations. Results show that RCSM can effectively simulate backscattering coefficients of rice canopy at HH and HV mode with an error of <1 dB. Reasonable selection of GA's parameters is essential for stability and efficiency of rice parameter retrieval. Two rice parameters are retrieved by the proposed RCSM-GA technology with better accuracy. The rice ear length are estimated with error of <1.5 cm, and ear number density with error of <23 #/m2. Rice grain yields are effectively estimated and mapped by the retrieved ear length and number density via a simple yield regression equation. This study further illustrates the capability of C-band Radarsat-2 SAR data on retrieval of rice ear parameters and the practicability of radar remote sensing technology for operational yield estimation.

Three-dimensional Reconstruction Method Study Based on Interferometric Circular SAR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hou Liying

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Circular Synthetic Aperture Radar (CSAR can acquire targets’ scattering information in all directions by a 360° observation, but a single-track CSAR cannot efficiently obtain height scattering information for a strong directive scatter. In this study, we examine the typical target of the three-dimensional circular SAR interferometry theoryand validate the theory in a darkroom experiment. We present a 3D reconstruction of the actual tank metal model of interferometric CSAR for the first time, verify the validity of the method, and demonstrate the important potential applications of combining 3D reconstruction with omnidirectional observation.

Single and Multipolarimetric P-Band SAR Tomography of Subsurface Ice Structure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Banda, Francesco; Dall, Jørgen; Tebaldini, Stefano

2016-01-01

In this paper, first results concerning the characterization of the subsurface of ice sheets and glaciers through single and multipolarization synthetic aperture radar (SAR) tomography (TomoSAR) are illustrated. To this aim, the processing of data acquired in the framework of the European Space...... that scattering in the upper layers of glacial subsurface can be achieved up to an extent of about 20–60 m, conditional on the different types of glaciological zone observed. Moreover, clear morphological structures have been found beneath the ice surface at one of the investigated sites....

Monitoring of Building Construction by 4D Change Detection Using Multi-temporal SAR Images

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, C. H.; Pang, Y.; Soergel, U.

2017-05-01

Monitoring urban changes is important for city management, urban planning, updating of cadastral map, etc. In contrast to conventional field surveys, which are usually expensive and slow, remote sensing techniques are fast and cost-effective alternatives. Spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors provide radar images captured rapidly over vast areas at fine spatiotemporal resolution. In addition, the active microwave sensors are capable of day-and-night vision and independent of weather conditions. These advantages make multi-temporal SAR images suitable for scene monitoring. Persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) detects and analyses PS points, which are characterized by strong, stable, and coherent radar signals throughout a SAR image sequence and can be regarded as substructures of buildings in built-up cities. Attributes of PS points, for example, deformation velocities, are derived and used for further analysis. Based on PSI, a 4D change detection technique has been developed to detect disappearance and emergence of PS points (3D) at specific times (1D). In this paper, we apply this 4D technique to the centre of Berlin, Germany, to investigate its feasibility and application for construction monitoring. The aims of the three case studies are to monitor construction progress, business districts, and single buildings, respectively. The disappearing and emerging substructures of the buildings are successfully recognized along with their occurrence times. The changed substructures are then clustered into single construction segments based on DBSCAN clustering and α-shape outlining for object-based analysis. Compared with the ground truth, these spatiotemporal results have proven able to provide more detailed information for construction monitoring.

SAR Image Simulation of Ship Targets Based on Multi-Path Scattering

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Y.; Wang, H.; Ma, H.; Li, K.; Xia, Z.; Hao, Y.; Guo, H.; Shi, H.; Liao, X.; Yue, H.

2018-04-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) plays an important role in the classification and recognition of ship targets because of its all-weather working ability and fine resolution. In SAR images, besides the sea clutter, the influence of the sea surface on the radar echo is also known as the so-called multipath effect. These multipath effects will generate some extra "pseudo images", which may cause the distortion of the target image and affect the estimation of the characteristic parameters. In this paper,the multipath effect of rough sea surface and its influence on the estimation of ship characteristic parameters are studied. The imaging of the first and the secondary reflection of sea surface is presented . The artifacts not only overlap with the image of the target itself, but may also appear in the sea near the target area. It is difficult to distinguish them, and this artifact has an effect on the length and width of the ship.

Stochastic modeling for time series InSAR: with emphasis on atmospheric effects

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Yunmeng; Li, Zhiwei; Wei, Jianchao; Hu, Jun; Duan, Meng; Feng, Guangcai

2018-02-01

Despite the many applications of time series interferometric synthetic aperture radar (TS-InSAR) techniques in geophysical problems, error analysis and assessment have been largely overlooked. Tropospheric propagation error is still the dominant error source of InSAR observations. However, the spatiotemporal variation of atmospheric effects is seldom considered in the present standard TS-InSAR techniques, such as persistent scatterer interferometry and small baseline subset interferometry. The failure to consider the stochastic properties of atmospheric effects not only affects the accuracy of the estimators, but also makes it difficult to assess the uncertainty of the final geophysical results. To address this issue, this paper proposes a network-based variance-covariance estimation method to model the spatiotemporal variation of tropospheric signals, and to estimate the temporal variance-covariance matrix of TS-InSAR observations. The constructed stochastic model is then incorporated into the TS-InSAR estimators both for parameters (e.g., deformation velocity, topography residual) estimation and uncertainty assessment. It is an incremental and positive improvement to the traditional weighted least squares methods to solve the multitemporal InSAR time series. The performance of the proposed method is validated by using both simulated and real datasets.

Improved GO/PO method and its application to wideband SAR image of conducting objects over rough surface

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Wang-Qiang; Zhang, Min; Nie, Ding; Jiao, Yong-Chang

2018-04-01

To simulate the multiple scattering effect of target in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image, the hybrid method GO/PO method, which combines the geometrical optics (GO) and physical optics (PO), is employed to simulate the scattering field of target. For ray tracing is time-consuming, the Open Graphics Library (OpenGL) is usually employed to accelerate the process of ray tracing. Furthermore, the GO/PO method is improved for the simulation in low pixel situation. For the improved GO/PO method, the pixels are arranged corresponding to the rectangular wave beams one by one, and the GO/PO result is the sum of the contribution values of all the rectangular wave beams. To get high-resolution SAR image, the wideband echo signal is simulated which includes information of many electromagnetic (EM) waves with different frequencies. Finally, the improved GO/PO method is used to simulate the SAR image of targets above rough surface. And the effects of reflected rays and the size of pixel matrix on the SAR image are also discussed.

Airborne S-Band SAR for Forest Biophysical Retrieval in Temperate Mixed Forests of the UK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramesh K. Ningthoujam

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Radar backscatter from forest canopies is related to forest cover, canopy structure and aboveground biomass (AGB. The S-band frequency (3.1–3.3 GHz lies between the longer L-band (1–2 GHz and the shorter C-band (5–6 GHz and has been insufficiently studied for forest applications due to limited data availability. In anticipation of the British built NovaSAR-S satellite mission, this study evaluates the benefits of polarimetric S-band SAR for forest biophysical properties. To understand the scattering mechanisms in forest canopies at S-band the Michigan Microwave Canopy Scattering (MIMICS-I radiative transfer model was used. S-band backscatter was found to have high sensitivity to the forest canopy characteristics across all polarisations and incidence angles. This sensitivity originates from ground/trunk interaction as the dominant scattering mechanism related to broadleaved species for co-polarised mode and specific incidence angles. The study was carried out in the temperate mixed forest at Savernake Forest and Wytham Woods in southern England, where airborne S-band SAR imagery and field data are available from the recent AirSAR campaign. Field data from the test sites revealed wide ranges of forest parameters, including average canopy height (6–23 m, diameter at breast-height (7–42 cm, basal area (0.2–56 m2/ha, stem density (20–350 trees/ha and woody biomass density (31–520 t/ha. S-band backscatter-biomass relationships suggest increasing backscatter sensitivity to forest AGB with least error between 90.63 and 99.39 t/ha and coefficient of determination (r2 between 0.42 and 0.47 for the co-polarised channel at 0.25 ha resolution. The conclusion is that S-band SAR data such as from NovaSAR-S is suitable for monitoring forest aboveground biomass less than 100 t/ha at 25 m resolution in low to medium incidence angle range.

InSAR velocity field across the North Anatolian Fault (eastern Turkey): Implications for the loading and release of interseismic strain accumulation

KAUST Repository

Cakir, Ziyadin; Ergintav, Semih; Akoğlu, Ahmet M.; Ç akmak, Rahşan; Tatar, Orhan; Meghraoui, Mustapha

2014-01-01

We use the Persistent Scatterer Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PS-InSAR) technique with the European Space Agency's Envisat and ERS SAR data acquired on three neighboring descending tracks (T350, T078, and T307) to map the interseismic

THz-SAR Vibrating Target Imaging via the Bayesian Method

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Bin Deng

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Target vibration bears important information for target recognition, and terahertz, due to significant micro-Doppler effects, has strong advantages for remotely sensing vibrations. In this paper, the imaging characteristics of vibrating targets with THz-SAR are at first analyzed. An improved algorithm based on an excellent Bayesian approach, that is, the expansion-compression variance-component (ExCoV method, has been proposed for reconstructing scattering coefficients of vibrating targets, which provides more robust and efficient initialization and overcomes the deficiencies of sidelobes as well as artifacts arising from the traditional correlation method. A real vibration measurement experiment of idle cars was performed to validate the range model. Simulated SAR data of vibrating targets and a tank model in a real background in 220 GHz show good performance at low SNR. Rapidly evolving high-power terahertz devices will offer viable THz-SAR application at a distance of several kilometers.

The experience of SARS-related stigma at Amoy Gardens.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sing; Chan, Lydia Y Y; Chau, Annie M Y; Kwok, Kathleen P S; Kleinman, Arthur

2005-11-01

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) possesses characteristics that render it particularly prone to stigmatization. SARS-related stigma, despite its salience for public health and stigma research, has had little examination. This study combines survey and case study methods to examine subjective stigma among residents of Amoy Gardens (AG), the first officially recognized site of community outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong. A total of 903 residents of AG completed a self-report questionnaire derived from two focus groups conducted toward the end of the 3-month outbreak. Case studies of two residents who lived in Block E, the heart of the SARS epidemic at AG, complement the survey data. Findings show that stigma affected most residents and took various forms of being shunned, insulted, marginalized, and rejected in the domains of work, interpersonal relationships, use of services and schooling. Stigma was also associated with psychosomatic distress. Residents' strategies for diminishing stigma varied with gender, age, education, occupation, and proximity to perceived risk factors for SARS such as residential location, previous SARS infection and the presence of ex-SARS household members. Residents attributed stigma to government mismanagement, contagiousness of the mysterious SARS virus, and alarmist media reporting. Stigma clearly decreased, but never completely disappeared, after the outbreak. The findings confirm and add to existing knowledge on the varied origins, correlates, and impacts of stigma. They also highlight the synergistic roles of inconsistent health policy responses and risk miscommunication by the media in rapidly amplifying stigma toward an unfamiliar illness. While recognizing the intrinsically stigmatizing nature of public health measures to control SARS, we recommend that a consistent inter-sectoral approach is needed to minimize stigma and to make an effective health response to future outbreaks.

Context and Quasi-Invariants in Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Imagery

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Binford, Thomas

2000-01-01

.... Experiments based on conventional recognition techniques were conducted for comparisons. Study of persistent scattering confirms the feasibility of implementing a SAR ATR system using physical image features...

Combined DEM Extration Method from StereoSAR and InSAR

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Z.; Zhang, J. X.; Duan, M. Y.; Huang, G. M.; Yang, S. C.

2015-06-01

A pair of SAR images acquired from different positions can be used to generate digital elevation model (DEM). Two techniques exploiting this characteristic have been introduced: stereo SAR and interferometric SAR. They permit to recover the third dimension (topography) and, at the same time, to identify the absolute position (geolocation) of pixels included in the imaged area, thus allowing the generation of DEMs. In this paper, StereoSAR and InSAR combined adjustment model are constructed, and unify DEM extraction from InSAR and StereoSAR into the same coordinate system, and then improve three dimensional positioning accuracy of the target. We assume that there are four images 1, 2, 3 and 4. One pair of SAR images 1,2 meet the required conditions for InSAR technology, while the other pair of SAR images 3,4 can form stereo image pairs. The phase model is based on InSAR rigorous imaging geometric model. The master image 1 and the slave image 2 will be used in InSAR processing, but the slave image 2 is only used in the course of establishment, and the pixels of the slave image 2 are relevant to the corresponding pixels of the master image 1 through image coregistration coefficient, and it calculates the corresponding phase. It doesn't require the slave image in the construction of the phase model. In Range-Doppler (RD) model, the range equation and Doppler equation are a function of target geolocation, while in the phase equation, the phase is also a function of target geolocation. We exploit combined adjustment model to deviation of target geolocation, thus the problem of target solution is changed to solve three unkonwns through seven equations. The model was tested for DEM extraction under spaceborne InSAR and StereoSAR data and compared with InSAR and StereoSAR methods respectively. The results showed that the model delivered a better performance on experimental imagery and can be used for DEM extraction applications.

Persistent Scatterer Interferometry using Sentinel-1 Data

Science.gov (United States)

Monserrat, Oriol; Crosetto, Michele; Devanthery, Nuria; Cuevas-Gonzalez, Maria; Qihuan, Huang; Barra, Anna; Crippa, Bruno

2016-04-01

This work will be focused on the deformation measurement and monitoring using SAR imagery from the C-band Sentinel-1, a space mission funded by the European Union and carried out by the European Space Agency (ESA) within the Copernicus Programme. The work will firstly address the data processing and analysis procedure implemented by the authors. This includes both Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) tools to analyse large stacks of SAR images (say, typically more than 20 images), and Differential SAR Interferometry (DInSAR) tools to analyse short SAR image stacks. The work will discuss the characteristics of the main products derived by using Sentinel-1 DInSAR and PSI: deformation maps, deformation velocity maps, deformation time series, residual topographic error, etc. The analysis will be carried out over different types of land use area, e.g. urban, peri-urban and rural areas. The deformation monitoring based on Sentinel-1 data will be compared with the monitoring based on data from pre-existing missions, e.g. C-band ERS and Envisat, X-band TerraSAR-X and CosmoSkyMed, etc. The comparison will concern different study areas, mainly located in Italy and Spain.

Estimation of Bridge Height over Water from Polarimetric SAR Image Data Using Mapping and Projection Algorithm and De-Orientation Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Haipeng; Xu, Feng; Jin, Ya-Qiu; Ouchi, Kazuo

An inversion method of bridge height over water by polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is developed. A geometric ray description to illustrate scattering mechanism of a bridge over water surface is identified by polarimetric image analysis. Using the mapping and projecting algorithm, a polarimetric SAR image of a bridge model is first simulated and shows that scattering from a bridge over water can be identified by three strip lines corresponding to single-, double-, and triple-order scattering, respectively. A set of polarimetric parameters based on the de-orientation theory is applied to analysis of three types scattering, and the thinning-clustering algorithm and Hough transform are then employed to locate the image positions of these strip lines. These lines are used to invert the bridge height. Fully polarimetric image data of airborne Pi-SAR at X-band are applied to inversion of the height and width of the Naruto Bridge in Japan. Based on the same principle, this approach is also applicable to spaceborne ALOSPALSAR single-polarization data of the Eastern Ocean Bridge in China. The results show good feasibility to realize the bridge height inversion.

Application of persistent scatterers interferometry for surface displacements monitoring in N5E open pit iron mine using TerraSAR-X data, in Carajás Province, Amazon region

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Filipe Altoé Temporim

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Carajás Mineral Province, Amazon region, is the most important one in Brazil. Vale S.A. Company has the right to operate in the area of the N5E mine. The work is conducted on rock alteration products of low geomechanical quality related to sandstones, siltstones, and a lateritic cover. In order to monitor ground deformation, 33 TerraSAR-X images covering the period of March 2012-April 2013 were used in the investigation. An interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR approach based on permanent scatterer interferometry (PSI using an interferometric point target analysis algorithm was applied. Results demonstrated that most of the area was considered stable during the time span of the image acquisition. However, persistent scatterers (PSs with high deformation rates were mapped over a landfill probably related to settlements. To validate the PSI data, graphs were generated with the displaced information based on topographic measurements in the field. The graphs showed that the surface deformations during TSX-1 runway coverage are within the miner’s safety threshold and do not present a risk of major problems. The PSI data provided a synoptic and detailed view of the deformation process that affects the mining complex without the need of field campaign or instrumentation.

The Effect of Topography on Target Decomposition of Polarimetric SAR Data

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Sang-Eun Park

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Polarimetric target decomposition enables the interpretation of radar images more easily, mostly based on physical assumptions, i.e., fitting physically-based scattering models to the polarimetric SAR observations. However, the model-fitting result cannot be always successful. Particularly, the performance of model-fitting in sloping forests is still an open question. In this study, the effect of ground topography on the model-fitting-based polarimetric decomposition techniques is investigated. The estimation accuracy of each scattering component in the decomposition results are evaluated based on the simulated target matrix by using the incoherent vegetation scattering model that accounts for the tilted scattering surface beneath the forest canopy. Experimental results show that the surface and the double-bounce scattering components can be significantly misestimated due to the topographic slope, even when the volume scattering power is successfully estimated.

A comparative study on methods of improving SCR for ship detection in SAR image

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Haitao; Shi, Hongji; Tao, Yunhong; Ma, Li

2017-10-01

Knowledge about ship positions plays a critical role in a wide range of maritime applications. To improve the performance of ship detector in SAR image, an effective strategy is improving the signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR) before conducting detection. In this paper, we present a comparative study on methods of improving SCR, including power-law scaling (PLS), max-mean and max-median filter (MMF1 and MMF2), method of wavelet transform (TWT), traditional SPAN detector, reflection symmetric metric (RSM), scattering mechanism metric (SMM). The ability of SCR improvement to SAR image and ship detection performance associated with cell- averaging CFAR (CA-CFAR) of different methods are evaluated on two real SAR data.

Using Lattice Topology Information to Investigate Persistent Scatterers at Facades in Urban Areas

Science.gov (United States)

Schack, L.; Soergel, U.

2013-05-01

Modern spaceborne SAR sensors like TerraSAR-X offer ground resolution of up to one meter in range and azimuth direction. Buildings, roads, bridges, and other man-made structures appear in such data often as regular patterns of strong and temporally stable points (Persistent Scatterer, PS). As one step in the process of unveiling what object structure actually causes the PS (i.e., physical nature) we compare those regular structures in SAR data to their correspondences in optical imagery. We use lattices as a common data representation for visible facades. By exploiting the topology information given by the lattices we can complete gaps in the structures which is one step towards the understanding of the complex scattering characteristics of distinct facade objects.

On the classification of mixed floating pollutants on the Yellow Sea of China by using a quad-polarized SAR image

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaochen; Shao, Yun; Tian, Wei; Li, Kun

2018-06-01

This study explored different methodologies using a C-band RADARSAT-2 quad-polarized Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image located over China's Yellow Sea to investigate polarization decomposition parameters for identifying mixed floating pollutants from a complex ocean background. It was found that solitary polarization decomposition did not meet the demand for detecting and classifying multiple floating pollutants, even after applying a polarized SAR image. Furthermore, considering that Yamaguchi decomposition is sensitive to vegetation and the algal variety Enteromorpha prolifera, while H/A/alpha decomposition is sensitive to oil spills, a combination of parameters which was deduced from these two decompositions was proposed for marine environmental monitoring of mixed floating sea surface pollutants. A combination of volume scattering, surface scattering, and scattering entropy was the best indicator for classifying mixed floating pollutants from a complex ocean background. The Kappa coefficients for Enteromorpha prolifera and oil spills were 0.7514 and 0.8470, respectively, evidence that the composite polarized parameters based on quad-polarized SAR imagery proposed in this research is an effective monitoring method for complex marine pollution.

Doppler Spectrum-Based NRCS Estimation Method for Low-Scattering Areas in Ocean SAR Images

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Hui Meng

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The image intensities of low-backscattering areas in synthetic aperture radar (SAR images are often seriously contaminated by the system noise floor and azimuthal ambiguity signal from adjacent high-backscattering areas. Hence, the image intensity of low-backscattering areas does not correctly reflect the backscattering intensity, which causes confusion in subsequent image processing or interpretation. In this paper, a method is proposed to estimate the normalized radar cross-section (NRCS of low-backscattering area by utilizing the differences between noise, azimuthal ambiguity, and signal in the Doppler frequency domain of single-look SAR images; the aim is to eliminate the effect of system noise and azimuthal ambiguity. Analysis shows that, for a spaceborne SAR with a noise equivalent sigma zero (NESZ of −25 dB and a single-look pixel of 8 m × 5 m, the NRCS-estimation precision of this method can reach −38 dB at a resolution of 96 m × 100 m. Three examples are given to validate the advantages of this method in estimating the low NRCS and the filtering of the azimuthal ambiguity.

Improving SAR Automatic Target Recognition Models with Transfer Learning from Simulated Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malmgren-Hansen, David; Kusk, Anders; Dall, Jørgen

2017-01-01

SAR images. The simulated data set is obtained by adding a simulated object radar reflectivity to a terrain model of individual point scatters, prior to focusing. Our results show that a Convolutional Neural Network (Convnet) pretrained on simulated data has a great advantage over a Convnet trained...

Inversion Algorithms and PS Detection in SAR Tomography, Case Study of Bucharest City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Dănişor

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR tomography can reconstruct the elevation profile of each pixel based on a set of co-registered complex images of a scene. Its main advantage over classical interferometric methods consists in the capability to improve the detection of single persistent scatterers as well as to enable the detection of multiple scatterers interfering within the same pixel. In this paper, three tomographic algorithms are compared and applied to a dataset of 32 images to generate the elevation map of dominant scatterers from a scene. Targets which present stable proprieties over time - Persistent Scatterers (PS are then detected based on reflectivity functions reconstructed with Capon filtering.

GOTCHA experience report: three-dimensional SAR imaging with complete circular apertures

Science.gov (United States)

Ertin, Emre; Austin, Christian D.; Sharma, Samir; Moses, Randolph L.; Potter, Lee C.

2007-04-01

We study circular synthetic aperture radar (CSAR) systems collecting radar backscatter measurements over a complete circular aperture of 360 degrees. This study is motivated by the GOTCHA CSAR data collection experiment conducted by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Circular SAR provides wide-angle information about the anisotropic reflectivity of the scattering centers in the scene, and also provides three dimensional information about the location of the scattering centers due to a non planar collection geometry. Three dimensional imaging results with single pass circular SAR data reveals that the 3D resolution of the system is poor due to the limited persistence of the reflectors in the scene. We present results on polarimetric processing of CSAR data and illustrate reasoning of three dimensional shape from multi-view layover using prior information about target scattering mechanisms. Next, we discuss processing of multipass (CSAR) data and present volumetric imaging results with IFSAR and three dimensional backprojection techniques on the GOTCHA data set. We observe that the volumetric imaging with GOTCHA data is degraded by aliasing and high sidelobes due to nonlinear flightpaths and sparse and unequal sampling in elevation. We conclude with a model based technique that resolves target features and enhances the volumetric imagery by extrapolating the phase history data using the estimated model.

Ocean Wave Parameters Retrieval from Sentinel-1 SAR Imagery

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Weizeng Shao

2016-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a semi-empirical algorithm for significant wave height (Hs and mean wave period (Tmw retrieval from C-band VV-polarization Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR imagery is presented. We develop a semi-empirical function for Hs retrieval, which describes the relation between Hs and cutoff wavelength, radar incidence angle, and wave propagation direction relative to radar look direction. Additionally, Tmw can be also calculated through Hs and cutoff wavelength by using another empirical function. We collected 106 C-band stripmap mode Sentinel-1 SAR images in VV-polarization and wave measurements from in situ buoys. There are a total of 150 matchup points. We used 93 matchups to tune the coefficients of the semi-empirical algorithm and the rest 57 matchups for validation. The comparison shows a 0.69 m root mean square error (RMSE of Hs with a 18.6% of scatter index (SI and 1.98 s RMSE of Tmw with a 24.8% of SI. Results indicate that the algorithm is suitable for wave parameters retrieval from Sentinel-1 SAR data.

Long-term ground deformation patterns of Bucharest using multi-temporal InSAR and multivariate dynamic analyses: a possible transpressional system?

OpenAIRE

Arma?, Iuliana; Mendes, Diana A.; Popa, R?zvan-Gabriel; Gheorghe, Mihaela; Popovici, Diana

2017-01-01

WOS:000395576200001 (Nº de Acesso Web of Science) The aim of this exploratory research is to capture spatial evolution patterns in the Bucharest metropolitan area using sets of single polarised synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data and multi-temporal radar interferometry. Three sets of SAR data acquired during the years 1992–2010 from ERS-1/-2 and ENVISAT, and 2011–2014 from TerraSAR-X satellites were used in conjunction with the Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) and persistent scattere...

Method of Monitoring Urban Area Deformation Based on Differential TomoSAR

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WANG Aichun

2016-12-01

Full Text Available While the use of differential TomoSAR based on compressive sensing (CS makes it possible to solve the layover problem and reconstruct the deformation information of an observed urban area scene acquired by moderate-high resolution SAR satellite, the performance of the reconstruction decreases for a sparse and structural observed scene due to ignoring the structural characteristics of the observed scene. To deal with this issue, the method for differential SAR tomography based on Khatri-Rao subspace and block compressive sensing (KRS-BCS is proposed. The proposed method changes the reconstruction of the sparse and structural observed scene into a BCS problem under Khatri-Rao subspace, using the structure information of the observed scene and Khatri-Rao product property of the reconstructed observation matrix for differential TomoSAR, such that the KRS-BCS problem is efficiently solved with a block sparse l1/l2 norm optimization signal model, and the performance of resolution capability and reconstruction estimation is compared and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively by the theoretical analysis and the simulation experiments, all of the results show the propose KRS-BCS method practicably overcomes the problems of CS method, as well as, quite maintains the high resolution characteristics, effectively reduces the probability of false scattering target and greatly improves the reconstruction accurate of scattering point. Finally, the application is taking the urban area of the Mobara(in Chiba, Japan as the test area and using 34 ENVISAT-ASAR images, the accuracy is verifying with the reference deformations derived from first level point data and GPS tracking data, the results show the trend is consistent and the overall deviation is small between reconstruction deformations of the propose KRS-BCS method and the reference deformations, and the accuracy is high in the estimation of the urban area deformation.

Information extraction from dynamic PS-InSAR time series using machine learning

Science.gov (United States)

van de Kerkhof, B.; Pankratius, V.; Chang, L.; van Swol, R.; Hanssen, R. F.

2017-12-01

Due to the increasing number of SAR satellites, with shorter repeat intervals and higher resolutions, SAR data volumes are exploding. Time series analyses of SAR data, i.e. Persistent Scatterer (PS) InSAR, enable the deformation monitoring of the built environment at an unprecedented scale, with hundreds of scatterers per km2, updated weekly. Potential hazards, e.g. due to failure of aging infrastructure, can be detected at an early stage. Yet, this requires the operational data processing of billions of measurement points, over hundreds of epochs, updating this data set dynamically as new data come in, and testing whether points (start to) behave in an anomalous way. Moreover, the quality of PS-InSAR measurements is ambiguous and heterogeneous, which will yield false positives and false negatives. Such analyses are numerically challenging. Here we extract relevant information from PS-InSAR time series using machine learning algorithms. We cluster (group together) time series with similar behaviour, even though they may not be spatially close, such that the results can be used for further analysis. First we reduce the dimensionality of the dataset in order to be able to cluster the data, since applying clustering techniques on high dimensional datasets often result in unsatisfying results. Our approach is to apply t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE), a machine learning algorithm for dimensionality reduction of high-dimensional data to a 2D or 3D map, and cluster this result using Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN). The results show that we are able to detect and cluster time series with similar behaviour, which is the starting point for more extensive analysis into the underlying driving mechanisms. The results of the methods are compared to conventional hypothesis testing as well as a Self-Organising Map (SOM) approach. Hypothesis testing is robust and takes the stochastic nature of the observations into account

Different scale land subsidence and ground fissure monitoring with multiple InSAR techniques over Fenwei basin, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Zhao

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Fenwei basin, China, composed by several sub-basins, has been suffering severe geo-hazards in last 60 years, including large scale land subsidence and small scale ground fissure, which caused serious infrastructure damages and property losses. In this paper, we apply different InSAR techniques with different SAR data to monitor these hazards. Firstly, combined small baseline subset (SBAS InSAR method and persistent scatterers (PS InSAR method is used to multi-track Envisat ASAR data to retrieve the large scale land subsidence covering entire Fenwei basin, from which different land subsidence magnitudes are analyzed of different sub-basins. Secondly, PS-InSAR method is used to monitor the small scale ground fissure deformation in Yuncheng basin, where different spatial deformation gradient can be clearly discovered. Lastly, different track SAR data are contributed to retrieve two-dimensional deformation in both land subsidence and ground fissure region, Xi'an, China, which can be benefitial to explain the occurrence of ground fissure and the correlation between land subsidence and ground fissure.

Freeman-Durden Decomposition with Oriented Dihedral Scattering

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Yan Jian

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper, when the azimuth direction of polarimetric Synthetic Aperature Radars (SAR differs from the planting direction of crops, the double bounce of the incident electromagnetic waves from the terrain surface to the growing crops is investigated and compared with the normal double bounce. Oriented dihedral scattering model is developed to explain the investigated double bounce and is introduced into the Freeman-Durden decomposition. The decomposition algorithm corresponding to the improved decomposition is then proposed. The airborne polarimetric SAR data for agricultural land covering two flight tracks are chosen to validate the algorithm; the decomposition results show that for agricultural vegetated land, the improved Freeman-Durden decomposition has the advantage of increasing the decomposition coherency among the polarimetric SAR data along the different flight tracks.

PSInSAR Analysis in the Pisa Urban Area (Italy: A Case Study of Subsidence Related to Stratigraphical Factors and Urbanization

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Lorenzo Solari

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Permanent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI has been used to detect and characterize the subsidence of the Pisa urban area, which extends for 33 km2 within the Arno coastal plain (Tuscany, Italy. Two SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar datasets, covering the time period from 1992 to 2010, were used to quantify the ground subsidence and its temporal evolution. A geotechnical borehole database was also used to make a correspondence with the detected displacements. Finally, the results of the SAR data analysis were contrasted with the urban development of the eastern part of the city in the time period from 1978 to 2013. ERS 1/2 (European Remote-Sensing Satellite and Envisat SAR data, processed with the PSInSAR (Permanent Scatterer InSAR algorithm, show that the investigated area is divided in two main sectors: the southwestern part, with null or very small subsidence rates (<2 mm/year, and the eastern portion which shows a general lowering with maximum deformation rates of 5 mm/year. This second area includes deformation rates higher than 15 mm/year, corresponding to small groups of buildings. The case studies in the eastern sector of the urban area have demonstrated the direct correlation between the age of construction of buildings and the registered subsidence rates, showing the importance of urbanization as an accelerating factor for the ground consolidation process.

What is missing? An operational inundation mapping framework by SAR data

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, X.; Anagnostou, E. N.; Zeng, Z.; Kettner, A.; Hong, Y.

2017-12-01

Compared to optical sensors, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) works all-day all-weather. In addition, its spatial resolution does not decrease with the height of the platform and is thus applicable to a range of important studies. However, existing studies did not address the operational demands of real-time inundation mapping. The direct proof is that no water body product exists for any SAR-based satellites. Then what is missing between science and products? Automation and quality. What makes it so difficult to develop an operational inundation mapping technique based on SAR data? Spectrum-wise, unlike optical water indices such as MNDWI, AWEI etc., where a relative constant threshold may apply across acquisition of images, regions and sensors, the threshold to separate water from non-water pixels in each SAR images has to be individually chosen. The optimization of the threshold is the first obstacle to the automation of the SAR data algorithm. Morphologically, the quality and reliability of the results have been compromised by over-detection caused by smooth surface and shadowing area, the noise-like speckle and under-detection caused by strong-scatter disturbance. In this study, we propose a three-step framework that addresses all aforementioned issues of operational inundation mapping by SAR data. The framework consists of 1) optimization of Wishart distribution parameters of single/dual/fully-polarized SAR data, 2) morphological removal of over-detection, and 3) machine-learning based removal of under-detection. The framework utilizes not only the SAR data, but also the synergy of digital elevation model (DEM), and optical sensor-based products of fine resolution, including the water probability map, land cover classification map (optional), and river width. The framework has been validated throughout multiple areas in different parts of the world using different satellite SAR data and globally available ancillary data products. Therefore, it has the potential

SAR data for the analysis of forest features: current Brazilian experiences

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Fábio Guimarães Gonçalves

2007-06-01

Full Text Available This article presents some applications of airborne polarimetric and/or interferometric microwave data to improve the knowledge of forest structures. Three airborne SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar experiments were done in the Amazon tropical forest: (a to study the spatial distribution of very large trees (VLTs in the primary forest using local maximum filtering and a series of Markov processes; (b to model the estimation of biomass variations in primary and secondary forests; (c to analyze the retrieval timber volume over selective logging areas. Another experiment (d was to investigate the relation among SAR data and the volumetric configuration in stands of Eucalyptus sp done by an airborne SAR imaging mission in SE-Brazil. To perform the objectives (b, (c and (d we carry out regression techniques, using variables got from multipolarimetric and/or interferometric SAR attributes and biophysical parameters from the forest cover. All data from the experiments were calibrated radiometrically to extract information during digital processing, besides an exhaustive field survey which was done simultaneously to SAR imaging, to know the physiognomy/structure of forest typology and to support the models produced for each case. The results of this series of experiments show advances at the techniques to treat SAR data, focusing on models of stand architecture and forest stock density. This will be helpful to increase the regional inventory and surveying procedures of forest conversion in the Brazilian territory in the near future.

SAR data for the analysis of forest features: current Brazilian experiences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fábio Guimarães Gonçalves

2006-12-01

Full Text Available This article presents some applications of airborne polarimetric and/or interferometric microwave data to improve the knowledge of forest structures. Three airborne SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar experiments were done in the Amazon tropical forest: (a to study the spatial distribution of very large trees (VLTs in the primary forest using local maximum filtering and a series of Markov processes; (b to model the estimation of biomass variations in primary and secondary forests; (c to analyze the retrieval of timber volume over selective logging areas. Another experiment (d was to investigate the relation among SAR data and the volumetric configuration in stands of Eucalyptus sp. done by an airborne SAR imaging mission in SE-Brazil. To perform the objectives (b, (c and (d we carry out regression techniques, using variables got from multipolarimetric and/or interferometric SAR attributes and biophysical parameters from the forest cover. All data from the experiments were calibrated radiometrically to extract information during digital processing, besides an exhaustive field survey which was done simultaneously to SAR imaging, to know the physiognomy/structure of forest typology and to support the models produced for each case. The results of this series of experiments show advances at the techniques to treat SAR data, focusing on models of stand architecture and forest stock density. This will be helpful to increase the regional inventory and surveying procedures of forest conversion in the Brazilian territory in the near future.

L-Band Polarimetric SAR Signatures of Lava Flows in the Northern Volcanic Zone, Iceland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dierking, Wolfgang; Haack, Henning

1998-01-01

Studies of radar scattering signatures typical for lava surfaces are needed in order to interprete SAR images of volcanic terrain on the Earth and on other planets, and to establish a physical basis for the choice of optimal radar configurations for geological mapping. The authors focus on a study...... of different morphologic types within a flow. The largest contrasts are observed at cross-polarization. The phase difference between the VV- and HH-channels may provide information about a vegetation cover on the lava. The radar signal scattered from the flows is dominated by surface scattering contributions...

Three-Component Decomposition Based on Stokes Vector for Compact Polarimetric SAR

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Hanning Wang

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a three-component decomposition algorithm is proposed for processing compact polarimetric SAR images. By using the correspondence between the covariance matrix and the Stokes vector, three-component scattering models for CTLR and DCP modes are established. The explicit expression of decomposition results is then derived by setting the contribution of volume scattering as a free parameter. The degree of depolarization is taken as the upper bound of the free parameter, for the constraint that the weighting factor of each scattering component should be nonnegative. Several methods are investigated to estimate the free parameter suitable for decomposition. The feasibility of this algorithm is validated by AIRSAR data over San Francisco and RADARSAT-2 data over Flevoland.

Estimation of Boreal Forest Biomass Using Spaceborne SAR Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Saatchi, Sassan; Moghaddam, Mahta

1995-01-01

In this paper, we report on the use of a semiempirical algorithm derived from a two layer radar backscatter model for forest canopies. The model stratifies the forest canopy into crown and stem layers, separates the structural and biometric attributes of the canopy. The structural parameters are estimated by training the model with polarimetric SAR (synthetic aperture radar) data acquired over homogeneous stands with known above ground biomass. Given the structural parameters, the semi-empirical algorithm has four remaining parameters, crown biomass, stem biomass, surface soil moisture, and surface rms height that can be estimated by at least four independent SAR measurements. The algorithm has been used to generate biomass maps over the entire images acquired by JPL AIRSAR and SIR-C SAR systems. The semi-empirical algorithms are then modified to be used by single frequency radar systems such as ERS-1, JERS-1, and Radarsat. The accuracy. of biomass estimation from single channel radars is compared with the case when the channels are used together in synergism or in a polarimetric system.

Localized landslide risk assessment with multi pass L band DInSAR analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Yun, HyeWon; Rack Kim, Jung; Lin, Shih-Yuan; Choi, YunSoo

2014-05-01

In terms of data availability and error correction, landslide forecasting by Differential Interferometric SAR (DInSAR) analysis is not easy task. Especially, the landslides by the anthropogenic construction activities frequently occurred in the localized cutting side of mountainous area. In such circumstances, it is difficult to attain sufficient enough accuracy because of the external factors inducing the error component in electromagnetic wave propagation. For instance, the local climate characteristics such as orographic effect and the proximity to water source can produce the significant anomalies in the water vapor distribution and consequently result in the error components of InSAR phase angle measurements. Moreover the high altitude parts of target area cause the stratified tropospheric delay error in DInSAR measurement. The other obstacle in DInSAR observation over the potential landside site is the vegetation canopy which causes the decorrelation of InSAR phase. Thus rather than C band sensor such as ENVISAT, ERS and RADARSAT, DInSAR analysis with L band ALOS PLASAR is more recommendable. Together with the introduction of L band DInSAR analysis, the improved DInSAR technique to cope all above obstacles is necessary. Thus we employed two approaches i.e. StaMPS/MTI (Stanford Method for Persistent Scatterers/Multi-Temporal InSAR, Hopper et al., 2007) which was newly developed for extracting the reliable deformation values through time series analysis and two pass DInSAR with the error term compensation based on the external weather information in this study. Since the water vapor observation from spaceborne radiometer is not feasible by the temporal gap in this case, the quantities from weather Research Forecasting (WRF) with 1 km spatial resolution was used to address the atmospheric phase error in two pass DInSAR analysis. Also it was observed that base DEM offset with time dependent perpendicular baselines of InSAR time series produce a significant error

Topography and Penetration of the Greenland Ice Sheet Measured with Airborne SAR Interferometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dall, Jørgen; Madsen, Søren Nørvang; Keller, K.

2001-01-01

. The accuracy of the SAR DEM is about 1.5 m. The mean difference between the laser heights and the SAR heights changes from 0 m in the soaked zone to a maximum of 13 m in the percolation zone. This is explained by the fact that the snow in the soaked zone contains liquid water which attenuates the radar signals......, while the transparency of the firn in the percolation zone makes volume scattering dominate at the higher elevations. For the first time, the effective penetration has been measured directly as the difference between the interferometric heights and reference heights obtained with GPS and laser altimetry....

The Performance Analysis Based on SAR Sample Covariance Matrix

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Esra Erten

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Multi-channel systems appear in several fields of application in science. In the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR context, multi-channel systems may refer to different domains, as multi-polarization, multi-interferometric or multi-temporal data, or even a combination of them. Due to the inherent speckle phenomenon present in SAR images, the statistical description of the data is almost mandatory for its utilization. The complex images acquired over natural media present in general zero-mean circular Gaussian characteristics. In this case, second order statistics as the multi-channel covariance matrix fully describe the data. For practical situations however, the covariance matrix has to be estimated using a limited number of samples, and this sample covariance matrix follow the complex Wishart distribution. In this context, the eigendecomposition of the multi-channel covariance matrix has been shown in different areas of high relevance regarding the physical properties of the imaged scene. Specifically, the maximum eigenvalue of the covariance matrix has been frequently used in different applications as target or change detection, estimation of the dominant scattering mechanism in polarimetric data, moving target indication, etc. In this paper, the statistical behavior of the maximum eigenvalue derived from the eigendecomposition of the sample multi-channel covariance matrix in terms of multi-channel SAR images is simplified for SAR community. Validation is performed against simulated data and examples of estimation and detection problems using the analytical expressions are as well given.

SAR matrices: automated extraction of information-rich SAR tables from large compound data sets.

Science.gov (United States)

Wassermann, Anne Mai; Haebel, Peter; Weskamp, Nils; Bajorath, Jürgen

2012-07-23

We introduce the SAR matrix data structure that is designed to elucidate SAR patterns produced by groups of structurally related active compounds, which are extracted from large data sets. SAR matrices are systematically generated and sorted on the basis of SAR information content. Matrix generation is computationally efficient and enables processing of large compound sets. The matrix format is reminiscent of SAR tables, and SAR patterns revealed by different categories of matrices are easily interpretable. The structural organization underlying matrix formation is more flexible than standard R-group decomposition schemes. Hence, the resulting matrices capture SAR information in a comprehensive manner.

Urban-area extraction from polarimetric SAR image using combination of target decomposition and orientation angle

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Bin; Lu, Da; Wu, Zhilu; Qiao, Zhijun G.

2016-05-01

The results of model-based target decomposition are the main features used to discriminate urban and non-urban area in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) application. Traditional urban-area extraction methods based on modelbased target decomposition usually misclassified ground-trunk structure as urban-area or misclassified rotated urbanarea as forest. This paper introduces another feature named orientation angle to improve urban-area extraction scheme for the accurate mapping in urban by PolSAR image. The proposed method takes randomness of orientation angle into account for restriction of urban area first and, subsequently, implements rotation angle to improve results that oriented urban areas are recognized as double-bounce objects from volume scattering. ESAR L-band PolSAR data of the Oberpfaffenhofen Test Site Area was used to validate the proposed algorithm.

Staphylococcus aureus sarA regulates inflammation and colonization during central nervous system biofilm formation.

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Jessica N Snowden

Full Text Available Infection is a frequent and serious complication following the treatment of hydrocephalus with CSF shunts, with limited therapeutic options because of biofilm formation along the catheter surface. Here we evaluated the possibility that the sarA regulatory locus engenders S. aureus more resistant to immune recognition in the central nervous system (CNS based on its reported ability to regulate biofilm formation. We utilized our established model of CNS catheter-associated infection, similar to CSF shunt infections seen in humans, to compare the kinetics of bacterial titers, cytokine production and inflammatory cell influx elicited by wild type S. aureus versus an isogenic sarA mutant. The sarA mutant was more rapidly cleared from infected catheters compared to its isogenic wild type strain. Consistent with this finding, several pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including IL-17, CXCL1, and IL-1β were significantly increased in the brain following infection with the sarA mutant versus wild type S. aureus, in agreement with the fact that the sarA mutant displayed impaired biofilm growth and favored a planktonic state. Neutrophil influx into the infected hemisphere was also increased in the animals infected with the sarA mutant compared to wild type bacteria. These changes were not attributable to extracellular protease activity, which is increased in the context of SarA mutation, since similar responses were observed between sarA and a sarA/protease mutant. Overall, these results demonstrate that sarA plays an important role in attenuating the inflammatory response during staphylococcal biofilm infection in the CNS via a mechanism that remains to be determined.

Detecting Emergence, Growth, and Senescence of Wetland Vegetation with Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR Data

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Alisa L. Gallant

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Wetlands provide ecosystem goods and services vitally important to humans. Land managers and policymakers working to conserve wetlands require regularly updated information on the statuses of wetlands across the landscape. However, wetlands are challenging to map remotely with high accuracy and consistency. We investigated the use of multitemporal polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR data acquired with Canada’s Radarsat-2 system to track within-season changes in wetland vegetation and surface water. We speculated, a priori, how temporal and morphological traits of different types of wetland vegetation should respond over a growing season with respect to four energy-scattering mechanisms. We used ground-based monitoring data and other ancillary information to assess the limits and consistency of the SAR data for tracking seasonal changes in wetlands. We found the traits of different types of vertical emergent wetland vegetation were detected well with the SAR data and corresponded with our anticipated backscatter responses. We also found using data from Landsat’s optical/infrared sensors in conjunction with SAR data helped remove confusion of wetland features with upland grasslands. These results suggest SAR data can provide useful monitoring information on the statuses of wetlands over time.

Detecting emergence, growth, and senescence of wetland vegetation with polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data

Science.gov (United States)

Gallant, Alisa L.; Kaya, Shannon G.; White, Lori; Brisco, Brian; Roth, Mark F.; Sadinski, Walter J.; Rover, Jennifer

2014-01-01

Wetlands provide ecosystem goods and services vitally important to humans. Land managers and policymakers working to conserve wetlands require regularly updated information on the statuses of wetlands across the landscape. However, wetlands are challenging to map remotely with high accuracy and consistency. We investigated the use of multitemporal polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data acquired with Canada’s Radarsat-2 system to track within-season changes in wetland vegetation and surface water. We speculated, a priori, how temporal and morphological traits of different types of wetland vegetation should respond over a growing season with respect to four energy-scattering mechanisms. We used ground-based monitoring data and other ancillary information to assess the limits and consistency of the SAR data for tracking seasonal changes in wetlands. We found the traits of different types of vertical emergent wetland vegetation were detected well with the SAR data and corresponded with our anticipated backscatter responses. We also found using data from Landsat’s optical/infrared sensors in conjunction with SAR data helped remove confusion of wetland features with upland grasslands. These results suggest SAR data can provide useful monitoring information on the statuses of wetlands over time.

Aircraft Segmentation in SAR Images Based on Improved Active Shape Model

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, X.; Xiong, B.; Kuang, G.

2018-04-01

In SAR image interpretation, aircrafts are the important targets arousing much attention. However, it is far from easy to segment an aircraft from the background completely and precisely in SAR images. Because of the complex structure, different kinds of electromagnetic scattering take place on the aircraft surfaces. As a result, aircraft targets usually appear to be inhomogeneous and disconnected. It is a good idea to extract an aircraft target by the active shape model (ASM), since combination of the geometric information controls variations of the shape during the contour evolution. However, linear dimensionality reduction, used in classic ACM, makes the model rigid. It brings much trouble to segment different types of aircrafts. Aiming at this problem, an improved ACM based on ISOMAP is proposed in this paper. ISOMAP algorithm is used to extract the shape information of the training set and make the model flexible enough to deal with different aircrafts. The experiments based on real SAR data shows that the proposed method achieves obvious improvement in accuracy.

Soil parameter retrieval under vegetation cover using SAR polarimetery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jagdhuber, Thomas

2012-07-01

Soil conditions under vegetation cover and their spatial and temporal variations from point to catchment scale are crucial for understanding hydrological processes within the vadose zone, for managing irrigation and consequently maximizing yield by precision farming. Soil moisture and soil roughness are the key parameters that characterize the soil status. In order to monitor their spatial and temporal variability on large scales, remote sensing techniques are required. Therefore the determination of soil parameters under vegetation cover was approached in this thesis by means of (multi-angular) polarimetric SAR acquisitions at a longer wavelength (L-band, {lambda}{sub c}=23cm). In this thesis, the penetration capabilities of L-band are combined with newly developed (multi-angular) polarimetric decomposition techniques to separate the different scattering contributions, which are occurring in vegetation and on ground. Subsequently the ground components are inverted to estimate the soil characteristics. The novel (multi-angular) polarimetric decomposition techniques for soil parameter retrieval are physically-based, computationally inexpensive and can be solved analytically without any a priori knowledge. Therefore they can be applied without test site calibration directly to agricultural areas. The developed algorithms are validated with fully polarimetric SAR data acquired by the airborne E-SAR sensor of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for three different study areas in Germany. The achieved results reveal inversion rates up to 99% for the soil moisture and soil roughness retrieval in agricultural areas. However, in forested areas the inversion rate drops significantly for most of the algorithms, because the inversion in forests is invalid for the applied scattering models at L-band. The validation against simultaneously acquired field measurements indicates an estimation accuracy (root mean square error) of 5-10vol.% for the soil moisture (range of in situ

Geodetic integration of Sentinel-1A IW data using PSInSAR in Hungary

Science.gov (United States)

Farkas, Péter; Hevér, Renáta; Grenerczy, Gyula

2015-04-01

ESA's latest Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mission Sentinel-1 is a huge step forward in SAR interferometry. With its default acquisition mode called the Interferometric Wide Swath Mode (IW) areas through all scales can be mapped with an excellent return time of 12 days (while only the Sentinel-1A is in orbit). Its operational data policy is also a novelty, it allows scientific users free and unlimited access to data. It implements a new type of ScanSAR mode called Terrain Observation with Progressive Scan (TOPS) SAR. It has the same resolution as ScanSAR but with better signal-to-noise ratio distribution. The bigger coverage is achieved by rotation of the antenna in the azimuth direction, therefore it requires very precise co-registration because even errors under a pixel accuracy can introduce azimuth phase variations caused by differences in Doppler-centroids. In our work we will summarize the benefits and the drawbacks of the IW mode. We would like to implement the processing chain of GAMMA Remote Sensing of such data for mapping surface motion with special attention to the co-registration step. Not only traditional InSAR but the advanced method of Persistent Scatterer InSAR (PSInSAR) will be performed and presented as well. PS coverage, along with coherence, is expected to be good due to the small perpendicular and temporal baselines. We would also like to integrate these measurements into national geodetic networks using common reference points. We have installed trihedral corner reflectors at some selected sites to aid precise collocation. Thus, we aim to demonstrate that Sentinel-1 can be effectively used for surface movement detection and monitoring and it can also provide valuable information for the improvement of our networks.

Mapping ground surface deformation using temporarily coherent point SAR interferometry: Application to Los Angeles Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, L.; Lu, Zhong; Ding, X.; Jung, H.-S.; Feng, G.; Lee, C.-W.

2012-01-01

Multi-temporal interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is an effective tool to detect long-term seismotectonic motions by reducing the atmospheric artifacts, thereby providing more precise deformation signal. The commonly used approaches such as persistent scatterer InSAR (PSInSAR) and small baseline subset (SBAS) algorithms need to resolve the phase ambiguities in interferogram stacks either by searching a predefined solution space or by sparse phase unwrapping methods; however the efficiency and the success of phase unwrapping cannot be guaranteed. We present here an alternative approach – temporarily coherent point (TCP) InSAR (TCPInSAR) – to estimate the long term deformation rate without the need of phase unwrapping. The proposed approach has a series of innovations including TCP identification, TCP network and TCP least squares estimator. We apply the proposed method to the Los Angeles Basin in southern California where structurally active faults are believed capable of generating damaging earthquakes. The analysis is based on 55 interferograms from 32 ERS-1/2 images acquired during Oct. 1995 and Dec. 2000. To evaluate the performance of TCPInSAR on a small set of observations, a test with half of interferometric pairs is also performed. The retrieved TCPInSAR measurements have been validated by a comparison with GPS observations from Southern California Integrated GPS Network. Our result presents a similar deformation pattern as shown in past InSAR studies but with a smaller average standard deviation (4.6 mm) compared with GPS observations, indicating that TCPInSAR is a promising alternative for efficiently mapping ground deformation even from a relatively smaller set of interferograms.

Atmospheric Phase Delay in Sentinel SAR Interferometry

Science.gov (United States)

Krishnakumar, V.; Monserrat, O.; Crosetto, M.; Crippa, B.

2018-04-01

The repeat-pass Synthetic Aperture Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) Interferometry (InSAR) has been a widely used geodetic technique for observing the Earth's surface, especially for mapping the Earth's topography and deformations. However, InSAR measurements are prone to atmospheric errors. RADAR waves traverse the Earth's atmosphere twice and experience a delay due to atmospheric refraction. The two major layers of the atmosphere (troposphere and ionosphere) are mainly responsible for this delay in the propagating RADAR wave. Previous studies have shown that water vapour and clouds present in the troposphere and the Total Electron Content (TEC) of the ionosphere are responsible for the additional path delay in the RADAR wave. The tropospheric refractivity is mainly dependent on pressure, temperature and partial pressure of water vapour. The tropospheric refractivity leads to an increase in the observed range. These induced propagation delays affect the quality of phase measurement and introduce errors in the topography and deformation fields. The effect of this delay was studied on a differential interferogram (DInSAR). To calculate the amount of tropospheric delay occurred, the meteorological data collected from the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (AEMET) and MODIS were used. The interferograms generated from Sentinel-1 carrying C-band Synthetic Aperture RADAR Single Look Complex (SLC) images acquired on the study area are used. The study area consists of different types of scatterers exhibiting different coherence. The existing Saastamoinen model was used to perform a quantitative evaluation of the phase changes caused by pressure, temperature and humidity of the troposphere during the study. Unless the phase values due to atmospheric disturbances are not corrected, it is difficult to obtain accurate measurements. Thus, the atmospheric error correction is essential for all practical applications of DInSAR to avoid inaccurate height and deformation

ATMOSPHERIC PHASE DELAY IN SENTINEL SAR INTERFEROMETRY

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V. Krishnakumar

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The repeat-pass Synthetic Aperture Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR Interferometry (InSAR has been a widely used geodetic technique for observing the Earth’s surface, especially for mapping the Earth’s topography and deformations. However, InSAR measurements are prone to atmospheric errors. RADAR waves traverse the Earth’s atmosphere twice and experience a delay due to atmospheric refraction. The two major layers of the atmosphere (troposphere and ionosphere are mainly responsible for this delay in the propagating RADAR wave. Previous studies have shown that water vapour and clouds present in the troposphere and the Total Electron Content (TEC of the ionosphere are responsible for the additional path delay in the RADAR wave. The tropospheric refractivity is mainly dependent on pressure, temperature and partial pressure of water vapour. The tropospheric refractivity leads to an increase in the observed range. These induced propagation delays affect the quality of phase measurement and introduce errors in the topography and deformation fields. The effect of this delay was studied on a differential interferogram (DInSAR. To calculate the amount of tropospheric delay occurred, the meteorological data collected from the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (AEMET and MODIS were used. The interferograms generated from Sentinel-1 carrying C-band Synthetic Aperture RADAR Single Look Complex (SLC images acquired on the study area are used. The study area consists of different types of scatterers exhibiting different coherence. The existing Saastamoinen model was used to perform a quantitative evaluation of the phase changes caused by pressure, temperature and humidity of the troposphere during the study. Unless the phase values due to atmospheric disturbances are not corrected, it is difficult to obtain accurate measurements. Thus, the atmospheric error correction is essential for all practical applications of DInSAR to avoid inaccurate

Retrieval of ice thickness from polarimetric SAR data

Science.gov (United States)

Kwok, R.; Yueh, S. H.; Nghiem, S. V.; Huynh, D. D.

1993-01-01

We describe a potential procedure for retrieving ice thickness from multi-frequency polarimetric SAR data for thin ice. This procedure includes first masking out the thicker ice types with a simple classifier and then deriving the thickness of the remaining pixels using a model-inversion technique. The technique used to derive ice thickness from polarimetric observations is provided by a numerical estimator or neural network. A three-layer perceptron implemented with the backpropagation algorithm is used in this investigation with several improved aspects for a faster convergence rate and a better accuracy of the neural network. These improvements include weight initialization, normalization of the output range, the selection of offset constant, and a heuristic learning algorithm. The performance of the neural network is demonstrated by using training data generated by a theoretical scattering model for sea ice matched to the database of interest. The training data are comprised of the polarimetric backscattering coefficients of thin ice and the corresponding input ice parameters to the scattering model. The retrieved ice thickness from the theoretical backscattering coefficients is compare with the input ice thickness to the scattering model to illustrate the accuracy of the inversion method. Results indicate that the network convergence rate and accuracy are higher when multi-frequency training sets are presented. In addition, the dominant backscattering coefficients in retrieving ice thickness are found by comparing the behavior of the network trained backscattering data at various incidence angels. After the neural network is trained with the theoretical backscattering data at various incidence anges, the interconnection weights between nodes are saved and applied to the experimental data to be investigated. In this paper, we illustrate the effectiveness of this technique using polarimetric SAR data collected by the JPL DC-8 radar over a sea ice scene.

Integration between ground based and satellite SAR data in landslide mapping: The San Fratello case study

Science.gov (United States)

Bardi, Federica; Frodella, William; Ciampalini, Andrea; Bianchini, Silvia; Del Ventisette, Chiara; Gigli, Giovanni; Fanti, Riccardo; Moretti, Sandro; Basile, Giuseppe; Casagli, Nicola

2014-10-01

The potential use of the integration of PSI (Persistent Scatterer Interferometry) and GB-InSAR (Ground-based Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry) for landslide hazard mitigation was evaluated for mapping and monitoring activities of the San Fratello landslide (Sicily, Italy). Intense and exceptional rainfall events are the main factors that triggered several slope movements in the study area, which is susceptible to landslides, because of its steep slopes and silty-clayey sedimentary cover. In the last three centuries, the town of San Fratello was affected by three large landslides, developed in different periods: the oldest one occurred in 1754, damaging the northeastern sector of the town; in 1922 a large landslide completely destroyed a wide area in the western hillside of the town. In this paper, the attention is focussed on the most recent landslide that occurred on 14 February 2010: in this case, the phenomenon produced the failure of a large sector of the eastern hillside, causing severe damages to buildings and infrastructures. In particular, several slow-moving rotational and translational slides occurred in the area, making it suitable to monitor ground instability through different InSAR techniques. PS-InSAR™ (permanent scatterers SAR interferometry) techniques, using ERS-1/ERS-2, ENVISAT, RADARSAT-1, and COSMO-SkyMed SAR images, were applied to analyze ground displacements during pre- and post-event phases. Moreover, during the post-event phase in March 2010, a GB-InSAR system, able to acquire data continuously every 14 min, was installed collecting ground displacement maps for a period of about three years, until March 2013. Through the integration of space-borne and ground-based data sets, ground deformation velocity maps were obtained, providing a more accurate delimitation of the February 2010 landslide boundary, with respect to the carried out traditional geomorphological field survey. The integration of GB-InSAR and PSI techniques proved to

Building damage assessment from PolSAR data using texture parameters of statistical model

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Linlin; Liu, Xiuguo; Chen, Qihao; Yang, Shuai

2018-04-01

Accurate building damage assessment is essential in providing decision support for disaster relief and reconstruction. Polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) has become one of the most effective means of building damage assessment, due to its all-day/all-weather ability and richer backscatter information of targets. However, intact buildings that are not parallel to the SAR flight pass (termed oriented buildings) and collapsed buildings share similar scattering mechanisms, both of which are dominated by volume scattering. This characteristic always leads to misjudgments between assessments of collapsed buildings and oriented buildings from PolSAR data. Because the collapsed buildings and the intact buildings (whether oriented or parallel buildings) have different textures, a novel building damage assessment method is proposed in this study to address this problem by introducing texture parameters of statistical models. First, the logarithms of the estimated texture parameters of different statistical models are taken as a new texture feature to describe the collapse of the buildings. Second, the collapsed buildings and intact buildings are distinguished using an appropriate threshold. Then, the building blocks are classified into three levels based on the building block collapse rate. Moreover, this paper also discusses the capability for performing damage assessment using texture parameters from different statistical models or using different estimators. The RADARSAT-2 and ALOS-1 PolSAR images are used to present and analyze the performance of the proposed method. The results show that using the texture parameters avoids the problem of confusing collapsed and oriented buildings and improves the assessment accuracy. The results assessed by using the K/G0 distribution texture parameters estimated based on the second moment obtain the highest extraction accuracies. For the RADARSAT-2 and ALOS-1 data, the overall accuracy (OA) for these three types of

SARS - Diagnosis

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

SARS - Diagnosis. Mainly by exclusion of known causes of atypical pneumonia; * X ray Chest; * PCR on body fluids- primers defined by WHO centres available from website.-ve result does not exclude SARS. * Sequencing of amplicons; * Viral Cultures – demanding; * Antibody tests.

Two Component Decomposition of Dual Polarimetric HH/VV SAR Data: Case Study for the Tundra Environment of the Mackenzie Delta Region, Canada

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Tobias Ullmann

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigates a two component decomposition technique for HH/VV-polarized PolSAR (Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar data. The approach is a straight forward adaption of the Yamaguchi decomposition and decomposes the data into two scattering contributions: surface and double bounce under the assumption of a negligible vegetation scattering component in Tundra environments. The dependencies between the features of this two and the classical three component Yamaguchi decomposition were investigated for Radarsat-2 (quad and TerraSAR-X (HH/VV data for the Mackenzie Delta Region, Canada. In situ data on land cover were used to derive the scattering characteristics and to analyze the correlation among the PolSAR features. The double bounce and surface scattering features of the two and three component scattering model (derived from pseudo-HH/VV- and quad-polarized data showed similar scattering characteristics and positively correlated-R2 values of 0.60 (double bounce and 0.88 (surface scattering were observed. The presence of volume scattering led to differences between the features and these were minimized for land cover classes of low vegetation height that showed little volume scattering contribution. In terms of separability, the quad-polarized Radarsat-2 data offered the best separation of the examined tundra land cover types and will be best suited for the classification. This is anticipated as it represents the largest feature space of all tested ones. However; the classes “wetland” and “bare ground” showed clear positions in the feature spaces of the C- and X-Band HH/VV-polarized data and an accurate classification of these land cover types is promising. Among the possible dual-polarization modes of Radarsat-2 the HH/VV was found to be the favorable mode for the characterization of the aforementioned tundra land cover classes due to the coherent acquisition and the preserved co-pol. phase. Contrary, HH/HV-polarized and VV

Polarimetric SAR Image Classification Using Multiple-feature Fusion and Ensemble Learning

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Sun Xun

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a supervised classification algorithm for Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR images using multiple-feature fusion and ensemble learning. First, we extract different polarimetric features, including extended polarimetric feature space, Hoekman, Huynen, H/alpha/A, and fourcomponent scattering features of PolSAR images. Next, we randomly select two types of features each time from all feature sets to guarantee the reliability and diversity of later ensembles and use a support vector machine as the basic classifier for predicting classification results. Finally, we concatenate all prediction probabilities of basic classifiers as the final feature representation and employ the random forest method to obtain final classification results. Experimental results at the pixel and region levels show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Stepped-irradiation SAR: A viable approach to circumvent OSL equivalent dose underestimation in last glacial loess of northwestern China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin, J.T.; Zhou, L.P.

2009-01-01

The equivalent dose (D e ) obtained with the continuous irradiation SAR (CI-SAR) protocol for fine-grained quartz from loess of northwestern China is found to be lower than the expected value for samples older than 70 ka based on the regional stratigraphy. This is attributed to the difference in the response of the quartz to natural radiation and laboratory beta irradiation whose rates vary by ∼10 8 times. A stepped irradiation SAR protocol was employed to evaluate the influence of such a 'dose rate effect' on the equivalent dose determination. After investigating the effects of thermal treatment and 'unit-dose' on OSL signal and D e , we refined the stepped irradiation strategy with a 'unit-dose' of ∼25 Gy and successive thermal treatments at 250 deg. C for 10 s, and applied it to the SAR protocol. This stepped irradiation SAR (SI-SAR) protocol led to a 20%-70% increase in D e value for loess deposited during the early last glacial period.

Bistatic sAR data processing algorithms

CERN Document Server

Qiu, Xiaolan; Hu, Donghui

2013-01-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is critical for remote sensing. It works day and night, in good weather or bad. Bistatic SAR is a new kind of SAR system, where the transmitter and receiver are placed on two separate platforms. Bistatic SAR is one of the most important trends in SAR development, as the technology renders SAR more flexible and safer when used in military environments. Imaging is one of the most difficult and important aspects of bistatic SAR data processing. Although traditional SAR signal processing is fully developed, bistatic SAR has a more complex system structure, so sign

Process-related deformation monitoring by PSI using high resolution space-based SAR data: a case study in Düsseldorf, Germany

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, D.; Sowter, A.; Niemeier, W.

2014-07-01

TerraSAR-X satellite SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) scenes have been analysed using Persistent Scatter Interferometry (PSI) approach to monitor a tunnelling process in Düsseldorf, Germany. The aim of this work is to detect the deformation of ground surface and structures above the tunnelling line during the tunnel excavation. In this study, the PSI approach integrated in the open source software package Stanford Method for Persistent Scatterers (StaMPS) was employed since it has shown significant advantages in obtaining Persistent Scatterers (PS). In order to protect the historic buildings in this region from subsidence-induced damages, a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) was used to restrain serious displacements during the tunnelling excavation, as well as compensation injections. Both surface uplifting and subsidence were observed during this tunnelling process, by a levelling survey and a validated PSI observation. It is concluded that sub-centimetre accuracy observations are achievable for process-related monitoring in urban areas, using the open source software package.

The behavioral impacts of SARS and its implication for societal preparedness for other emerging infections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathleen Pik-san Kwok

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction: This study examined public attitudes toward Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS in Hong Kong three months after the peak of the 2003 outbreak in order to shed light on SARS-related complaints received by the Equal Opportunities Commission of Hong Kong. Methods: A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted three months after the SARS outbreak of 1,023 randomly selected Chinese-speaking residents in Hong Kong. Results: Most of the respondents (72.2% reported worry about contracting SARS. They attributed their anxiety to the perceived danger of the disease, the government’s unsatisfactory style of crisis management, and inconsistent health information dissemination. The majority of respondents endorsed up to 3 avoidant (67.8% and 3 imposing (72.7% attitudes toward individuals and/or situations considered to be at risk of spreading SARS. Logistic Regression analyses indicated that the odds for avoidant and imposing attitudes increased significantly for those who were middle aged (35-54, employed full-time or part-time, and worried over contracting SARS. Conclusions: Public attitudes that endorsed avoidant and imposing behaviors were common during the outbreak of SARS. While essential for preventive health practices, they might bring about workplace conflicts, stigma, and other negative interpersonal experiences. These problems may complicate public health efforts to control the epidemic. They may also suggest ways in which societal preparedness for future emerging infections can be improved.

Detection of land degradation with polarimetric SAR

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Terrill W.; Farr, Tom G.; Van Zyl, Jakob J.

1992-01-01

Multispectral radar polarimeter data were collected over the Manix Basin Area of the Mojave desert using an airborne SAR. An analysis of the data reveals unusual polarization responses which are attributed to the formation of wind ripples on the surfaces of fields that have been abandoned for more than 5 years. This hypothesis has been confirmed through field observations, and a second-order perturbation model is shown to effectively model the polarization responses. The results demonstrate the usefulness of remote sensing techniques for the study of land degradation at synoptic scales.

Keynote presentation : SAR systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Halsema, D. van; Otten, M.P.G.; Maas, A.P.M.; Bolt, R.J.; Anitori, L.

2011-01-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems are becoming increasingly important sensors in as well the military environment as in the civilian market. In this keynote presentation an overview will be given over more than 2 decades of SAR system∼ and SAR application development at TNO in the Netherlands.

The Potential of Polarimetric and Compact SAR Data in Rice Identification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shao, Y; Li, K; Liu, L; Yang, Z; Brisco, B

2014-01-01

Rice is a major food staple in the world, and provides food for more than one-third of the global population. The monitoring and mapping of paddy rice in a timely and efficient manner is very important for governments and decision makers. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has been proved to be a significant data source in rice monitoring. In this study, RADARSAT-2 polarimetric data were used to simulate compact polarimetry data. The simulated compact data and polarimetric data were then used to evaluate the information content for rice identification. The results indicate that polarimetric SAR can be used for rice identification based on the scattering mechanisms. The compact polarization RH and the RH/RL ratio are very promising for the discrimination of transplanted rice and direct-sown rice. These results require verification in further research

Change detection in polarimetric SAR images using complex Wishart distributed matrices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Conradsen, Knut; Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg; Skriver, Henning

In surveillance it is important to be able to detect natural or man-made changes e.g. based on sequences of satellite or air borne images of the same area taken at different times. The mapping capability of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is independent of e.g. cloud cover, and thus this technology...... scattering matrix, and after suitable preprocessing the outcome at each picture element (pixel) may be represented as a 3 by 3 Hermitian matrix following a complex Wishart distribution. One approach to solving the change detection problem based on SAR images is therefore to apply suitable statistical tests...... in the complex Wishart distribution. We propose a set-up for a systematic solution to the (practical) problems using the likelihood ratio test statistics. We show some examples based on a time series of images with 1024 by 1024 pixels....

Individual Building Extraction from TerraSAR-X Images Based on Ontological Semantic Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rong Gui

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Accurate building information plays a crucial role for urban planning, human settlements and environmental management. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR images, which deliver images with metric resolution, allow for analyzing and extracting detailed information on urban areas. In this paper, we consider the problem of extracting individual buildings from SAR images based on domain ontology. By analyzing a building scattering model with different orientations and structures, the building ontology model is set up to express multiple characteristics of individual buildings. Under this semantic expression framework, an object-based SAR image segmentation method is adopted to provide homogeneous image objects, and three categories of image object features are extracted. Semantic rules are implemented by organizing image object features, and the individual building objects expression based on an ontological semantic description is formed. Finally, the building primitives are used to detect buildings among the available image objects. Experiments on TerraSAR-X images of Foshan city, China, with a spatial resolution of 1.25 m × 1.25 m, have shown the total extraction rates are above 84%. The results indicate the ontological semantic method can exactly extract flat-roof and gable-roof buildings larger than 250 pixels with different orientations.

A very bright SAR arc: implications for extreme magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Baumgardner

2007-01-01

Full Text Available In contrast to the polar aurora visible during geomagnetic storms, stable auroral red (SAR arcs offer a sub-visual manifestation of direct magnetosphere-ionosphere (M-I coupling at midlatitudes. The SAR arc emission at 6300 Å is driven by field-aligned magnetospheric energy transport from ring current/plasmapause locations into the ionosphere-thermosphere system. The first SAR arc was observed at the dawn of the space age (1956, and the typical brightness levels and occurrence patterns obtained from subsequent decades of observations appear to be consistent with the downward heat conduction theory, i.e., heated ambient F-layer electrons excite oxygen atoms to produce a spectrally pure emission. On very rare occasions, a SAR arc has been reported to be at brightness levels visible to the naked eye. Here we report on the first case of a very bright SAR arc (~13 kilo-Rayleighs observed by four diagnostic systems that sampled various aspects of the sub-auroral domain near Millstone Hill, MA, on the night of 29 October 1991: an imaging spectrograph, an all-sky camera, an incoherent scatter radar (ISR, and a DMSP satellite. Simulations of emission using the ISR and DMSP data with the MSIS neutral atmosphere succeed in reproducing the brightness levels observed. This provides a robust confirmation of M-I coupling theory in its most extreme aeronomic form within the innermost magnetosphere (L~2 during a rare superstorm event. The unusually high brightness value appears to be due to the rare occurrence of the heating of dense ionospheric plasma just equatorward of the trough/plasmapause location, in contrast to the more typical heating of the less dense F-layer within the trough.

Improved SAR Amplitude Image Offset Measurements for Deriving Three-Dimensional Coseismic Displacements

KAUST Repository

Wang, Teng; Jonsson, Sigurjon

2015-01-01

Offsets of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images have played an important role in deriving complete three-dimensional (3-D) surface displacement fields in geoscientific applications. However, offset maps often suffer from multiple outliers and patch-like artifacts, because the standard offset-measurement method is a regular moving-window operation that does not consider the scattering characteristics of the ground. Here, we show that by focusing the offset measurements on predetected strong reflectors, the reliability and accuracy of SAR offsets can be significantly improved. Application to the 2011 Van (Turkey) earthquake reveals a clear deformation signal from an otherwise decorrelated interferogram, making derivation of the 3-D coseismic displacement field possible. Our proposed method can improve mapping of coseismic deformation and other ground displacements, such as glacier flow and landslide movement when strong reflectors exist.

Improved SAR Amplitude Image Offset Measurements for Deriving Three-Dimensional Coseismic Displacements

KAUST Repository

Wang, Teng

2015-02-03

Offsets of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images have played an important role in deriving complete three-dimensional (3-D) surface displacement fields in geoscientific applications. However, offset maps often suffer from multiple outliers and patch-like artifacts, because the standard offset-measurement method is a regular moving-window operation that does not consider the scattering characteristics of the ground. Here, we show that by focusing the offset measurements on predetected strong reflectors, the reliability and accuracy of SAR offsets can be significantly improved. Application to the 2011 Van (Turkey) earthquake reveals a clear deformation signal from an otherwise decorrelated interferogram, making derivation of the 3-D coseismic displacement field possible. Our proposed method can improve mapping of coseismic deformation and other ground displacements, such as glacier flow and landslide movement when strong reflectors exist.

Multiscale-Driven approach to detecting change in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Gens, R.; Hogenson, K.; Ajadi, O. A.; Meyer, F. J.; Myers, A.; Logan, T. A.; Arnoult, K., Jr.

2017-12-01

Detecting changes between Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images can be a useful but challenging exercise. SAR with its all-weather capabilities can be an important resource in identifying and estimating the expanse of events such as flooding, river ice breakup, earthquake damage, oil spills, and forest growth, as it can overcome shortcomings of optical methods related to cloud cover. However, detecting change in SAR imagery can be impeded by many factors including speckle, complex scattering responses, low temporal sampling, and difficulty delineating boundaries. In this presentation we use a change detection method based on a multiscale-driven approach. By using information at different resolution levels, we attempt to obtain more accurate change detection maps in both heterogeneous and homogeneous regions. Integrated within the processing flow are processes that 1) improve classification performance by combining Expectation-Maximization algorithms with mathematical morphology, 2) achieve high accuracy in preserving boundaries using measurement level fusion techniques, and 3) combine modern non-local filtering and 2D-discrete stationary wavelet transform to provide robustness against noise. This multiscale-driven approach to change detection has recently been incorporated into the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) Hybrid Pluggable Processing Pipeline (HyP3) using radiometrically terrain corrected SAR images. Examples primarily from natural hazards are presented to illustrate the capabilities and limitations of the change detection method.

Bistatic SAR: Proof of Concept.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yocky, David A.; Doren, Neall E.; Bacon, Terry A.; Wahl, Daniel E.; Eichel, Paul H.; Jakowatz, Charles V,; Delaplain, Gilbert G.; Dubbert, Dale F.; Tise, Bertice L.; White, Kyle R.

2014-10-01

Typical synthetic aperture RADAR (SAR) imaging employs a co-located RADAR transmitter and receiver. Bistatic SAR imaging separates the transmitter and receiver locations. A bistatic SAR configuration allows for the transmitter and receiver(s) to be in a variety of geometric alignments. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) / New Mexico proposed the deployment of a ground-based RADAR receiver. This RADAR receiver was coupled with the capability of digitizing and recording the signal collected. SNL proposed the possibility of creating an image of targets the illuminating SAR observes. This document describes the developed hardware, software, bistatic SAR configuration, and its deployment to test the concept of a ground-based bistatic SAR. In the proof-of-concept experiments herein, the RADAR transmitter will be a commercial SAR satellite and the RADAR receiver will be deployed at ground level, observing and capturing RADAR ground/targets illuminated by the satellite system.

The Seamless SAR Archive (SSARA) Project and Other SAR Activities at UNAVCO

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, S.; Crosby, C. J.; Meertens, C. M.; Fielding, E. J.; Bryson, G.; Buechler, B.; Nicoll, J.; Baru, C.

2014-12-01

The seamless synthetic aperture radar archive (SSARA) implements a seamless distributed access system for SAR data and derived data products (i.e. interferograms). SSARA provides a unified application programming interface (API) for SAR data search and results at the Alaska Satellite Facility and UNAVCO (WInSAR and EarthScope data archives) through the use of simple web services. A federated query service was developed using the unified APIs, providing users a single search interface for both archives. Interest from the international community has prompted an effort to incorporate ESA's Virtual Archive 4 Geohazard Supersites and Natural Laboratories (GSNL) collections and other archives into the federated query service. SSARA also provides Digital Elevation Model access for topographic correction via a simple web service through OpenTopography and tropospheric correction products through JPL's OSCAR service. Additionally, UNAVCO provides data storage capabilities for WInSAR PIs with approved TerraSAR-X and ALOS-2 proposals which allows easier distribution to US collaborators on associated proposals and facilitates data access through the SSARA web services. Further work is underway to incorporate federated data discovery for GSNL across SAR, GPS, and seismic datasets provided by web services from SSARA, GSAC, and COOPEUS.

An assessment of the DORT method on simple scatterers using boundary element modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Gélat, P; Ter Haar, G; Saffari, N

2015-05-07

The ability to focus through ribs overcomes an important limitation of a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) system for the treatment of liver tumours. Whilst it is important to generate high enough acoustic pressures at the treatment location for tissue lesioning, it is also paramount to ensure that the resulting ultrasonic dose on the ribs remains below a specified threshold, since ribs both strongly absorb and reflect ultrasound. The DORT (décomposition de l'opérateur de retournement temporel) method has the ability to focus on and through scatterers immersed in an acoustic medium selectively without requiring prior knowledge of their location or geometry. The method requires a multi-element transducer and is implemented via a singular value decomposition of the measured matrix of inter-element transfer functions. The efficacy of a method of focusing through scatterers is often assessed by comparing the specific absorption rate (SAR) at the surface of the scatterer, and at the focal region. The SAR can be obtained from a knowledge of the acoustic pressure magnitude and the acoustic properties of the medium and scatterer. It is well known that measuring acoustic pressures with a calibrated hydrophone at or near a hard surface presents experimental challenges, potentially resulting in increased measurement uncertainties. Hence, the DORT method is usually assessed experimentally by measuring the SAR at locations on the surface of the scatterer after the latter has been removed from the acoustic medium. This is also likely to generate uncertainties in the acoustic pressure measurement. There is therefore a strong case for assessing the efficacy of the DORT method through a validated theoretical model. The boundary element method (BEM) applied to exterior acoustic scattering problems is well-suited for such an assessment. In this study, BEM was used to implement the DORT method theoretically on locally reacting spherical scatterers, and to assess its focusing

AUTOMATIC INTERPRETATION OF HIGH RESOLUTION SAR IMAGES: FIRST RESULTS OF SAR IMAGE SIMULATION FOR SINGLE BUILDINGS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Tao

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Due to the all-weather data acquisition capabilities, high resolution space borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR plays an important role in remote sensing applications like change detection. However, because of the complex geometric mapping of buildings in urban areas, SAR images are often hard to interpret. SAR simulation techniques ease the visual interpretation of SAR images, while fully automatic interpretation is still a challenge. This paper presents a method for supporting the interpretation of high resolution SAR images with simulated radar images using a LiDAR digital surface model (DSM. Line features are extracted from the simulated and real SAR images and used for matching. A single building model is generated from the DSM and used for building recognition in the SAR image. An application for the concept is presented for the city centre of Munich where the comparison of the simulation to the TerraSAR-X data shows a good similarity. Based on the result of simulation and matching, special features (e.g. like double bounce lines, shadow areas etc. can be automatically indicated in SAR image.

Using PS-InSAR data in landslide hazard management: the case of Veneto Region (NE Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Floris, Mario; Viganò, Alessandro; Busnardo, Enrico; Arziliero, Luciano; Zanette, Doriano

2013-04-01

The Project Persistent Scatterers Interferometry, performed by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Territory of the Sea (METS) in the framework of the Extraordinary Plan of Environmental Remote Sensing, has made available a high quantity of data useful for local Authorities (Regions, Provinces, and Municipalities) in the management of the main geological hazards, such as landslides, subsidence, and sinkholes. The main output of the Project consists of ground displacements and velocities measured at target points over the entire Italian territory by using PS-InSAR processing technique applied to SAR data acquired by satellites ESA (European Space Agency) ERS-1 and ERS-2 (Earth Resources Satellite) and ENVISAT (Environmental Satellite) in the period 1992-2010. Description and results of the Project are available for public browsing at the geoportal of the METS (http://www.pcn.minambiente.it). On the basis of PS-InSAR data, several studies have been recently performed for the identification and characterization of landslides both at small and large scale. These studies led to a more precise delimitation of instable areas and to a better evaluation of the state of activity of mass movements. But, as now well known, interferometry techniques can't be applied to the whole territory due to geometric distortions in SAR data acquisition and to ground conditions. In this work we analyze the potentiality of PS-InSAR data from the Project Persistent Scatterers Interferometry in landslide hazard management of the Veneto Region, located in the north-eastern part of Italy. A synthetic description on the main features of landslides affecting the Region is reported, then the percentage of instabilities where PS-InSAR data can be used, is calculated. At the scale of the entire Region we suggest to follow the method proposed in the scientific literature to evaluate the state of activity of landslides on the basis of the measured velocities at the ground surface, while at local

Two dimensional estimates from ocean SAR images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. M. Le Caillec

1996-01-01

Full Text Available Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR images of the ocean yield a lot of information on the sea-state surface providing that the mapping process between the surface and the image is clearly defined. However it is well known that SAR images exhibit non-gaussian statistics and that the motion of the scatterers on the surface, while the image is being formed, may yield to nonlinearities. The detection and quantification of these nonlinearities are made possible by using Higher Order Spectra (HOS methods and more specifically, bispectrum estimation. The development of the latter method allowed us to find phase relations between different parts of the image and to recognise their level of coupling, i.e. if and how waves of different wavelengths interacted nonlinearly. This information is quite important as the usual models assume strong nonlinearities when the waves are propagating in the azimuthal direction (i.e. along the satellite track and almost no nonlinearities when propagating in the range direction. In this paper, the mapping of the ocean surface to the SAR image is reinterpreted and a specific model (i.e. a Second Order Volterra Model is introduced. The nonlinearities are thus explained as either produced by a nonlinear system or due to waves propagating into selected directions (azimuth or range and interacting during image formation. It is shown that quadratic nonlinearities occur for waves propagating near the range direction while for those travelling in the azimuthal direction the nonlinearities, when present, are mostly due to wave interactions but are almost completely removed by the filtering effect coming from the surface motion itself (azimuth cut-off. An inherent quadratic interaction filtering (azimuth high pass filter is also present. But some other effects, apparently nonlinear, are not detected with the methods described here, meaning that either the usual relation developed for the Ocean-to-SAR transform is somewhat incomplete

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

Science.gov (United States)

SARS; Respiratory failure - SARS ... Complications may include: Respiratory failure Liver failure Heart failure ... 366. McIntosh K, Perlman S. Coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). ...

Monitoring of Forest Structure Dynamics by Means of L-Band SAR Tomography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Cazcarra-Bes

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Synthetic Aperture Radar Tomography (TomoSAR allows the reconstruction of the 3D reflectivity of natural volume scatterers such as forests, thus providing an opportunity to infer structure information in 3D. In this paper, the potential of TomoSAR data at L-band to monitor temporal variations of forest structure is addressed using simulated and experimental datasets. First, 3D reflectivity profiles were extracted by means of TomoSAR reconstruction based on a Compressive Sensing (CS approach. Next, two complementary indices for the description of horizontal and vertical forest structure were defined and estimated by means of the distribution of local maxima of the reconstructed reflectivity profiles. To assess the sensitivity and consistency of the proposed methodology, variations of these indices for different types of forest changes in simulated as well as in real scenarios were analyzed and assessed against different sources of reference data: airborne Lidar measurements, high resolution optical images, and forest inventory data. The forest structure maps obtained indicated the potential to distinguish between different forest stages and the identification of different types of forest structure changes induced by logging, natural disturbance, or forest management.

SAR Target Recognition via Supervised Discriminative Dictionary Learning and Sparse Representation of the SAR-HOG Feature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shengli Song

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Automatic target recognition (ATR in synthetic aperture radar (SAR images plays an important role in both national defense and civil applications. Although many methods have been proposed, SAR ATR is still very challenging due to the complex application environment. Feature extraction and classification are key points in SAR ATR. In this paper, we first design a novel feature, which is a histogram of oriented gradients (HOG-like feature for SAR ATR (called SAR-HOG. Then, we propose a supervised discriminative dictionary learning (SDDL method to learn a discriminative dictionary for SAR ATR and propose a strategy to simplify the optimization problem. Finally, we propose a SAR ATR classifier based on SDDL and sparse representation (called SDDLSR, in which both the reconstruction error and the classification error are considered. Extensive experiments are performed on the MSTAR database under standard operating conditions and extended operating conditions. The experimental results show that SAR-HOG can reliably capture the structures of targets in SAR images, and SDDL can further capture subtle differences among the different classes. By virtue of the SAR-HOG feature and SDDLSR, the proposed method achieves the state-of-the-art performance on MSTAR database. Especially for the extended operating conditions (EOC scenario “Training 17 ∘ —Testing 45 ∘ ”, the proposed method improves remarkably with respect to the previous works.

A very bright SAR arc: implications for extreme magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Baumgardner

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In contrast to the polar aurora visible during geomagnetic storms, stable auroral red (SAR arcs offer a sub-visual manifestation of direct magnetosphere-ionosphere (M-I coupling at midlatitudes. The SAR arc emission at 6300 Å is driven by field-aligned magnetospheric energy transport from ring current/plasmapause locations into the ionosphere-thermosphere system. The first SAR arc was observed at the dawn of the space age (1956, and the typical brightness levels and occurrence patterns obtained from subsequent decades of observations appear to be consistent with the downward heat conduction theory, i.e., heated ambient F-layer electrons excite oxygen atoms to produce a spectrally pure emission. On very rare occasions, a SAR arc has been reported to be at brightness levels visible to the naked eye. Here we report on the first case of a very bright SAR arc (~13 kilo-Rayleighs observed by four diagnostic systems that sampled various aspects of the sub-auroral domain near Millstone Hill, MA, on the night of 29 October 1991: an imaging spectrograph, an all-sky camera, an incoherent scatter radar (ISR, and a DMSP satellite. Simulations of emission using the ISR and DMSP data with the MSIS neutral atmosphere succeed in reproducing the brightness levels observed. This provides a robust confirmation of M-I coupling theory in its most extreme aeronomic form within the innermost magnetosphere (L~2 during a rare superstorm event. The unusually high brightness value appears to be due to the rare occurrence of the heating of dense ionospheric plasma just equatorward of the trough/plasmapause location, in contrast to the more typical heating of the less dense F-layer within the trough.

Estimation of Melt Pond Fractions on First Year Sea Ice Using Compact Polarization SAR

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Haiyan; Perrie, William; Li, Qun; Hou, Yijun

2017-10-01

Melt ponds are a common feature on Arctic sea ice. They are linked to the sea ice surface albedo and transmittance of energy to the ocean from the atmosphere and thus constitute an important process to parameterize in Arctic climate models and simulations. This paper presents a first attempt to retrieve the melt pond fraction from hybrid-polarized compact polarization (CP) SAR imagery, which has wider swath and shorter revisit time than the quad-polarization systems, e.g., from RADARSAT-2 (RS-2). The co-polarization (co-pol) ratio has been verified to provide estimates of melt pond fractions. However, it is a challenge to link CP parameters and the co-pol ratio. The theoretical possibility is presented, for making this linkage with the CP parameter C22/C11 (the ratio between the elements of the coherence matrix of CP SAR) for melt pond detection and monitoring with the tilted-Bragg scattering model for the ocean surface. The empirical transformed formulation, denoted as the "compact polarization and quad-pol" ("CPQP") model, is proposed, based on 2062 RS-2 quad-pol SAR images, collocated with in situ measurements. We compared the retrieved melt pond fraction with CP parameters simulated from quad-pol SAR data with results retrieved from the co-pol ratio from quad-pol SAR observations acquired during the Arctic-Ice (Arctic-Ice Covered Ecosystem in a Rapidly Changing Environment) field project. The results are shown to be comparable for observed melt pond measurements in spatial and temporal distributions. Thus, the utility of CP mode SAR for melt pond fraction estimation on first year level ice is presented.

SAR Interferometry and Precise Leveling for the Determination of Vertical Displacements in the Upper Rhine Graben Area, Southwest Germany

Science.gov (United States)

Fuhrmann, T.; Schenk, A.; Westerhaus, M.; Zippelt, K.; Heck, B.

2013-12-01

The PS-InSAR (Persistent Scatterer SAR Interferometry) method and precise levelings provide a unique database to detect recent displacements of the Earth's surface. Data of both measurement techniques are analyzed at Geodetic Institute, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, in order to gain detailed insight into the velocity field of the Upper Rhine Graben (URG). As central and most prominent segment of the European Cenozoic rift system, the seismically and tectonically active Rhine Graben is of steady geo-scientific interest. In the last decades, the URG is characterized by small tectonic movements (Switzerland over the last 100 years building a network of leveling lines. A kinematic network adjustment is applied on the leveling data, providing an accurate solution for vertical displacement rates with accuracies of 0.2 to 0.4 mm/a. The biggest disadvantage of the leveling database is the sparse spatial distribution of the measurement points. Therefore, PS-InSAR is used to significantly increase the number of points within the leveling loops. To obtain a high accuracy for line of sight displacement rates, ERS-1/2 and Envisat data from ascending and descending orbits covering a period from 1992 to 2000 and 2002 to 2010, resp., are processed using StaMPS (Stanford Method for Persistent Scatterers). As the tectonic displacements cover a large area, the separation of atmospheric effects and orbit errors plays an important role in the PS-InSAR processing chain. Besides the tectonic signal, man-induced surface displacements caused by oil extraction are investigated. A comparison between the estimates from leveling and InSAR provides detailed insight into the temporal and spatial characteristics of the surface displacement as well as into the possibilities and limits of the measurement techniques.

Compact Polarimetric SAR Ship Detection with m-δ Decomposition Using Visual Attention Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lu Xu

2016-09-01

Full Text Available A few previous studies have illustrated the potentials of compact polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (CP SAR in ship detection. In this paper, we design a ship detection algorithm of CP SAR from the perspective of computer vision. A ship detection algorithm using the pulsed cosine transform (PCT visual attention model is proposed to suppress background clutter and highlight conspicuous ship targets. It is the first time that a visual attention model is introduced to CP SAR application. The proposed algorithm is a quick and complete framework for practical use. Polarimetric features—the relative phase δ and volume scattering component—are extracted from m-δ decomposition to eliminate false alarms and modify the PCT model. The constant false alarm rate (CFAR algorithm based on lognormal distribution is adopted to detect ship targets, after a clutter distribution fitting procedure of the modified saliency map. The proposed method is then tested on three simulated circular-transmit-linear-receive (CTLR mode images, which covering East Sea of China. Compared with the detection results of SPAN and the saliency map with only single-channel amplitude, the proposed method achieves the highest detection rates and the lowest misidentification rate and highest figure of merit, proving the effectiveness of polarimetric information of compact polarimetric SAR ship detection and the enhancement from the visual attention model.

Theory and approach of information retrievals from electromagnetic scattering and remote sensing

CERN Document Server

Jin, Ya-Qiu

2006-01-01

Covers several hot topics in current research of electromagnetic scattering, and radiative transfer in complex and random media, polarimetric scattering and SAR imagery technology, data validation and information retrieval from space-borne remote sensing, computational electromagnetics, etc.Including both forward modelling and inverse problems, analytic theory and numerical approachesAn overall summary of the author's works during most recent yearsAlso presents some insight for future research topics.

Crop Classification by Polarimetric SAR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skriver, Henning; Svendsen, Morten Thougaard; Nielsen, Flemming

1999-01-01

Polarimetric SAR-data of agricultural fields have been acquired by the Danish polarimetric L- and C-band SAR (EMISAR) during a number of missions at the Danish agricultural test site Foulum during 1995. The data are used to study the classification potential of polarimetric SAR data using...

A strategy for Local Surface Stability Monitoring Using SAR Imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, J.; Lan, C. W.; Lin, S. Y.; vanGasselt, S.; Yun, H.

2017-12-01

In order to provide sufficient facilities to satisfy a growing number of residents, nowadays there are many constructions and maintenance of infrastructures or buildings undergoing above and below the surface of urban area. In some cases we have learned that disasters might happen if the developments were conducted on unknown or geologically unstable ground or in over-developed areas. To avoid damages caused by such settings, it is essential to perform a regular monitoring scheme to understand the ground stability over the whole urban area. Through long-term monitoring, we firstly aim to observe surface stability over the construction sites. Secondly, we propose to implement an automatic extraction and tracking of suspicious unstable area. To achieve this, we used 12-days-interval C-band Sentinel-1A Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images as the main source to perform regular monitoring. Differential Interferometric SAR (D-InSAR) technique was applied to generate interferograms. Together with the accumulation of updated Sentinel-1A SAR images, time series interferograms were formed accordingly. For the purpose of observing surface stability over known construction sites, the interferograms and the unwrapped products could be used to identify the surface displacement occurring before and after specific events. In addition, Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) and Permanent Scatterers (PS) approaches combining a set of unwrapped D-InSAR interferograms were also applied to derive displacement velocities over long-term periods. For some cases, we conducted the ascending and descending mode time series analysis to decompose three surface migration vectors and to precisely identify the risk pattern. Regarding the extraction of suspicious unstable areas, we propose to develop an automatic pattern recognition algorithm for the identification of specific fringe patterns involving various potential risks. The detected fringes were tracked in the time series interferograms and

Ship Analysis and Detection in High-resolution Pol-SAR Imagery Based on Peak Zone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu Cheng-bin

2015-06-01

Full Text Available To deal with the problem of false alarm in the ship detection, a method base on proportion of spiral scattering in the peak zone is proposed. By comparing the proportion of spiral scattering in the peak zone, which is available from Krogager decomposition, the ships and interfering targets are identified and analyzed. The effectiveness of this method is justified with C-band full-polarization data from RADARSAT-2. The result show that this method can discriminate ships from interfering targets such as island, water-break, nautical platforms and bridges, thus reducing the false alarm rate of ship targets detection in SAR images.

Spatiotemporal Characterization of Land Subsidence and Uplift (2009–2010 over Wuhan in Central China Revealed by TerraSAR-X InSAR Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Bai

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The effects of ground deformation pose a significant geo-hazard to the environment and infrastructure in Wuhan, the most populous city in Central China, in the eastern Jianghan Plain at the intersection of the Yangtze and Han rivers. Prior to this study, however, rates and patterns of region-wide ground deformation in Wuhan were little known. Here we employ multi-temporal SAR interferometry to detect and characterize spatiotemporal variations of ground deformation in major metropolitan areas in Wuhan. A total of twelve TerraSAR-X images acquired during 2009–2010 are used in the InSAR time series analysis. InSAR-derived results are validated by levelling survey measurements and reveal a distinct subsidence pattern within six zones in major commercial and industrial areas, with a maximum subsidence rate up to −67.3 mm/year. A comparison analysis between subsiding patterns and urban developments as well as geological conditions suggests that land subsidence in Wuhan is mainly attributed to anthropogenic activities, natural compaction of soft soil, and karst dissolution of subsurface carbonate rocks. However, anthropogenic activities related to intensive municipal construction and industrial production have more significant impacts on the measured subsidence than natural factors. Moreover, remarkable signals of secular land uplift are found along both banks of the Yangtze River, especially along the southern bank, with deformation rates ranging mostly from +5 mm/year to +17.5 mm/year. A strong temporal correlation is highlighted between the detected displacement evolutions and the water level records of the Yangtze River, inferring that this previously unknown deformation phenomenon is likely related to seasonal fluctuations in water levels of the Yangtze River.

Design and realization of an active SAR calibrator for TerraSAR-X

Science.gov (United States)

Dummer, Georg; Lenz, Rainer; Lutz, Benjamin; Kühl, Markus; Müller-Glaser, Klaus D.; Wiesbeck, Werner

2005-10-01

TerraSAR-X is a new earth observing satellite which will be launched in spring 2006. It carries a high resolution X-band SAR sensor. For high image data quality, accurate ground calibration targets are necessary. This paper describes a novel system concept for an active and highly integrated, digitally controlled SAR system calibrator. A total of 16 active transponder and receiver systems and 17 receiver only systems will be fabricated for a calibration campaign. The calibration units serve for absolute radiometric calibration of the SAR image data. Additionally, they are equipped with an extra receiver path for two dimensional satellite antenna pattern recognition. The calibrator is controlled by a dedicated digital Electronic Control Unit (ECU). The different voltages needed by the calibrator and the ECU are provided by the third main unit called Power Management Unit (PMU).

Peptide Mimicrying Between SARS Coronavirus Spike Protein and Human Proteins Reacts with SARS Patient Serum

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K.-Y. Hwa

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Molecular mimicry, defined as similar structures shared by molecules from dissimilar genes or proteins, is a general strategy used by pathogens to infect host cells. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS is a new human respiratory infectious disease caused by SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV. The spike (S protein of SARS-CoV plays an important role in the virus entry into a cell. In this study, eleven synthetic peptides from the S protein were selected based on its sequence homology with human proteins. Two of the peptides D07 (residues 927–937 and D08 (residues 942–951 were recognized by the sera of SARS patients. Murine hyperimmune sera against these peptides bound to proteins of human lung epithelial cells A549. Another peptide D10 (residues 490–502 stimulated A549 to proliferate and secrete IL-8. The present results suggest that the selected S protein regions, which share sequence homology with human proteins, may play important roles in SARS-CoV infection.

Compressed Sensing mm-Wave SAR for Non-Destructive Testing Applications Using Multiple Weighted Side Information

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Mathias Becquaert

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This work explores an innovative strategy for increasing the efficiency of compressed sensing applied on mm-wave SAR sensing using multiple weighted side information. The approach is tested on synthetic and on real non-destructive testing measurements performed on a 3D-printed object with defects while taking advantage of multiple previous SAR images of the object with different degrees of similarity. The tested algorithm attributes autonomously weights to the side information at two levels: (1 between the components inside the side information and (2 between the different side information. The reconstruction is thereby almost immune to poor quality side information while exploiting the relevant components hidden inside the added side information. The presented results prove that, in contrast to common compressed sensing, good SAR image reconstruction is achieved at subsampling rates far below the Nyquist rate. Moreover, the algorithm is shown to be much more robust for low quality side information compared to coherent background subtraction.

Impact of the Regulators SigB, Rot, SarA and sarS on the Toxic Shock Tst Promoter and TSST-1 Expression in Staphylococcus aureus.

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Diego O Andrey

Full Text Available Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen manifesting virulence through diverse disease forms, ranging from acute skin infections to life-threatening bacteremia or systemic toxic shock syndromes. In the latter case, the prototypical superantigen is TSST-1 (Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin 1, encoded by tst(H, and carried on a mobile genetic element that is not present in all S. aureus strains. Transcriptional regulation of tst is only partially understood. In this study, we dissected the role of sarA, sarS (sarH1, RNAIII, rot, and the alternative stress sigma factor sigB (σB. By examining tst promoter regulation predominantly in the context of its native sequence within the SaPI1 pathogenicity island of strain RN4282, we discovered that σB emerged as a particularly important tst regulator. We did not detect a consensus σB site within the tst promoter, and thus the effect of σB is likely indirect. We found that σB strongly repressed the expression of the toxin via at least two distinct regulatory pathways dependent upon sarA and agr. Furthermore rot, a member of SarA family, was shown to repress tst expression when overexpressed, although its deletion had no consistent measurable effect. We could not find any detectable effect of sarS, either by deletion or overexpression, suggesting that this regulator plays a minimal role in TSST-1 expression except when combined with disruption of sarA. Collectively, our results extend our understanding of complex multifactorial regulation of tst, revealing several layers of negative regulation. In addition to environmental stimuli thought to impact TSST-1 production, these findings support a model whereby sporadic mutation in a few key negative regulators can profoundly affect and enhance TSST-1 expression.

Using PS-InSAR to detect surface deformation in geothermal areas of West Java in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Maghsoudi, Yasser; van der Meer, Freek; Hecker, Christoph; Perissin, Daniele; Saepuloh, Asep

2018-02-01

In this paper, the Persistent Scatterer InSAR (PS-InSAR) technique is applied in order to investigate the ground deformation in and around two geothermal areas in West Java, Indonesia. Two time-series of ALOS PALSAR and Sentinel-1A acquisitions, covering the period from 2007 to 2009 and 2015-2016, are analysed. The first case study examines the Wayang Windu geothermal zone where the PS-InSAR analysis provides an overview of the surface deformation around a geothermal reservoir. Uplift is observed around the injection wells in the area. The second example involves the use of the PS-InSAR technique over a more recent geothermal system in Patuha field. Again, a pattern of uplift was observed around the only available injection well in the area. Due to the dense vegetation coverage of the geothermal areas in West Java, the longer wavelength ALOS PALSAR data is provides better results by identifying a larger number of PS points. Additionally, experiments have been carried out to compare the resulting deformation with another example of the fluid migration process i.e. water extraction in Bandung basin. The potential of sentinel-1A and ALOS PALSR data are compared in all the experiments.

Characterizing and estimating noise in InSAR and InSAR time series with MODIS

Science.gov (United States)

Barnhart, William D.; Lohman, Rowena B.

2013-01-01

InSAR time series analysis is increasingly used to image subcentimeter displacement rates of the ground surface. The precision of InSAR observations is often affected by several noise sources, including spatially correlated noise from the turbulent atmosphere. Under ideal scenarios, InSAR time series techniques can substantially mitigate these effects; however, in practice the temporal distribution of InSAR acquisitions over much of the world exhibit seasonal biases, long temporal gaps, and insufficient acquisitions to confidently obtain the precisions desired for tectonic research. Here, we introduce a technique for constraining the magnitude of errors expected from atmospheric phase delays on the ground displacement rates inferred from an InSAR time series using independent observations of precipitable water vapor from MODIS. We implement a Monte Carlo error estimation technique based on multiple (100+) MODIS-based time series that sample date ranges close to the acquisitions times of the available SAR imagery. This stochastic approach allows evaluation of the significance of signals present in the final time series product, in particular their correlation with topography and seasonality. We find that topographically correlated noise in individual interferograms is not spatially stationary, even over short-spatial scales (<10 km). Overall, MODIS-inferred displacements and velocities exhibit errors of similar magnitude to the variability within an InSAR time series. We examine the MODIS-based confidence bounds in regions with a range of inferred displacement rates, and find we are capable of resolving velocities as low as 1.5 mm/yr with uncertainties increasing to ∼6 mm/yr in regions with higher topographic relief.

Assessing ScanSAR Interferometry for Deformation Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Buckley, S. M.; Gudipati, K.

2007-12-01

There is a trend in civil satellite SAR mission design to implement an imaging strategy that incorporates both stripmap mode and ScanSAR imaging. This represents a compromise between high resolution data collection and a desire for greater spatial coverage and more frequent revisit times. However, mixed mode imaging can greatly reduce the number of stripmap images available for measuring subtle ground deformation. Although ScanSAR-ScanSAR and ScanSAR-stripmap repeat-pass interferometry have been demonstrated, these approaches are infrequently used for single interferogram formation and nonexistent for InSAR time series analysis. For future mission design, e.g., a dedicated US InSAR mission, the effect of various ScanSAR system parameter choices on InSAR time series analysis also remains unexplored. Our objective is to determine the utility of ScanSAR differential interferometry. We will demonstrate the use of ScanSAR interferograms for several previous deformation studies: localized and broad-scale urban land subsidence, tunneling, volcanic surface movements and several examples associated with the seismic cycle. We also investigate the effect of various ScanSAR burst synchronization levels on our ability to detect and make quality measurements of deformation. To avoid the issues associated with Envisat ScanSAR burst alignment and to exploit a decade of InSAR measurements, we simulate ScanSAR data by bursting (throwing away range lines of) ERS-1/2 data. All the burst mode datasets are processed using a Modified SPECAN algorithm. To investigate the effects of burst misalignment, a number of cases with varying degrees of burst overlap are considered. In particular, we look at phase decorrelation as a function of percentage of burst overlap. Coherence clearly reduces as the percentage of overlap decreases and we find a useful threshold of 40-70% burst overlap depending on the study site. In order to get a more generalized understanding for different surface conditions

Identification of Soil Freezing and Thawing States Using SAR Polarimetry at C-Band

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Thomas Jagdhuber

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The monitoring of soil freezing and thawing states over large areas is very challenging on ground. In order to investigate the potential and the limitations of space-borne SAR polarimetry at C-band for soil state survey, analyses were conducted on an entire winter time series of fully polarimetric RADARSAT-2 data from 2011/2012 to identify freezing as well as thawing states within the soil. The polarimetric data were acquired over the Sodankylä test site in Finland together with in situ measurements of the soil and the snow cover. The analyses indicate clearly that the dynamics of the polarimetric entropy and mean scattering alpha angle are directly correlated to soil freezing and thawing states, even under distinct dry snow cover. First modeling attempts using the Extended Bragg soil scattering model justify the observed trends, which indicate surface-like scattering during frozen soil conditions and multiple/volume scattering for thawed soils. Hence, these first investigations at C-band foster motivation to work towards a robust polarimetric detection of soil freezing and thawing states as well as their transition phase.

Long-term ground deformation patterns of Bucharest using multi-temporal InSAR and multivariate dynamic analyses: a possible transpressional system?

Science.gov (United States)

Armaş, Iuliana; Mendes, Diana A.; Popa, Răzvan-Gabriel; Gheorghe, Mihaela; Popovici, Diana

2017-03-01

The aim of this exploratory research is to capture spatial evolution patterns in the Bucharest metropolitan area using sets of single polarised synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data and multi-temporal radar interferometry. Three sets of SAR data acquired during the years 1992-2010 from ERS-1/-2 and ENVISAT, and 2011-2014 from TerraSAR-X satellites were used in conjunction with the Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) and persistent scatterers (PS) high-resolution multi-temporal interferometry (InSAR) techniques to provide maps of line-of-sight displacements. The satellite-based remote sensing results were combined with results derived from classical methodologies (i.e., diachronic cartography) and field research to study possible trends in developments over former clay pits, landfill excavation sites, and industrial parks. The ground displacement trend patterns were analysed using several linear and nonlinear models, and techniques. Trends based on the estimated ground displacement are characterised by long-term memory, indicated by low noise Hurst exponents, which in the long-term form interesting attractors. We hypothesize these attractors to be tectonic stress fields generated by transpressional movements.

From Regional Hazard Assessment to Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Support - InSAR Ground Motion Services

Science.gov (United States)

Lege, T.; Kalia, A.; Gruenberg, I.; Frei, M.

2016-12-01

There are numerous scientific applications of InSAR methods in tectonics, earthquake analysis and other geologic and geophysical fields. Ground motion on local and regional scale measured and monitored via the application of the InSAR techniques provide scientists and engineers with plenty of new insights and further understanding of subsurface processes. However, the operational use of InSAR is not yet very widespread. To foster the operational utilization of the Copernicus Sentinel Satellites in the day-to-day business of federal, state and municipal work and planning BGR (Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources) initiated workshops with potential user groups. Through extensive reconcilement of interests and demands with scientific, technical, economic and governmental stakeholders (e.g. Ministries, Mining Authorities, Geological Surveys, Geodetic Surveys and Environmental Agencies on federal and state level, SMEs, German Aerospace Center) BGR developed the concept of the InSAR based German National Ground Motion Service. One important backbone for the nationwide ground motion service is the so-called Persistent Scatterer Interferometry Wide Area Product (WAP) approach developed with grants of European research funds. The presentation shows the implementation of the ground motion service and examples for product developments for operational supervision of mining, water resources management and spatial planning. Furthermore the contributions of Copernicus Sentinel 1 radar data in the context of CTBT are discussed. The DInSAR processing of Sentinel 1 IW (Interferometric Wide Swath) SAR acquisitions from January 1st and 13th Jan. 2016 allow for the first time a near real time ground motion measurement of the North Korean nuclear test site. The measured ground displacements show a strong spatio-temporal correlation to the calculated epicenter measured by teleseismic stations. We are convinced this way another space technique will soon contribute even

InSAR to support sustainable urbanization over compacting aquifers: The case of Toluca Valley, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Castellazzi, Pascal; Garfias, Jaime; Martel, Richard; Brouard, Charles; Rivera, Alfonso

2017-12-01

This paper illustrates how InSAR alone can be used to delineate potential ground fractures related to aquifer system compaction. An InSAR-derived ground fracturing map of the Toluca Valley, Mexico, is produced and validated through a field campaign. The results are of great interest to support sustainable urbanization and show that InSAR processing of open-access Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data from the Sentinel-1 satellites can lead to reliable and cost-effective products directly usable by cities to help decision-making. The Toluca Valley Aquifer (TVA) sustains the water needs of two million inhabitants living within the valley, a growing industry, an intensively irrigated agricultural area, and 38% of the water needs of the megalopolis of Mexico City, located 40 km east of the valley. Ensuring water sustainability, infrastructure integrity, along with supporting the important economic and demographic growth of the region, is a major challenge for water managers and urban developers. This paper presents a long-term analysis of ground fracturing by interpreting 13 years of InSAR-derived ground displacement measurements. Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) and Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) techniques are applied over three SAR datasets totalling 93 acquisitions from Envisat, Radarsat-2, and Sentinel-1A satellites and covering the period from 2003 to 2016. From 2003 to 2016, groundwater level declines of up to 1.6 m/yr, land subsidence up to 77 mm/yr, and major infrastructure damages are observed. Groundwater level data show highly variable seasonal responses according to their connectivity to recharge areas. However, the trend of groundwater levels consistently range from -0.5 to -1.5 m/yr regardless of the well location and depth. By analysing the horizontal gradients of vertical land subsidence, we provide a potential ground fracture map to assist in future urban development planning in the Toluca Valley.

SARS-related perceptions in Hong Kong.

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Joseph T F; Yang, Xilin; Pang, Ellie; Tsui, H Y; Wong, Eric; Wing, Yun Kwok

2005-03-01

To understand different aspects of community responses related to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), 2 population-based, random telephone surveys were conducted in June 2003 and January 2004 in Hong Kong. More than 70% of respondents would avoid visiting hospitals or mainland China to avoid contracting SARS. Most respondents believed that SARS could be transmitted through droplets, fomites, sewage, and animals. More than 90% believed that public health measures were efficacious means of prevention; 40.4% believed that SARS would resurge in Hong Kong; and approximately equals 70% would then wear masks in public places. High percentages of respondents felt helpless, horrified, and apprehensive because of SARS. Approximately 16% showed signs of posttraumatic symptoms, and approximately equals 40% perceived increased stress in family or work settings. The general public in Hong Kong has been very vigilant about SARS but needs to be more psychologically prepared to face a resurgence of the epidemic.

Classification and Monitoring of Reed Belts Using Dual-Polarimetric TerraSAR-X Time Series

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Iris Heine

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Synthetic aperture radar polarimetry (PolSAR and polarimetric decomposition techniques have proven to be useful tools for wetland mapping. In this study we classify reed belts and monitor their phenological changes at a natural lake in northeastern Germany using dual-co-polarized (HH, VV TerraSAR-X time series. The time series comprises 19 images, acquired between August 2014 and May 2015, in ascending and descending orbit. We calculated different polarimetric indices using the HH and VV intensities, the dual-polarimetric coherency matrix including dominant and mean alpha scattering angles, and entropy and anisotropy (normalized eigenvalue difference as well as combinations of entropy and anisotropy for the analysis of the scattering scenarios. The image classifications were performed with the random forest classifier and validated with high-resolution digital orthophotos. The time series analysis of the reed belts revealed significant seasonal changes for the double-bounce–sensitive parameters (intensity ratio HH/VV and intensity difference HH-VV, the co-polarimetric coherence phase and the dominant and mean alpha scattering angles and in the dual-polarimetric coherence (amplitude, anisotropy, entropy, and anisotropy-entropy combinations; whereas in summer dense leaves cause volume scattering, in winter, after leaves have fallen, the reed stems cause predominately double-bounce scattering. Our study showed that the five most important parameters for the classification of reed are the intensity difference HH-VV, the mean alpha scattering angle, intensity ratio HH/VV, and the coherence (phase. Due to the better separation of reed and other vegetation (deciduous forest, coniferous forest, meadow, winter acquisitions are preferred for the mapping of reed. Multi-temporal stacks of winter images performed better than summer ones. The combination of ascending and descending images also improved the result as it reduces the influence of the sensor

Precision Rectification of Airborne SAR Image

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dall, Jørgen; Liao, M.; Zhang, Zhe

1997-01-01

A simple and direct procedure for the rectification of a certain class of airborne SAR data is presented. The relief displacements of SAR data are effectively removed by means of a digital elevation model and the image is transformed to the ground coordinate system. SAR data from the Danish EMISAR...

Towards Linking 3D SAR and Lidar Models with a Spatially Explicit Individual Based Forest Model

Science.gov (United States)

Osmanoglu, B.; Ranson, J.; Sun, G.; Armstrong, A. H.; Fischer, R.; Huth, A.

2017-12-01

In this study, we present a parameterization of the FORMIND individual-based gap model (IBGM)for old growth Atlantic lowland rainforest in La Selva, Costa Rica for the purpose of informing multisensor remote sensing techniques for above ground biomass techniques. The model was successfully parameterized and calibrated for the study site; results show that the simulated forest reproduces the structural complexity of Costa Rican rainforest based on comparisons with CARBONO inventory plot data. Though the simulated stem numbers (378) slightly underestimated the plot data (418), particularly for canopy dominant intermediate shade tolerant trees and shade tolerant understory trees, overall there was a 9.7% difference. Aboveground biomass (kg/ha) showed a 0.1% difference between the simulated forest and inventory plot dataset. The Costa Rica FORMIND simulation was then used to parameterize a spatially explicit (3D) SAR and lidar backscatter models. The simulated forest stands were used to generate a Look Up Table as a tractable means to estimate aboveground forest biomass for these complex forests. Various combinations of lidar and radar variables were evaluated in the LUT inversion. To test the capability of future data for estimation of forest height and biomass, we considered data of 1) L- (or P-) band polarimetric data (backscattering coefficients of HH, HV and VV); 2) L-band dual-pol repeat-pass InSAR data (HH/HV backscattering coefficients and coherences, height of scattering phase center at HH and HV using DEM or surface height from lidar data as reference); 3) P-band polarimetric InSAR data (canopy height from inversion of PolInSAR data or use the coherences and height of scattering phase center at HH, HV and VV); 4) various height indices from waveform lidar data); and 5) surface and canopy top height from photon-counting lidar data. The methods for parameterizing the remote sensing models with the IBGM and developing Look Up Tables will be discussed. Results

LE NUOVE FRONTIERE DELL’ARCHEOLOGIA DALLA FOTOGRAFIA AEREA AL TELERILEVAMENTO SATELLITARE SAR

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Nicole Dore

2012-04-01

Full Text Available

Il grande progresso tecnologico ha dato la possibilità a campi di indagine più tradizionali, come l’archeologia, di usufruire di tecnologie per trarne il massimo vantaggio ai fini di indagini preventive sul campo. È sulla sciadi conquiste come il telerilevamento satellitare ottico ad alta risoluzione spaziale, che la presente ricerca si è spinta oltre tali confini, con lo scopo di indagare la tecnica polarimetrica SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar.

New Frontiers in Archaeology. From Aerial Photography to Satellite Remote Sensing SAR

This work is part of an ongoing PhD project held at the Area di Geodesia e Geomatica – University ofRome ‘La Sapienza’. The work involves the study of archaeological sites through the analysis of polarimetric L-band data from the PALSAR sensor (on the Japanese ALOS satellite, launched in May 2006 with the aim of understanding the spectral signature of archaeologicalremains (above and below ground. The Italian sites of Vulci (VTand Arpi (FG, analyzed through polarimetric imagery, were chosen according to the availability of polarimetric SAR data at the time of the study and to the different geomorphologic characteristics of theterrain, with the purpose of observing the scattering mechanisms associated to the features present in the scene.

SARS: systematic review of treatment effects.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lauren J Stockman

2006-09-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The SARS outbreak of 2002-2003 presented clinicians with a new, life-threatening disease for which they had no experience in treating and no research on the effectiveness of treatment options. The World Health Organization (WHO expert panel on SARS treatment requested a systematic review and comprehensive summary of treatments used for SARS-infected patients in order to guide future treatment and identify priorities for research. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In response to the WHO request we conducted a systematic review of the published literature on ribavirin, corticosteroids, lopinavir and ritonavir (LPV/r, type I interferon (IFN, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG, and SARS convalescent plasma from both in vitro studies and in SARS patients. We also searched for clinical trial evidence of treatment for acute respiratory distress syndrome. Sources of data were the literature databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL up to February 2005. Data from publications were extracted and evidence within studies was classified using predefined criteria. In total, 54 SARS treatment studies, 15 in vitro studies, and three acute respiratory distress syndrome studies met our inclusion criteria. Within in vitro studies, ribavirin, lopinavir, and type I IFN showed inhibition of SARS-CoV in tissue culture. In SARS-infected patient reports on ribavirin, 26 studies were classified as inconclusive, and four showed possible harm. Seven studies of convalescent plasma or IVIG, three of IFN type I, and two of LPV/r were inconclusive. In 29 studies of steroid use, 25 were inconclusive and four were classified as causing possible harm. CONCLUSIONS: Despite an extensive literature reporting on SARS treatments, it was not possible to determine whether treatments benefited patients during the SARS outbreak. Some may have been harmful. Clinical trials should be designed to validate a standard protocol for dosage

SARS knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors: a comparison between Finns and the Dutch during the SARS outbreak in 2003

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vartti, A.M.; Oenema, A.; Schreck, M.; Uutela, A.; Zwart, de O.; Brug, J.; Aro, A.R.

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: The SARS outbreak served to test both local and international outbreak management and risk communication practices. PURPOSE: The study compares SARS knowledge, perceptions, behaviors, and information between Finns and the Dutch during the SARS outbreak in 2003. METHOD: The participants

The Temporal-Spatial Distribution of Shule River Alluvial Fan Units in China Based on SAR Data and OSL Dating

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Lu Zhang

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Alluvial fans in arid and semi-arid regions can provide important evidence of geomorphic and climatic changes, which reveal the evolution of the regional tectonic activity and environment. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR remote sensing technology, which is sensitive to geomorphic features, plays an important role in quickly mapping alluvial fan units of different ages. In this paper, RADARSAT-2 (Canada’s C-band new-generation radar satellite and ALOS-PALSAR (Japan’s advanced land observing satellite, phased array type L-band SAR sensor data, acquired over the Shule River Alluvial Fan (SRAF, are used to extract backscattering coefficients, scattering mechanism-related information, and polarimetric characteristic parameters. The correlation between these SAR characteristic parameters and fan units of the SRAF of different ages was studied, and the spatial distribution of fan units, since the Late Pleistocene, was extracted based on the Maximum Likelihood classification method. The results prove that (1 some C-band SAR parameters can describe the geomorphic characteristics of alluvial fan units of different ages in the SRAF; (2 SAR data can be used to map the SRAF’s surface between the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene and to extract the spatial distribution of fan units; and (3 the time-spatial distribution of the SRAF can provide valuable information for tectonic and paleoenvironmental research of the study area.

SARS: Key factors in crisis management.

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, Hsin-Chao; Chen, Thai-Form; Chou, Shieu-Ming

2005-03-01

This study was conducted at a single hospital selected in Taipei during the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak from March to July, 2003 in Taiwan. During this period of time, 104 SARS patients were admitted to the hospital. There were no negative reports related to the selected hospital despite its being located right in the center of an area struck by the epidemic. The purpose of this study was to identify the key factors enabling the hospital to survive SARS unscathed. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with the nursing directors and nursing managers of the SARS units, along with a review of relevant hospital documents. The five key elements identified as survival factors during this SARS crisis are as follows: 1. good control of timing for crisis management, 2. careful decision-making, 3. thorough implementation, 4. effective communication, and 5. trust between management and employees. The results of this study reconfirmed the selected hospital as a model for good crisis management during the SARS epidemic.

Deep learning for SAR image formation

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, Eric; Yonel, Bariscan; Yazici, Birsen

2017-04-01

The recent success of deep learning has lead to growing interest in applying these methods to signal processing problems. This paper explores the applications of deep learning to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image formation. We review deep learning from a perspective relevant to SAR image formation. Our objective is to address SAR image formation in the presence of uncertainties in the SAR forward model. We present a recurrent auto-encoder network architecture based on the iterative shrinkage thresholding algorithm (ISTA) that incorporates SAR modeling. We then present an off-line training method using stochastic gradient descent and discuss the challenges and key steps of learning. Lastly, we show experimentally that our method can be used to form focused images in the presence of phase uncertainties. We demonstrate that the resulting algorithm has faster convergence and decreased reconstruction error than that of ISTA.

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR-based mapping of volcanic flows: Manam Island, Papua New Guinea

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J. K. Weissel

2004-01-01

Full Text Available We present new radar-based techniques for efficient identification of surface changes generated by lava and pyroclastic flows, and apply these to the 1996 eruption of Manam Volcano, Papua New Guinea. Polarimetric L- and P-band airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR data, along with a C-band DEM, were acquired over the volcano on 17 November 1996 during a major eruption sequence. The L-band data are analyzed for dominant scattering mechanisms on a per pixel basis using radar target decomposition techniques. A classification method is presented, and when applied to the L-band polarimetry, it readily distinguishes bare surfaces from forest cover over Manam volcano. In particular, the classification scheme identifies a post-1992 lava flow in NE Valley of Manam Island as a mainly bare surface and the underlying 1992 flow units as mainly vegetated surfaces. The Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Network reports allow us to speculate whether the bare surface is a flow dating from October or November in the early part of the late-1996 eruption sequence. This work shows that fully polarimetric SAR is sensitive to scattering mechanism changes caused by volcanic resurfacing processes such as lava and pyroclastic flows. By extension, this technique should also prove useful in mapping debris flows, ash deposits and volcanic landslides associated with major eruptions.

Low-SAR metamaterial-inspired printed monopole antenna

Science.gov (United States)

Hossain, M. I.; Faruque, M. R. I.; Islam, M. T.; Ali, M. T.

2017-01-01

In this paper, a low-SAR metamaterial-embedded planar monopole antenna is introduced for a wireless communication system. A printed monopole antenna is designed for modern mobile, which operates in GSM, UMTS, LTE, WLAN, and Bluetooth frequency bands. A metamaterial structure is designed to use in the mobile handset with a multi-band printed monopole antenna. The finite integration technique of the CST microwave studio is used in this study. The measurement of antenna performances is taken in an anechoic chamber, and the SAR values are measured using COMOSAR system. The results indicate that metamaterial structure leads to reduce SAR without affecting antenna performance significantly. According to the measured results, the metamaterial attachment leads to reduce 87.7% peak SAR, 68.2% 1-g SAR, and 46.78% 10-g SAR compared to antenna without metamaterial.

Results of the application of persistent scatterers interferometry for surface displacements monitoring in the Azul open pit manganese mine (Carajás Province, Amazon region) using TerraSAR-X data

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto, Carolina d. A.; Paradella, Waldir R.; Mura, José C.; Gama, Fabio F.; dos Santos, Athos R.; Silva, Guilherme G.

2014-10-01

Brazil has 10% of global Mn reserves with its most important mine located in the Amazon region. The Azul deposit is related to sandstones and siltstones of the Águas Claras Formation (Archean), situated in the central portion of the Carajás Strike-Slip System. Vale S.A. mining company operates the Azul mining complex with three simultaneous excavations (mines 1, 2 and 3) conducted on rock materials of low geomechanical qualities. Mining operations are openpit, with 4-8 m-high benches and depth of 80 m. A stack of 19 TerraSAR-X (TSX) images was used for the investigation covering the period of March 20-October 4, 2012. In order to minimize the topography phase error in the interferometric process, a high resolution DEM was generated based on a panchromatic GeoEye-1 stereo pair. Persistent Scatterers Interferometry (PSI) analysis was carried out using the IPTA (Interferometric Point Target Analysis) software and led to the detection of 40,193 point-wise persistent scatterers (PS), with an average density of 5,387 PS/km2. It was concluded that most of the mining area can be considered stable during the TSX coverage. High deformation rates related to settlements were mapped over a waste pile, while small deformation rates were detected along the north and south flanks of mine 1and were interpreted as cut slope movements toward the center of the pit. Despite only ground-based radar measurements were available for a short time period during the TSX coverage, and covering a sector of bench walls along the south flank of mine 1, the PSs movement patterns showed concordance with the field measurements. The investigation emphasized the important role that PSI technique can play in planning and risk assessment in this mining area. Monitoring of this type of deformation by PSI can usefully complement other commonly used field geotechnical measurements due to the synoptic SAR coverage over a dense grid, providing ground deformation data independently of field access and with

Analysis of Dual- and Full-Circular Polarimetric SAR Modes for Rice Phenology Monitoring: An Experimental Investigation through Ground-Based Measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuta Izumi

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Circularly polarized synthetic aperture radar (CP-SAR is known to be insensitive to polarization mismatch losses caused by the Faraday rotation effect and antenna misalignment. Additionally, the dual-circular polarimetric (DCP mode has proven to have more polarimetric information than that of the corresponding mode of linear polarization, i.e., the dual-linear polarimetric (DLP mode. Owing to these benefits, this paper investigates the feasibility of CP-SAR for rice monitoring. A ground-based CP-radar system was exploited, and C-band anechoic chamber data of a self-cultivated Japanese rice paddy were acquired from germination to ripening stages. Temporal variations of polarimetric observables derived from full-circular polarimetric (FCP and DCP as well as synthetically generated DLP data are analyzed and assessed with regard to their effectiveness in phenology retrieval. Among different observations, the H / α ¯ plane and triangle plots obtained by three scattering components (surface, double-bounce, and volume scattering for both the FCP and DCP modes are confirmed to have reasonable capability in discriminating the relevant intervals of rice growth.

A NEW SAR CLASSIFICATION SCHEME FOR SEDIMENTS ON INTERTIDAL FLATS BASED ON MULTI-FREQUENCY POLARIMETRIC SAR IMAGERY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Wang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available We present a new classification scheme for muddy and sandy sediments on exposed intertidal flats, which is based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR data, and use ALOS-2 (L-band, Radarsat-2 (C-band and TerraSAR-X (X-band fully polarimetric SAR imagery to demonstrate its effectiveness. Four test sites on the German North Sea coast were chosen, which represent typical surface compositions of different sediments, vegetation, and habitats, and of which a large amount of SAR is used for our analyses. Both Freeman-Durden and Cloude-Pottier polarimetric decomposition are utilized, and an additional descriptor called Double-Bounce Eigenvalue Relative Difference (DERD is introduced into the feature sets instead of the original polarimetric intensity channels. The classification is conducted following Random Forest theory, and the results are verified using ground truth data from field campaigns and an existing classification based on optical imagery. In addition, the use of Kennaugh elements for classification purposes is demonstrated using both fully and dual-polarization multi-frequency and multi-temporal SAR data. Our results show that the proposed classification scheme can be applied for the discrimination of muddy and sandy sediments using L-, C-, and X-band SAR images, while SAR imagery acquired at short wavelengths (C- and X-band can also be used to detect more detailed features such as bivalve beds on intertidal flats.

The SARS-unique domain (SUD of SARS coronavirus contains two macrodomains that bind G-quadruplexes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinzhi Tan

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS in 2003, the three-dimensional structures of several of the replicase/transcriptase components of SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV, the non-structural proteins (Nsps, have been determined. However, within the large Nsp3 (1922 amino-acid residues, the structure and function of the so-called SARS-unique domain (SUD have remained elusive. SUD occurs only in SARS-CoV and the highly related viruses found in certain bats, but is absent from all other coronaviruses. Therefore, it has been speculated that it may be involved in the extreme pathogenicity of SARS-CoV, compared to other coronaviruses, most of which cause only mild infections in humans. In order to help elucidate the function of the SUD, we have determined crystal structures of fragment 389-652 ("SUD(core" of Nsp3, which comprises 264 of the 338 residues of the domain. Both the monoclinic and triclinic crystal forms (2.2 and 2.8 A resolution, respectively revealed that SUD(core forms a homodimer. Each monomer consists of two subdomains, SUD-N and SUD-M, with a macrodomain fold similar to the SARS-CoV X-domain. However, in contrast to the latter, SUD fails to bind ADP-ribose, as determined by zone-interference gel electrophoresis. Instead, the entire SUD(core as well as its individual subdomains interact with oligonucleotides known to form G-quadruplexes. This includes oligodeoxy- as well as oligoribonucleotides. Mutations of selected lysine residues on the surface of the SUD-N subdomain lead to reduction of G-quadruplex binding, whereas mutations in the SUD-M subdomain abolish it. As there is no evidence for Nsp3 entering the nucleus of the host cell, the SARS-CoV genomic RNA or host-cell mRNA containing long G-stretches may be targets of SUD. The SARS-CoV genome is devoid of G-stretches longer than 5-6 nucleotides, but more extended G-stretches are found in the 3'-nontranslated regions of mRNAs coding for certain host-cell proteins

SAR Image Classification Based on Its Texture Features

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LI Pingxiang; FANG Shenghui

2003-01-01

SAR images not only have the characteristics of all-ay, all-eather, but also provide object information which is different from visible and infrared sensors. However, SAR images have some faults, such as more speckles and fewer bands. The authors conducted the experiments of texture statistics analysis on SAR image features in order to improve the accuracy of SAR image interpretation.It is found that the texture analysis is an effective method for improving the accuracy of the SAR image interpretation.

A Novel 3D Imaging Method for Airborne Downward-Looking Sparse Array SAR Based on Special Squint Model

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Xiaozhen Ren

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Three-dimensional (3D imaging technology based on antenna array is one of the most important 3D synthetic aperture radar (SAR high resolution imaging modes. In this paper, a novel 3D imaging method is proposed for airborne down-looking sparse array SAR based on the imaging geometry and the characteristic of echo signal. The key point of the proposed algorithm is the introduction of a special squint model in cross track processing to obtain accurate focusing. In this special squint model, point targets with different cross track positions have different squint angles at the same range resolution cell, which is different from the conventional squint SAR. However, after theory analysis and formulation deduction, the imaging procedure can be processed with the uniform reference function, and the phase compensation factors and algorithm realization procedure are demonstrated in detail. As the method requires only Fourier transform and multiplications and thus avoids interpolations, it is computationally efficient. Simulations with point scatterers are used to validate the method.

The Ecosystems SAR (EcoSAR) an Airborne P-band Polarimetric InSAR for the Measurement of Vegetation Structure, Biomass and Permafrost

Science.gov (United States)

Rincon, Rafael F.; Fatoyinbo, Temilola; Ranson, K. Jon; Osmanoglu, Batuhan; Sun, Guoqing; Deshpande, Manohar D.; Perrine, Martin L.; Du Toit, Cornelis F.; Bonds, Quenton; Beck, Jaclyn;

Dual-Polarized L-Band SAR Imagery for Temporal Monitoring of Marine Oil Slick Concentration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sébastien Angelliaume

2018-06-01

Full Text Available SAR sensors are usually used in the offshore domain to detect marine oil slicks which allows the authorities to guide cleanup operations or prosecute polluters. As radar imagery can be used any time of day or year and in almost any weather conditions, the use and programming of such remote sensing data is usually favored over optical imagery. Nevertheless, images collected in the optical domain provide access to key information not accessible today by SAR instruments, such as the thickness or the amount of pollutant. To address this knowledge gap, a methodology based on the joint use of a scattering model (U-WCA and remote sensing data collected by a low frequency (e.g., L-band imaging radar over controlled release of mineral oil spill is reported in this paper. The proposed method allows estimation of the concentration of pollutant within an oil-in-water mixture as well as the temporal variation of this quantity due to weathering processes.

Accurate Analysis of Target Characteristic in Bistatic SAR Images: A Dihedral Corner Reflectors Case.

Science.gov (United States)

Ao, Dongyang; Li, Yuanhao; Hu, Cheng; Tian, Weiming

2017-12-22

The dihedral corner reflectors are the basic geometric structure of many targets and are the main contributions of radar cross section (RCS) in the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. In stealth technologies, the elaborate design of the dihedral corners with different opening angles is a useful approach to reduce the high RCS generated by multiple reflections. As bistatic synthetic aperture sensors have flexible geometric configurations and are sensitive to the dihedral corners with different opening angles, they specially fit for the stealth target detections. In this paper, the scattering characteristic of dihedral corner reflectors is accurately analyzed in bistatic synthetic aperture images. The variation of RCS with the changing opening angle is formulated and the method to design a proper bistatic radar for maximizing the detection capability is provided. Both the results of the theoretical analysis and the experiments show the bistatic SAR could detect the dihedral corners, under a certain bistatic angle which is related to the geometry of target structures.

Accurate Analysis of Target Characteristic in Bistatic SAR Images: A Dihedral Corner Reflectors Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dongyang Ao

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The dihedral corner reflectors are the basic geometric structure of many targets and are the main contributions of radar cross section (RCS in the synthetic aperture radar (SAR images. In stealth technologies, the elaborate design of the dihedral corners with different opening angles is a useful approach to reduce the high RCS generated by multiple reflections. As bistatic synthetic aperture sensors have flexible geometric configurations and are sensitive to the dihedral corners with different opening angles, they specially fit for the stealth target detections. In this paper, the scattering characteristic of dihedral corner reflectors is accurately analyzed in bistatic synthetic aperture images. The variation of RCS with the changing opening angle is formulated and the method to design a proper bistatic radar for maximizing the detection capability is provided. Both the results of the theoretical analysis and the experiments show the bistatic SAR could detect the dihedral corners, under a certain bistatic angle which is related to the geometry of target structures.

Accurate Analysis of Target Characteristic in Bistatic SAR Images: A Dihedral Corner Reflectors Case

Science.gov (United States)

Ao, Dongyang; Hu, Cheng; Tian, Weiming

2017-01-01

The dihedral corner reflectors are the basic geometric structure of many targets and are the main contributions of radar cross section (RCS) in the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. In stealth technologies, the elaborate design of the dihedral corners with different opening angles is a useful approach to reduce the high RCS generated by multiple reflections. As bistatic synthetic aperture sensors have flexible geometric configurations and are sensitive to the dihedral corners with different opening angles, they specially fit for the stealth target detections. In this paper, the scattering characteristic of dihedral corner reflectors is accurately analyzed in bistatic synthetic aperture images. The variation of RCS with the changing opening angle is formulated and the method to design a proper bistatic radar for maximizing the detection capability is provided. Both the results of the theoretical analysis and the experiments show the bistatic SAR could detect the dihedral corners, under a certain bistatic angle which is related to the geometry of target structures. PMID:29271917

FlexSAR, a high quality, flexible, cost effective, prototype SAR system

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Mark; Knight, Chad; Haslem, Brent

2016-05-01

The FlexSAR radar system was designed to be a high quality, low-cost, flexible research prototype instrument. Radar researchers and practitioners often desire the ability to prototype new or advanced configurations, yet the ability to enhance or upgrade existing radar systems can be cost prohibitive. FlexSAR answers the need for a flexible radar system that can be extended easily, with minimal cost and time expenditures. The design approach focuses on reducing the resources required for developing and validating new advanced radar modalities. Such an approach fosters innovation and provides risk reduction since actual radar data can be collected in the appropriate mode, processed, and analyzed early in the development process. This allows for an accurate, detailed understanding of the corresponding trade space. This paper is a follow-on to last years paper and discusses the advancements that have been made to the FlexSAR system. The overall system architecture is discussed and presented along with several examples illustrating the system utility.

Convolutional Neural Networks for SAR Image Segmentation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malmgren-Hansen, David; Nobel-Jørgensen, Morten

2015-01-01

Segmentation of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images has several uses, but it is a difficult task due to a number of properties related to SAR images. In this article we show how Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) can easily be trained for SAR image segmentation with good results. Besides...

PHARUS : PHased ARray Universal SAR

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Paquay, M.H.A.; Vermeulen, B.C.B.; Koomen, P.J.; Hoogeboom, P.; Snoeij, P.; Pouwels, H.

1996-01-01

In the Netherlands, a polarimetric C-band aircraft SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) has been developed. The project is called PHARUS, an acronm for PHased ARray Universal SAR. This instrument serves remote sensing applications. The antenna system contains 48 active modules (expandable to 96). A module

Tracking lava flow emplacement on the east rift zone of Kilauea, Hawai’i with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) coherence

Science.gov (United States)

Dietterich, Hannah R.; Poland, Michael P.; Schmidt, David; Cashman, Katharine V.; Sherrod, David R.; Espinosa, Arkin Tapia

2012-01-01

Lava flow mapping is both an essential component of volcano monitoring and a valuable tool for investigating lava flow behavior. Although maps are traditionally created through field surveys, remote sensing allows an extraordinary view of active lava flows while avoiding the difficulties of mapping on location. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, in particular, can detect changes in a flow field by comparing two images collected at different times with SAR coherence. New lava flows radically alter the scattering properties of the surface, making the radar signal decorrelated in SAR coherence images. We describe a new technique, SAR Coherence Mapping (SCM), to map lava flows automatically from coherence images independent of look angle or satellite path. We use this approach to map lava flow emplacement during the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Kupaianaha eruption at Kīlauea, Hawai‘i. The resulting flow maps correspond well with field mapping and better resolve the internal structure of surface flows, as well as the locations of active flow paths. However, the SCM technique is only moderately successful at mapping flows that enter vegetation, which is also often decorrelated between successive SAR images. Along with measurements of planform morphology, we are able to show that the length of time a flow stays decorrelated after initial emplacement is linearly related to the flow thickness. Finally, we use interferograms obtained after flow surfaces become correlated to show that persistent decorrelation is caused by post-emplacement flow subsidence.

SARS-related Perceptions in Hong Kong

OpenAIRE

Lau, Joseph T.F.; Yang, Xilin; Pang, Ellie; Tsui, H.Y.; Wong, Eric; Wing, Yun Kwok

2005-01-01

To understand different aspects of community responses related to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), 2 population-based, random telephone surveys were conducted in June 2003 and January 2004 in Hong Kong. More than 70% of respondents would avoid visiting hospitals or mainland China to avoid contracting SARS. Most respondents believed that SARS could be transmitted through droplets, fomites, sewage, and animals. More than 90% believed that public health measures were efficacious means o...

Genome organization of the SARS-CoV

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Jing; Hu, Jianfei; Wang, Jing

2003-01-01

Annotation of the genome sequence of the SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus) is indispensable to understand its evolution and pathogenesis. We have performed a full annotation of the SARS-CoV genome sequences by using annotation programs publicly available or devel......Annotation of the genome sequence of the SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus) is indispensable to understand its evolution and pathogenesis. We have performed a full annotation of the SARS-CoV genome sequences by using annotation programs publicly available...

How infectious is SARS virus

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. How infectious is SARS virus. Influenza: 1 patient infects ten people. SARS: 1 patient infects 2-4 people. Incubation period 10 days. Are there `silent´ cases ? Is quarantine enough ? How will it behave if and when it returns ?

Imaging in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antonio, G.E.; Wong, K.T.; Chu, W.C.W.; Hui, D.S.C.; Cheng, F.W.T.; Yuen, E.H.Y.; Chung, S.S.C.; Fok, T.F.; Sung, J.J.Y.; Ahuja, A.T.

2003-01-01

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a highly infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus, and has become pandemic within a short period of time. Imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis, management and follow-up of patients with SARS. The current status of imaging in SARS is presented in this review

PRF Ambiguity Detrmination for Radarsat ScanSAR System

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Michael Y.

1998-01-01

PRF ambiguity is a potential problem for a spaceborne SAR operated at high frequencies. For a strip mode SAR, there were several approaches to solve this problem. This paper, however, addresses PRF ambiguity determination algorithms suitable for a burst mode SAR system such as the Radarsat ScanSAR. The candidate algorithms include the wavelength diversity algorithm, range look cross correlation algorithm, and multi-PRF algorithm.

Satellite on-board real-time SAR processor prototype

Science.gov (United States)

Bergeron, Alain; Doucet, Michel; Harnisch, Bernd; Suess, Martin; Marchese, Linda; Bourqui, Pascal; Desnoyers, Nicholas; Legros, Mathieu; Guillot, Ludovic; Mercier, Luc; Châteauneuf, François

2017-11-01

A Compact Real-Time Optronic SAR Processor has been successfully developed and tested up to a Technology Readiness Level of 4 (TRL4), the breadboard validation in a laboratory environment. SAR, or Synthetic Aperture Radar, is an active system allowing day and night imaging independent of the cloud coverage of the planet. The SAR raw data is a set of complex data for range and azimuth, which cannot be compressed. Specifically, for planetary missions and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems with limited communication data rates this is a clear disadvantage. SAR images are typically processed electronically applying dedicated Fourier transformations. This, however, can also be performed optically in real-time. Originally the first SAR images were optically processed. The optical Fourier processor architecture provides inherent parallel computing capabilities allowing real-time SAR data processing and thus the ability for compression and strongly reduced communication bandwidth requirements for the satellite. SAR signal return data are in general complex data. Both amplitude and phase must be combined optically in the SAR processor for each range and azimuth pixel. Amplitude and phase are generated by dedicated spatial light modulators and superimposed by an optical relay set-up. The spatial light modulators display the full complex raw data information over a two-dimensional format, one for the azimuth and one for the range. Since the entire signal history is displayed at once, the processor operates in parallel yielding real-time performances, i.e. without resulting bottleneck. Processing of both azimuth and range information is performed in a single pass. This paper focuses on the onboard capabilities of the compact optical SAR processor prototype that allows in-orbit processing of SAR images. Examples of processed ENVISAT ASAR images are presented. Various SAR processor parameters such as processing capabilities, image quality (point target analysis), weight and

Clues on active differential uplift across the Giudicarie belt (Central-Eastern Alps, Italy) by means of PSInSAR data

Science.gov (United States)

Massironi, Matteo; Zampieri, Dario; Schiavo, Alessio; Bianchi, Marco; Franceschini, Andrea

2010-05-01

The Permanent Scatterers Synthetic Aperture Radar INterferometry (PSInSAR) methodology provides high resolution assessment of surface deformations (precision ranging from 0.8 to 0.1 mm/year) over long periods of observation. Hence, it is particularly suitable to analyze surface motion over wide regions associated to a weak tectonic activity. For this reason we have adopted the PSInSAR technique to study regional movement across the Giudicarie belt, a NNE-trending trust belt oblique to the Southern Alpine chain and presently characterized by a low to moderate seismicity. Over 11,000 PS velocities along the satellite Line Of Sight (LOS) were calculated using images acquired in descending orbit during the 1992-1996 time span. The PSInSAR data show a differential uplift of around 1.4-1.7 mm/year across the most external WNW-dipping thrusts of the Giudicarie belt (Mt. Baldo, Mt. Stivo and Mt. Grattacul thrusts alignment). This corresponds to a horizontal contraction across the external part of the Giudicarie belt of about 1.3-1.5 mm/year.

Application of InSAR to detection of localized subsidence and its effects on flood protection infrastructure in the New Orleans area

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Cathleen; Blom, Ronald; Latini, Daniele

2014-05-01

acquisition, a dramatic increase of persistent scatter density in urban areas, and improved measurement of very small displacements (Crosetto et al., 2010). We compare the L-band UAVSAR results with permanent scatterer (PS-InSAR) and Short Baseline Subsets (SBAS) interferometric analyses of a stack composed by 28 TerraSAR X-band images acquired over the same period, to determine the influence of different radar frequencies and analyses techniques. Our applications goal is to demonstrate a technique to inform targeted ground surveys, identify areas of persistent subsidence, and improve overall monitoring and planning in flood risk areas. Dokka, 2011, The role of deep processes in late 20th century subsidence of New Orleans and coastal areas of southern Louisiana and Mississippi: J. Geophys. Res., 116, B06403, doi:10.1029/2010JB008008. Jones, C. E., G. Bawden, S. Deverel, J. Dudas, S. Hensley, Study of movement and seepage along levees using DINSAR and the airborne UAVSAR instrument, Proc. SPIE 8536, SAR Image Analysis, Modeling, and Techniques XII, 85360E (November 21, 2012); doi:10.1117/12.976885. Crosetto, M., Monserrat, O., Iglesias, R., & Crippa, B. (2010). Persistent Scatterer Interferometry: Potential, limits and initial C-and X-band comparison. Photogrammetric engineering and remote sensing, 76(9), 1061-1069. Acknowledgments: This research was carried out in part at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Regional and local land subsidence at the Venice coastland by TerraSAR-X PSI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Tosi

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Land subsidence occurred at the Venice coastland over the 2008–2011 period has been investigated by Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI using a stack of 90 TerraSAR-X stripmap images with a 3 m resolution and a 11-day revisiting time. The regular X-band SAR acquisitions over more than three years coupled with the very-high image resolution has significantly improved the monitoring of ground displacements at regional and local scales, e.g., the entire lagoon, especially the historical palaces, the MoSE large structures under construction at the lagoon inlets to disconnect the lagoon from the Adriatic Sea during high tides, and single small structures scattered within the lagoon environments. Our results show that subsidence is characterized by a certain variability at the regional scale with superimposed important local displacements. The movements range from a gentle uplift to subsidence rates of up to 35 mm yr−1. For instance, settlements of 30–35 mm yr−1 have been detected at the three lagoon inlets in correspondence of the MoSE works, and local sinking bowls up to 10 mm yr−1 connected with the construction of new large buildings or restoration works have been measured in the Venice and Chioggia historical centers. Focusing on the city of Venice, the mean subsidence of 1.1 ± 1.0 mm yr−1 confirms the general stability of the historical center.

Evaluation of RISAT-1 SAR data for tropical forestry applications

Science.gov (United States)

Padalia, Hitendra; Yadav, Sadhana

2017-01-01

India launched C band (5.35 GHz) RISAT-1 (Radar Imaging Satellite-1) on 26th April, 2012, equipped with the capability to image the Earth at multiple-resolutions and -polarizations. In this study the potential of Fine Resolution Strip (FRS) modes of RISAT-1 was evaluated for characterization and classification forests and estimation of biomass of early growth stages. The study was carried out at the two sites located in the foothills of western Himalaya, India. The pre-processing and classification of FRS-1 SAR data was performed using PolSAR Pro ver. 5.0 software. The scattering mechanisms derived from m-chi decomposition of FRS-1 RH/RV data were found physically meaningful for the characterization of various surface features types. The forest and land use type classification of the study area was developed applying Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm on FRS-1 derived appropriate polarimetric features. The biomass of early growth stages of Eucalyptus (up to 60 ton/ha) was estimated developing a multi-linear regression model using C band σ0 HV and σ0 HH backscatter information. The study outcomes has promise for wider application of RISAT-1 data for forest cover monitoring, especially for the tropical regions.

Molecular mechanisms of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zabel Peter

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS is a new infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus that leads to deleterious pulmonary pathological features. Due to its high morbidity and mortality and widespread occurrence, SARS has evolved as an important respiratory disease which may be encountered everywhere in the world. The virus was identified as the causative agent of SARS due to the efforts of a WHO-led laboratory network. The potential mutability of the SARS-CoV genome may lead to new SARS outbreaks and several regions of the viral genomes open reading frames have been identified which may contribute to the severe virulence of the virus. With regard to the pathogenesis of SARS, several mechanisms involving both direct effects on target cells and indirect effects via the immune system may exist. Vaccination would offer the most attractive approach to prevent new epidemics of SARS, but the development of vaccines is difficult due to missing data on the role of immune system-virus interactions and the potential mutability of the virus. Even in a situation of no new infections, SARS remains a major health hazard, as new epidemics may arise. Therefore, further experimental and clinical research is required to control the disease.

Unsupervised SBAS-DInSAR Processing of Space-borne SAR data for Earth Surface Displacement Time Series Generation

Science.gov (United States)

Casu, F.; de Luca, C.; Lanari, R.; Manunta, M.; Zinno, I.

2016-12-01

During the last 25 years, the Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) has played an important role for understanding the Earth's surface deformation and its dynamics. In particular, the large collections of SAR data acquired by a number of space-borne missions (ERS, ENVISAT, ALOS, RADARSAT, TerraSAR-X, COSMO-SkyMed) have pushed toward the development of advanced DInSAR techniques for monitoring the temporal evolution of the ground displacements with an high spatial density. Moreover, the advent of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 (S1) constellation is providing a further increase in the SAR data flow available to the Earth science community, due to its characteristics of global coverage strategy and free and open access data policy. Therefore, managing and storing such a huge amount of data, processing it in an effcient way and maximizing the available archives exploitation are becoming high priority issues. In this work we present some recent advances in the DInSAR field for dealing with the effective exploitation of the present and future SAR data archives. In particular, an efficient parallel SBAS implementation (namely P-SBAS) that takes benefit from high performance computing is proposed. Then, the P-SBAS migration to the emerging Cloud Computing paradigm is shown, together with extensive tests carried out in the Amazon's Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2) infrastructure. Finally, the integration of the P-SBAS processing chain within the ESA Geohazards Exploitation Platform (GEP), for setting up operational on-demand and systematic web tools, open to every user, aimed at automatically processing stacks of SAR data for the generation of SBAS displacement time series, is also illustrated. A number of experimental results obtained by using the ERS, ENVISAT and S1 data in areas characterized by volcanic, seismic and anthropogenic phenomena will be shown. This work is partially supported by: the DPC-CNR agreement, the EPOS-IP project and the ESA GEP project.

Dynamic changes of serum SARS-Coronavirus IgG, pulmonary function and radiography in patients recovering from SARS after hospital discharge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Liangan

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objective The intent of this study was to examine the recovery of individuals who had been hospitalized for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS in the year following their discharge from the hospital. Parameters studied included serum levels of SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV IgG antibody, tests of lung function, and imaging data to evaluate changes in lung fibrosis. In addition, we explored the incidence of femoral head necrosis in some of the individuals recovering from SARS. Methods The subjects of this study were 383 clinically diagnosed SARS patients in Beijing, China. They were tested regularly for serum levels of SARS-CoV IgG antibody and lung function and were given chest X-rays and/or high resolution computerized tomography (HRCT examinations at the Chinese PLA General Hospital during the 12 months that followed their release from the hospital. Those individuals who were found to have lung diffusion abnormities (transfer coefficient for carbon monoxide [DLCO] Findings Of all the subjects, 81.2% (311 of 383 patients tested positive for serum SARS-CoV IgG. Of those testing positive, 27.3% (85 of 311 patients were suffering from lung diffusion abnormities (DLCO Interpretation The lack of sero-positive SARS-CoV in some individuals suggests that there may have been some misdiagnosed cases among the subjects included in this study. Of those testing positive, the serum levels of SARS-CoV IgG antibody decreased significantly during the 12 months after hospital discharge. Additionally, we found that the individuals who had lung fibrosis showed some spontaneous recovery. Finally, some of the subjects developed femoral head necrosis.

Nano(Q)SAR: Challenges, pitfalls and perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Tantra, Ratna; Oksel, Ceyda; Puzyn, Tomasz; Wang, Jian; Robinson, Kenneth N; Wang, Xue Z; Ma, Cai Y; Wilkins, Terry

2015-01-01

Regulation for nanomaterials is urgently needed, and the drive to adopt an intelligent testing strategy is evident. Such a strategy will not only provide economic benefits but will also reduce moral and ethical concerns arising from animal testing. For regulatory purposes, such an approach is promoted by REACH, particularly the use of quantitative structure-activity relationships [(Q)SAR] as a tool for the categorisation of compounds according to their physicochemical and toxicological properties. In addition to compounds, (Q)SAR has also been applied to nanomaterials in the form of nano(Q)SAR. Although (Q)SAR in chemicals is well established, nano(Q)SAR is still in early stages of development and its successful uptake is far from reality. This article aims to identify some of the pitfalls and challenges associated with nano-(Q)SARs in relation to the categorisation of nanomaterials. Our findings show clear gaps in the research framework that must be addressed if we are to have reliable predictions from such models. Three major barriers were identified: the need to improve quality of experimental data in which the models are developed from, the need to have practical guidelines for the development of the nano(Q)SAR models and the need to standardise and harmonise activities for the purpose of regulation. Of these three, the first, i.e. the need to improve data quality requires immediate attention, as it underpins activities associated with the latter two. It should be noted that the usefulness of data in the context of nano-(Q)SAR modelling is not only about the quantity of data but also about the quality, consistency and accessibility of those data.

Playback system designed for X-Band SAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuquan, Liu; Changyong, Dou

2014-01-01

SAR(Synthetic Aperture Radar) has extensive application because it is daylight and weather independent. In particular, X-Band SAR strip map, designed by Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, provides high ground resolution images, at the same time it has a large spatial coverage and a short acquisition time, so it is promising in multi-applications. When sudden disaster comes, the emergency situation acquires radar signal data and image as soon as possible, in order to take action to reduce loss and save lives in the first time. This paper summarizes a type of X-Band SAR playback processing system designed for disaster response and scientific needs. It describes SAR data workflow includes the payload data transmission and reception process. Playback processing system completes signal analysis on the original data, providing SAR level 0 products and quick image. Gigabit network promises radar signal transmission efficiency from recorder to calculation unit. Multi-thread parallel computing and ping pong operation can ensure computation speed. Through gigabit network, multi-thread parallel computing and ping pong operation, high speed data transmission and processing meet the SAR radar data playback real time requirement

Playback system designed for X-Band SAR

Science.gov (United States)

Yuquan, Liu; Changyong, Dou

2014-03-01

SAR(Synthetic Aperture Radar) has extensive application because it is daylight and weather independent. In particular, X-Band SAR strip map, designed by Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, provides high ground resolution images, at the same time it has a large spatial coverage and a short acquisition time, so it is promising in multi-applications. When sudden disaster comes, the emergency situation acquires radar signal data and image as soon as possible, in order to take action to reduce loss and save lives in the first time. This paper summarizes a type of X-Band SAR playback processing system designed for disaster response and scientific needs. It describes SAR data workflow includes the payload data transmission and reception process. Playback processing system completes signal analysis on the original data, providing SAR level 0 products and quick image. Gigabit network promises radar signal transmission efficiency from recorder to calculation unit. Multi-thread parallel computing and ping pong operation can ensure computation speed. Through gigabit network, multi-thread parallel computing and ping pong operation, high speed data transmission and processing meet the SAR radar data playback real time requirement.

Elevation Extraction and Deformation Monitoring by Multitemporal InSAR of Lupu Bridge in Shanghai

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingwen Zhao

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Monitoring, assessing, and understanding the structural health of large infrastructures, such as buildings, bridges, dams, tunnels, and highways, is important for urban development and management, as the gradual deterioration of such structures may result in catastrophic structural failure leading to high personal and economic losses. With a higher spatial resolution and a shorter revisit period, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR plays an increasing role in the deformation monitoring and height extraction of structures. As a focal point of the InSAR data processing chain, phase unwrapping has a direct impact on the accuracy of the results. In complex urban areas, large elevation differences between the top and bottom parts of a large structure combined with a long interferometric baseline can result in a serious phase-wrapping problem. Here, with no accurate digital surface model (DSM available, we handle the large phase gradients of arcs in multitemporal InSAR processing using a long–short baseline iteration method. Specifically, groups of interferometric pairs with short baselines are processed to obtain the rough initial elevation estimations of the persistent scatterers (PSs. The baseline threshold is then loosened in subsequent iterations to improve the accuracy of the elevation estimates step by step. The LLL lattice reduction algorithm (by Lenstra, Lenstra, and Lovász is applied in the InSAR phase unwrapping process to rapidly reduce the search radius, compress the search space, and improve the success rate in resolving the phase ambiguities. Once the elevations of the selected PSs are determined, they are used in the following two-dimensional phase regression involving both elevations and deformations. A case study of Lupu Bridge in Shanghai is carried out for the algorithm’s verification. The estimated PS elevations agree well (within 1 m with the official Lupu Bridge model data, while the PS deformation time series

Observation of Drifting Icebergs and Sea Ice from Space by TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X

Science.gov (United States)

Won, Joong-Sun

2017-04-01

Detection and monitoring drifting icebergs and sea ice is of interest across wide range of Arctic and Antarctic coastal studies such as security of navigation, climatic impact, geological impact, etc. It is not easy to discriminate drifting ices from stationary ones, and to measure their drifting speeds. There is a potential to use space-borne SAR for this purpose, but it is difficult to precisely measure because the drift velocity is usually very slow. In this study, we investigate two approaches for discriminating drifting ices on the sea from surrounding static ones and for measuring their range velocity. The first method is to utilize the quad-pol TerraSAR-X which adopts dual receive antenna (DRA), and the second one is to examine the potential use of TanDEM-X bistatic along-track interferometry (ATI). To utilize DRA mode quad-pol SAR as ATI, it is necessary to remove the phase difference of scattering centers between transmitted H- and V-pol signals. By assume that the individual scattering center of returned signal does not change for a few inter-pulse periods, it is possible to measure the Doppler frequency induced by motion through measuring slow-time (or azimuth time) Doppler phase derivative of co-pol or cross-pol pairs. Results applied to TerraSAR-X quad-pol data over the Cape Columbia in the Arctic Ocean are to be presented and discussed. It was successful to detect and measure drift sea ice that was flowing away from the antenna with a velocity of about 0.37 m/s (or 1.4 km/h) to 0.67 m/s (or 2.4 km/h) while neighboring ones were static. A more sophisticated approach would be a bistatic ATI which exploits a long along-track baseline for observation of slowly moving ground objects. TanDEM-X bistatic ATI pairs are examined, which were acquired at an Antarctic coast. The ATI interferograms show an innovative capability of TanDEM-X/TerraSAR-X constellation. An along-track baseline of a few hundred meters is superior to a few meter baseline of DRA mode ATI

Large-Area Landslides Monitoring Using Advanced Multi-Temporal InSAR Technique over the Giant Panda Habitat, Sichuan, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Panpan Tang

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The region near Dujiangyan City and Wenchuan County, Sichuan China, including significant giant panda habitats, was severely impacted by the Wenchuan earthquake. Large-area landslides occurred and seriously threatened the lives of people and giant pandas. In this paper, we report the development of an enhanced multi-temporal interferometric synthetic aperture radar (MTInSAR methodology to monitor potential post-seismic landslides by analyzing coherent scatterers (CS and distributed scatterers (DS points extracted from multi-temporal l-band ALOS/PALSAR data in an integrated manner. Through the integration of phase optimization and mitigation of the orbit and topography-related phase errors, surface deformations in the study area were derived: the rates in the line of sight (LOS direction ranged from −7 to 1.5 cm/a. Dozens of potential landslides, distributed mainly along the Minjiang River, Longmenshan Fault, and in other the high-altitude areas were detected. These findings matched the distribution of previous landslides. InSAR-derived results demonstrated that some previous landslides were still active; many unstable slopes have developed, and there are significant probabilities of future massive failures. The impact of landslides on the giant panda habitat, however ranged from low to moderate, would continue to be a concern for conservationists for some time in the future.

Pi-SAR-L2 Observation of the Landslide Caused by Typhoon Wipha on Izu Oshima Island

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manabu Watanabe

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Pi-SAR-L2 full polarimetic data observed in four different observational directions over a landslide area on Izu Oshima Island, induced by Typhoon Wipha on 16 October 2013, were analyzed to clarify the most appropriate L-band full polarimetric parameters and observational direction to detect a landslide area. Japanese airborne Pi-SAR-L2 and PiSAR-L data were used in this analysis. Several L-band full polarimetric parameters, including backscattering coefficient (σ°, coherence between two polarimetric states, four-component decomposition parameters (double-bounce/volume/surface/helix scattering, and eigenvalue decomposition parameters (entropy/α/anisotropy, were calculated to determine the most appropriate parameters for detecting landslide areas. The change in land cover from forest before the disaster to bare soil after the disaster was detected well by α, and coherence between HH and VV. Observational data from the bottom to the top of the landslide detected the landslide well, whereas observations from the opposite sides were not as useful, indicating that a smaller local incident angle is better to distinguish landslide and forested areas. Soil from the landslide intruded into the urban areas; however, none of the full polarimetric parameters showed any significant differences between the landslide-affected urban areas after the disaster and unaffected areas before the disaster.

Wave directional spectrum from SAR imagery

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Fernandes, A.A.; Sarma, Y.V.B.; Menon, H.B.; Vethamony, P.

< 2m and the zero-crossing period during the satellite overpass is small (< 6s, �O�O < 60m). We therefore utilized the visit of one of the authors (Sarma) to the Southampton Oceanographic Centre, U.K., to procure two ERS-1 digital image mode SAR...-dimensional FFT as well as a computer program for downloading SAR data from CCT. Finally we owe a debt of gratitude to J C da Silva, Southampton Oceanographic Centre, U K for sharing some of his SAR data with us. References Allan T. D. (Ed) (1983...

Wave directional spectrum from SAR imagery

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Fernandes, A.A.; Sarma, Y.V.B.; Menon, H.B.; Vethamony, P.

Gaussian smoothed SAR image spectra have been evaluated from 512 x 512 pixel subscenes of image mode ERS-1 SAR scenes off Goa, Visakhapatnam, Paradeep and Portugal. The two recently acquired scenes off Portugal showed the signature of swell...

Radiative MRI Coil Design Using Parasitic Scatterers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sanchez-Heredia, Juan D.; Avendal, Johan; Bibic, Adnan

2018-01-01

allows for antenna design techniques to be adapted to RF coil designs. This study proposes the use of parasitic scatterers to improve the performance of an existing 7T MRI coil called the single-sided adapted dipole (SSAD) antenna. The results reveal that scatterers arranged in a Yagi fashion can......Conventionally, radiofrequency (RF) coils used for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are electrically small and designed for nearfield operation. Therefore, existing antenna design techniques are mostly irrelevant for RF coils. However, the use of higher frequencies in ultrahigh field (UHF) MRI...... be applied to reduce local specific absorption rate (SAR) maxima of a reference SSAD by 40% with only a 6% decrease in the propagated B1 + field at the tissue depth of 15 cm. The higher directivity of the proposed design also decreasing the coupling with additional elements, making this antenna...

Image based SAR product simulation for analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Domik, G.; Leberl, F.

1987-01-01

SAR product simulation serves to predict SAR image gray values for various flight paths. Input typically consists of a digital elevation model and backscatter curves. A new method is described of product simulation that employs also a real SAR input image for image simulation. This can be denoted as 'image-based simulation'. Different methods to perform this SAR prediction are presented and advantages and disadvantages discussed. Ascending and descending orbit images from NASA's SIR-B experiment were used for verification of the concept: input images from ascending orbits were converted into images from a descending orbit; the results are compared to the available real imagery to verify that the prediction technique produces meaningful image data.

Reverse genetics of SARS-related coronavirus using vaccinia virus-based recombination.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sjoerd H E van den Worm

Full Text Available Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS is a zoonotic disease caused by SARS-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV that emerged in 2002 to become a global health concern. Although the original outbreak was controlled by classical public health measures, there is a real risk that another SARS-CoV could re-emerge from its natural reservoir, either in its original form or as a more virulent or pathogenic strain; in which case, the virus would be difficult to control in the absence of any effective antiviral drugs or vaccines. Using the well-studied SARS-CoV isolate HKU-39849, we developed a vaccinia virus-based SARS-CoV reverse genetic system that is both robust and biosafe. The SARS-CoV genome was cloned in separate vaccinia virus vectors, (vSARS-CoV-5prime and vSARS-CoV-3prime as two cDNAs that were subsequently ligated to create a genome-length SARS-CoV cDNA template for in vitro transcription of SARS-CoV infectious RNA transcripts. Transfection of the RNA transcripts into permissive cells led to the recovery of infectious virus (recSARS-CoV. Characterization of the plaques produced by recSARS-CoV showed that they were similar in size to the parental SARS-CoV isolate HKU-39849 but smaller than the SARS-CoV isolate Frankfurt-1. Comparative analysis of replication kinetics showed that the kinetics of recSARS-CoV replication are similar to those of SARS-CoV Frankfurt-1, although the titers of virus released into the culture supernatant are approximately 10-fold less. The reverse genetic system was finally used to generate a recSARS-CoV reporter virus expressing Renilla luciferase in order to facilitate the analysis of SARS-CoV gene expression in human dendritic cells (hDCs. In parallel, a Renilla luciferase gene was also inserted into the genome of human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E. Using this approach, we demonstrate that, in contrast to HCoV-229E, SARS-CoV is not able to mediate efficient heterologous gene expression in hDCs.

An Adaptive Ship Detection Scheme for Spaceborne SAR Imagery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiangguang Leng

2016-08-01

Full Text Available With the rapid development of spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR and the increasing need of ship detection, research on adaptive ship detection in spaceborne SAR imagery is of great importance. Focusing on practical problems of ship detection, this paper presents a highly adaptive ship detection scheme for spaceborne SAR imagery. It is able to process a wide range of sensors, imaging modes and resolutions. Two main stages are identified in this paper, namely: ship candidate detection and ship discrimination. Firstly, this paper proposes an adaptive land masking method using ship size and pixel size. Secondly, taking into account the imaging mode, incidence angle, and polarization channel of SAR imagery, it implements adaptive ship candidate detection in spaceborne SAR imagery by applying different strategies to different resolution SAR images. Finally, aiming at different types of typical false alarms, this paper proposes a comprehensive ship discrimination method in spaceborne SAR imagery based on confidence level and complexity analysis. Experimental results based on RADARSAT-1, RADARSAT-2, TerraSAR-X, RS-1, and RS-3 images demonstrate that the adaptive scheme proposed in this paper is able to detect ship targets in a fast, efficient and robust way.

Pyrimidine and nucleoside gamma-esters of L-Glu-Sar

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksson, André H; Elm, Peter L; Begtrup, Mikael

2005-01-01

-tetrahydrofuran-3-yl ester)-Sar (I), l-Glu(thymine-1-yl-methyl ester)-Sar (II) and l-Glu(acyclothymidine)-Sar (III) were synthesised and in vitro stability was studied in various aqueous and biological media. Affinity to and translocation via hPEPT1 was investigated in mature Caco-2 cell monolayers, grown......The aim of the present study was to improve the synthetic pathway of bioreversible dipeptide derivatives as well as evaluate the potential of using l-Glu-Sar as a pro-moiety for delivering three newly synthesised nucleoside and pyrimidine l-Glu-Sar derivatives. l-Glu(trans-2-thymine-1-yl...

Use of SAR data for proliferation monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lafitte, M.; Robin, J.P.

2013-01-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an active and coherent system. SAR images are complex data which contain both amplitude and phase information. The analysis of single SAR data required a very good experience and a good understanding of SAR geometry regarding layover, shadowing, texture and speckle. Image analyst can depicts and describes most of the facilities related to nuclear proliferation and weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The Amplitude Change Detection (ACD) technique consists of a combination of two or three SAR amplitude data acquired with similar orbit and frequency parameters on different dates. That technique provides a very good overview of the changes and particularly regarding vehicles activity and constructions ongoing within the area of interest over the monitoring period. One of the particularities of the SAR systems is to be coherent. The phase of a single image is not exploitable. Thus when two or more SAR data have been acquired with identical orbit and frequency parameters, the phases shift are indicators of changes such as structural changes, terrain subsidence or motion. The Multi-Temporal Coherence (MTC) product merged the two type of information previously detailed: the ACD and coherence analysis. It consists of the combination of two amplitude images and the corresponding coherence computed image. The MTC image may highlights changes between two states of a target which on the ACD analysis appeared unchanged. EUSC uses the difference interferometry techniques in order to estimate volumes that have changed between two acquisition dates. The paper is followed by the slides of the presentation. (A.C.)

Cloaked similarity between HIV-1 and SARS-CoV suggests an anti-SARS strategy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kliger Yossef

2003-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS is a febrile respiratory illness. The disease has been etiologically linked to a novel coronavirus that has been named the SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV, whose genome was recently sequenced. Since it is a member of the Coronaviridae, its spike protein (S2 is believed to play a central role in viral entry by facilitating fusion between the viral and host cell membranes. The protein responsible for viral-induced membrane fusion of HIV-1 (gp41 differs in length, and has no sequence homology with S2. Results Sequence analysis reveals that the two viral proteins share the sequence motifs that construct their active conformation. These include (1 an N-terminal leucine/isoleucine zipper-like sequence, and (2 a C-terminal heptad repeat located upstream of (3 an aromatic residue-rich region juxtaposed to the (4 transmembrane segment. Conclusions This study points to a similar mode of action for the two viral proteins, suggesting that anti-viral strategy that targets the viral-induced membrane fusion step can be adopted from HIV-1 to SARS-CoV. Recently the FDA approved Enfuvirtide, a synthetic peptide corresponding to the C-terminal heptad repeat of HIV-1 gp41, as an anti-AIDS agent. Enfuvirtide and C34, another anti HIV-1 peptide, exert their inhibitory activity by binding to a leucine/isoleucine zipper-like sequence in gp41, thus inhibiting a conformational change of gp41 required for its activation. We suggest that peptides corresponding to the C-terminal heptad repeat of the S2 protein may serve as inhibitors for SARS-CoV entry.

Federated query services provided by the Seamless SAR Archive project

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, S.; Bryson, G.; Buechler, B.; Meertens, C. M.; Crosby, C. J.; Fielding, E. J.; Nicoll, J.; Youn, C.; Baru, C.

2013-12-01

The NASA Advancing Collaborative Connections for Earth System Science (ACCESS) seamless synthetic aperture radar (SAR) archive (SSARA) project is a 2-year collaboration between UNAVCO, the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and OpenTopography at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) to design and implement a seamless distributed access system for SAR data and derived data products (i.e. interferograms). A major milestone for the first year of the SSARA project was a unified application programming interface (API) for SAR data search and results at ASF and UNAVCO (WInSAR and EarthScope data archives) through the use of simple web services. A federated query service was developed using the unified APIs, providing users a single search interface for both archives (http://www.unavco.org/ws/brokered/ssara/sar/search). A command line client that utilizes this new service is provided as an open source utility for the community on GitHub (https://github.com/bakerunavco/SSARA). Further API development and enhancements added more InSAR specific keywords and quality control parameters (Doppler centroid, faraday rotation, InSAR stack size, and perpendicular baselines). To facilitate InSAR processing, the federated query service incorporated URLs for DEM (from OpenTopography) and tropospheric corrections (from the JPL OSCAR service) in addition to the URLs for SAR data. This federated query service will provide relevant QC metadata for selecting pairs of SAR data for InSAR processing and all the URLs necessary for interferogram generation. Interest from the international community has prompted an effort to incorporate other SAR data archives (the ESA Virtual Archive 4 and the DLR TerraSAR-X_SSC Geohazard Supersites and Natural Laboratories collections) into the federated query service which provide data for researchers outside the US and North America.

SARS – Koch´Postulates proved.

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

SARS – Koch´Postulates proved. Novel coronavirus identified from fluids of patients. Virus cultured in Vero cell line. Sera of patients have antibodies to virus. Cultured virus produces disease in Macaque monkeys. -produces specific immune response; -isolated virus is SARS CoV; -pathology similar to human.

SAR system development for UAV multicopter platforms

OpenAIRE

Escartin Martínez, Antonio

2015-01-01

SAR system development for UAV multicopter platforms This thesis describes the optimization of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) at X-band and its integration into an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of type octocopter. For such optimization the SAR system functionality was extended from singlepol to fulpol and it has been optimized at hardware level in order to improve its quality against noise figure. After its integration into the octocopter platform, its features has been used in order to ...

Novel Polarimetric SAR Interferometry Algorithms, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Polarimetric radar interferometry (PolInSAR) is a new SAR imaging mode that is rapidly becoming an important technique for bare earth topographic mapping, tree...

PHARUS: A C-band Airborne SAR

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoogeboom, P.; Koomen, P.J.; Pouwels, H.; Snoeij, P.

1990-01-01

In The Netherlands a plan to design aircraft and build a polarimetric C-band SAR system of a novel design, called PHARUS (PHased Array Universal SAR) is carried out by three institutes. These institutes are the Physics and Electronics Laboratory TNO in The Hague (prime contractor and project

Millimeter wave radar system on a rotating platform for combined search and track functionality with SAR imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Aulenbacher, Uwe; Rech, Klaus; Sedlmeier, Johannes; Pratisto, Hans; Wellig, Peter

2014-10-01

Ground based millimeter wave radar sensors offer the potential for a weather-independent automatic ground surveillance at day and night, e.g. for camp protection applications. The basic principle and the experimental verification of a radar system concept is described, which by means of an extreme off-axis positioning of the antenna(s) combines azimuthal mechanical beam steering with the formation of a circular-arc shaped synthetic aperture (SA). In automatic ground surveillance the function of search and detection of moving ground targets is performed by means of the conventional mechanical scan mode. The rotated antenna structure designed as a small array with two or more RX antenna elements with simultaneous receiver chains allows to instantaneous track multiple moving targets (monopulse principle). The simultaneously operated SAR mode yields areal images of the distribution of stationary scatterers. For ground surveillance application this SAR mode is best suited for identifying possible threats by means of change detection. The feasibility of this concept was tested by means of an experimental radar system comprising of a 94 GHz (W band) FM-CW module with 1 GHz bandwidth and two RX antennas with parallel receiver channels, placed off-axis at a rotating platform. SAR mode and search/track mode were tested during an outdoor measurement campaign. The scenery of two persons walking along a road and partially through forest served as test for the capability to track multiple moving targets. For SAR mode verification an image of the area composed of roads, grassland, woodland and several man-made objects was reconstructed from the measured data.

Accelerated Scientific InSAR Processing, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Neva Ridge Technologies proposes to develop a suite of software tools for the analysis of SAR and InSAR data, focused on having a robust and adopted capability well...

Polarimetric SAR image classification based on discriminative dictionary learning model

Science.gov (United States)

Sang, Cheng Wei; Sun, Hong

2018-03-01

Polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) image classification is one of the important applications of PolSAR remote sensing. It is a difficult high-dimension nonlinear mapping problem, the sparse representations based on learning overcomplete dictionary have shown great potential to solve such problem. The overcomplete dictionary plays an important role in PolSAR image classification, however for PolSAR image complex scenes, features shared by different classes will weaken the discrimination of learned dictionary, so as to degrade classification performance. In this paper, we propose a novel overcomplete dictionary learning model to enhance the discrimination of dictionary. The learned overcomplete dictionary by the proposed model is more discriminative and very suitable for PolSAR classification.

a Method for the Extraction of Long-Term Deformation Characteristics of Long-Span High-Speed Railway Bridges Using High-Resolution SAR Images

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, H. G.; Liu, L. Y.

2016-06-01

Natural causes and high-speed train load will result in the structural deformation of long-span bridges, which greatly influence the safety operation of high-speed railway. Hence it is necessary to conduct the deformation monitoring and regular status assessment for long-span bridges. However for some traditional surveying technique, e.g. control-point-based surveying techniques, a lot of human and material resources are needed to perform the long-term monitoring for the whole bridge. In this study we detected the long-term bridge deformation time-series by persistent scatterer interferometric synthetic aperture radar (PSInSAR) technique using the high-resolution SAR images and external digital elevation model. A test area in Nanjing city in China is chosen and TerraSAR-X images and Tandem-X for this area have been used. There is the Dashengguan bridge in high speed railway in this area as study object to evaluate this method. Experiment results indicate that the proposed method can effectively extract the long-term deformation of long-span high-speed railway bridge with higher accuracy.

A METHOD FOR THE EXTRACTION OF LONG-TERM DEFORMATION CHARACTERISTICS OF LONG-SPAN HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY BRIDGES USING HIGH-RESOLUTION SAR IMAGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. G. Jia

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Natural causes and high-speed train load will result in the structural deformation of long-span bridges, which greatly influence the safety operation of high-speed railway. Hence it is necessary to conduct the deformation monitoring and regular status assessment for long-span bridges. However for some traditional surveying technique, e.g. control-point-based surveying techniques, a lot of human and material resources are needed to perform the long-term monitoring for the whole bridge. In this study we detected the long-term bridge deformation time-series by persistent scatterer interferometric synthetic aperture radar (PSInSAR technique using the high-resolution SAR images and external digital elevation model. A test area in Nanjing city in China is chosen and TerraSAR-X images and Tandem-X for this area have been used. There is the Dashengguan bridge in high speed railway in this area as study object to evaluate this method. Experiment results indicate that the proposed method can effectively extract the long-term deformation of long-span high-speed railway bridge with higher accuracy.

Forest parameter estimation using polarimetric SAR interferometry techniques at low frequencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Seung-Kuk

2013-01-01

Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (Pol-InSAR) is an active radar remote sensing technique based on the coherent combination of both polarimetric and interferometric observables. The Pol-InSAR technique provided a step forward in quantitative forest parameter estimation. In the last decade, airborne SAR experiments evaluated the potential of Pol-InSAR techniques to estimate forest parameters (e.g., the forest height and biomass) with high accuracy over various local forest test sites. This dissertation addresses the actual status, potentials and limitations of Pol-InSAR inversion techniques for 3-D forest parameter estimations on a global scale using lower frequencies such as L- and P-band. The multi-baseline Pol-InSAR inversion technique is applied to optimize the performance with respect to the actual level of the vertical wave number and to mitigate the impact of temporal decorrelation on the Pol-InSAR forest parameter inversion. Temporal decorrelation is a critical issue for successful Pol-InSAR inversion in the case of repeat-pass Pol-InSAR data, as provided by conventional satellites or airborne SAR systems. Despite the limiting impact of temporal decorrelation in Pol-InSAR inversion, it remains a poorly understood factor in forest height inversion. Therefore, the main goal of this dissertation is to provide a quantitative estimation of the temporal decorrelation effects by using multi-baseline Pol-InSAR data. A new approach to quantify the different temporal decorrelation components is proposed and discussed. Temporal decorrelation coefficients are estimated for temporal baselines ranging from 10 minutes to 54 days and are converted to height inversion errors. In addition, the potential of Pol-InSAR forest parameter estimation techniques is addressed and projected onto future spaceborne system configurations and mission scenarios (Tandem-L and BIOMASS satellite missions at L- and P-band). The impact of the system parameters (e.g., bandwidth

Human monoclonal antibody as prophylaxis for SARS coronavirus infection in ferrets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

ter Meulen, Jan; Bakker, Alexander B. H.; van den Brink, Edward N.; Weverling, Gerrit J.; Martina, Byron E. E.; Haagmans, Bart L.; Kuiken, Thijs; de Kruif, John; Preiser, Wolfgang; Spaan, Willy; Gelderblom, Hans R.; Goudsmit, Jaap; Osterhaus, Albert D. M. E.

2004-01-01

SARS coronavirus continues to cause sporadic cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China. No active or passive immunoprophylaxis for disease induced by SARS coronavirus is available. We investigated prophylaxis of SARS coronavirus infection with a neutralising human monoclonal

Mapping mountain meadow with high resolution and polarimetric SAR data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian, Bangsen; Li, Zhen; Xu, Juan; Fu, Sitao; Liu, Jiuli

2014-01-01

This paper presents a method to map the large grassland in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau with the high resolution polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) imagery. When PolSAR imagery is used for land cover classification, the brightness of a SAR image is affected by topography due to varying projection between ground and image coordinates. The objective of this paper is twofold: (1) we first extend the theory of SAR terrain correction to the polarimetric case, to utilize the entire available polarimetric signature, where correction is performed explicitly based on a matrix format like covariance matrix. (2) Next, the orthoectified PolSAR is applied to classify mountain meadow and investigate the potential of PolSAR in mapping grassland. In this paper, the gamma naught radiometric correction estimates the local illuminated area at each grid point in the radar geometry. Then, each element of the coherency matrix is divided by the local area to produce a polarimetric product. Secondly, the impact of radiometric correction upon classification accuracy is investigated. A supervised classification is performed on the orthorectified Radarsat-2 PolSAR to map the spatial distribution of meadow and evaluate monitoring capabilities of mountain meadow

Geometric calibration of ERS satellite SAR images

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mohr, Johan Jacob; Madsen, Søren Nørvang

2001-01-01

Geometric calibration of the European Remote Sensing (ERS) Satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) slant range images is important in relation to mapping areas without ground reference points and also in relation to automated processing. The relevant SAR system parameters are discussed...

Monitoring of Non-Linear Ground Movement in an Open Pit Iron Mine Based on an Integration of Advanced DInSAR Techniques Using TerraSAR-X Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Claudio Mura

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This work presents an investigation to determine ground deformation based on an integration of DInSAR Time-Series (DTS and Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI techniques aiming at detecting high rates of linear and non-linear ground movement. The combined techniques were applied in an open pit iron mine located in Carajás Mineral Province (Brazilian Amazon region, using a set of 33 TerraSAR-X-1 images acquired from March 2012 to April 2013 when, due to a different deformation behavior during the dry and wet seasons in the Amazon region, a non-linear deformation was detected. The DTS analysis was performed on a stack of multi-look unwrapped interferograms using an extension of the SVD (Singular Value Decomposition, where a set of additional weighted constraints on the acceleration of the displacement was incorporated to control the smoothness of the time-series solutions, whose objective was to correct the atmospheric phase artifacts. The height errors and the deformation history provided by the DTS technique were used as previous information to perform the PSI analysis. This procedure improved the capability of the PSI technique to detect non-linear movement as well as to increase the numbers of point density of the final results. The results of the combined techniques are presented and compared with total station/prisms and ground-based radar (GBR measurements.

A Hierarchical Approach to Persistent Scatterer Network Construction and Deformation Time Series Estimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Zhang

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a hierarchical approach to network construction and time series estimation in persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI for deformation analysis using the time series of high-resolution satellite SAR images. To balance between computational efficiency and solution accuracy, a dividing and conquering algorithm (i.e., two levels of PS networking and solution is proposed for extracting deformation rates of a study area. The algorithm has been tested using 40 high-resolution TerraSAR-X images collected between 2009 and 2010 over Tianjin in China for subsidence analysis, and validated by using the ground-based leveling measurements. The experimental results indicate that the hierarchical approach can remarkably reduce computing time and memory requirements, and the subsidence measurements derived from the hierarchical solution are in good agreement with the leveling data.

Improved SAR Image Coregistration Using Pixel-Offset Series

KAUST Repository

Wang, Teng

2014-03-14

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image coregistration is a key procedure before interferometric SAR (InSAR) time-series analysis can be started. However, many geophysical data sets suffer from severe decorrelation problems due to a variety of reasons, making precise coregistration a nontrivial task. Here, we present a new strategy that uses a pixel-offset series of detected subimage patches dominated by point-like targets (PTs) to improve SAR image coregistrations. First, all potentially coherent image pairs are coregistered in a conventional way. In this step, we propose a coregistration quality index for each image to rank its relative “significance” within the data set and to select a reference image for the SAR data set. Then, a pixel-offset series of detected PTs is made from amplitude maps to improve the geometrical mapping functions. Finally, all images are resampled depending on the pixel offsets calculated from the updated geometrical mapping functions. We used images from a rural region near the North Anatolian Fault in eastern Turkey to test the proposed method, and clear coregistration improvements were found based on amplitude stability. This enhanced the fact that the coregistration strategy should therefore lead to improved InSAR time-series analysis results.

Improved SAR Image Coregistration Using Pixel-Offset Series

KAUST Repository

Wang, Teng; Jonsson, Sigurjon; Hanssen, Ramon F.

2014-01-01

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image coregistration is a key procedure before interferometric SAR (InSAR) time-series analysis can be started. However, many geophysical data sets suffer from severe decorrelation problems due to a variety of reasons, making precise coregistration a nontrivial task. Here, we present a new strategy that uses a pixel-offset series of detected subimage patches dominated by point-like targets (PTs) to improve SAR image coregistrations. First, all potentially coherent image pairs are coregistered in a conventional way. In this step, we propose a coregistration quality index for each image to rank its relative “significance” within the data set and to select a reference image for the SAR data set. Then, a pixel-offset series of detected PTs is made from amplitude maps to improve the geometrical mapping functions. Finally, all images are resampled depending on the pixel offsets calculated from the updated geometrical mapping functions. We used images from a rural region near the North Anatolian Fault in eastern Turkey to test the proposed method, and clear coregistration improvements were found based on amplitude stability. This enhanced the fact that the coregistration strategy should therefore lead to improved InSAR time-series analysis results.

URBAN MODELLING PERFORMANCE OF NEXT GENERATION SAR MISSIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U. G. Sefercik

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In synthetic aperture radar (SAR technology, urban mapping and modelling have become possible with revolutionary missions TerraSAR-X (TSX and Cosmo-SkyMed (CSK since 2007. These satellites offer 1m spatial resolution in high-resolution spotlight imaging mode and capable for high quality digital surface model (DSM acquisition for urban areas utilizing interferometric SAR (InSAR technology. With the advantage of independent generation from seasonal weather conditions, TSX and CSK DSMs are much in demand by scientific users. The performance of SAR DSMs is influenced by the distortions such as layover, foreshortening, shadow and double-bounce depend up on imaging geometry. In this study, the potential of DSMs derived from convenient 1m high-resolution spotlight (HS InSAR pairs of CSK and TSX is validated by model-to-model absolute and relative accuracy estimations in an urban area. For the verification, an airborne laser scanning (ALS DSM of the study area was used as the reference model. Results demonstrated that TSX and CSK urban DSMs are compatible in open, built-up and forest land forms with the absolute accuracy of 8–10 m. The relative accuracies based on the coherence of neighbouring pixels are superior to absolute accuracies both for CSK and TSX.

InSAR deformation monitoring of high risk landslides

Science.gov (United States)

Singhroy, V.; Li, J.

2013-05-01

During the past year there were at least twenty five media reports of landslides and seismic activities some fatal, occurring in various areas in Canada. These high risk geohazards sites requires high resolution monitoring both spatially and temporally for mitigation purposes, since they are near populated areas and energy, transportation and communication corridors. High resolution air photos, lidar and satellite images are quite common in areas where the landslides can be fatal. Radar interferometry (InSAR) techniques using images from several radar satellites are increasingly being used in slope stability assessment. This presentation provides examples of using high-resolution (1-3m) frequent revisits InSAR techniques from RADARSAT 2 and TerraSAR X to monitor several types of high-risk landslides affecting transportation and energy corridors and populated areas. We have analyses over 200 high resolution InSAR images over a three year period on geologically different landslides. The high-resolution InSAR images are effective in characterizing differential motion within these low velocity landslides. The low velocity landslides become high risk during the active wet spring periods. The wet soils are poor coherent targets and corner reflectors provide an effective means of InSAR monitoring the slope activities.

A prototype of an automated high resolution InSAR volcano-monitoring system in the MED-SUV project

Science.gov (United States)

Chowdhury, Tanvir A.; Minet, Christian; Fritz, Thomas

2016-04-01

Volcanic processes which produce a variety of geological and hydrological hazards are difficult to predict and capable of triggering natural disasters on regional to global scales. Therefore it is important to monitor volcano continuously and with a high spatial and temporal sampling rate. The monitoring of active volcanoes requires the reliable measurement of surface deformation before, during and after volcanic activities and it helps for the better understanding and modelling of the involved geophysical processes. Space-borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry (InSAR), persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) and small baseline subset algorithm (SBAS) provide a powerful tool for observing the eruptive activities and measuring the surface changes of millimetre accuracy. All the mentioned techniques with deformation time series extraction address the challenges by exploiting medium to large SAR image stacks. The process of selecting, ordering, downloading, storing, logging, extracting and preparing the data for processing is very time consuming has to be done manually for every single data-stack. In many cases it is even an iterative process which has to be done regularly and continuously. Therefore, data processing becomes slow which causes significant delays in data delivery. The SAR Satellite based High Resolution Data Acquisition System, which will be developed at DLR, will automate this entire time consuming tasks and allows an operational volcano monitoring system. Every 24 hours the system runs for searching new acquired scene over the volcanoes and keeps track of the data orders, log the status and download the provided data via ftp-transfer including E-Mail alert. Furthermore, the system will deliver specified reports and maps to a database for review and use by specialists. The user interaction will be minimized and iterative processes will be totally avoided. In this presentation, a prototype of SAR Satellite based High Resolution Data

Estimates of ocean wave heights and attenuation in sea ice using the SAR wave mode on Sentinel-1A

Science.gov (United States)

Ardhuin, Fabrice; Collard, Fabrice; Chapron, Bertrand; Girard-Ardhuin, Fanny; Guitton, Gilles; Mouche, Alexis; Stopa, Justin E.

2015-04-01

Swell evolution from the open ocean into sea ice is poorly understood, in particular the amplitude attenuation expected from scattering and dissipation. New synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from Sentinel-1A wave mode reveal intriguing patterns of bright oscillating lines shaped like instant noodles. We investigate cases in which the oscillations are in the azimuth direction, around a straight line in the range direction. This observation is interpreted as the distortion by the SAR processing of crests from a first swell, due to the presence of a second swell. Since deviations from a straight line should be proportional to the orbital velocity toward the satellite, swell height can be estimated, from 1.5 to 5 m in the present case. The evolution of this 13 s period swell across the ice pack is consistent with an exponential attenuation on a length scale of 200 km.

Spacial Variation in SAR Images of Different Resolution for Agricultural Fields

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandholt, Inge; Skriver, Henning

1999-01-01

The spatial variation in two types of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images covering agricultural fields is analysed. C-band polarimetric SAR data from the Danish airborne SAR, EMISAR, have been compared to space based ERS-1 C-band SAR with respect to scale and effect of polarization. The general...

Seasat synthetic aperture radar ( SAR) response to lowland vegetation types in eastern Maryland and Virginia.

Science.gov (United States)

Krohn, M.D.; Milton, N.M.; Segal, D.B.

1983-01-01

Examination of Seasat SAR images of eastern Maryland and Virginia reveals botanical distinctions between vegetated lowland areas and adjacent upland areas. Radar returns from the lowland areas can be either brighter or darker than returns from the upland forests. Scattering models and scatterometer measurements predict an increase of 6 dB in backscatter from vegetation over standing water. This agrees with the 30-digital number (DN) increase observed in the digital Seasat data. The density, morphology, and relative geometry of the lowland vegetation with respect to standing water can all affect the strength of the return L band signal.-from Authors

hPEPT1 Affinity and Translocation of Selected Gln-Sar and Glu-Sar Dipeptide Derivatives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksson, A. H.; Elm, Peter L.; Begtrup, Mikael

2005-01-01

using 14C-labeled Gly-Sar. Translocation was measured as fluorescence ratios induced by the substrates using the fluorescent probe BCECF and an epifluorescence microscope setup. All compounds showed high affinity to hPEPT1, but only the amides l-Gln(N,N-dimethyl)-Sar and l-Gln(N-piperidinyl)-Sar were...... been suggested. However, these are not necessarily predictive of compounds that are actually translocated by hPEPT1. More information on affinity to and translocation via hPEPT1 of side-chain-modified dipeptides may be gained by conducting a study of selected dipeptide derivatives with variety in size...... translocated by hPEPT1. hPEPT1 is very susceptible to modifications of the N-terminal amino acid side chain of dipeptidomimetic substrates, in terms of achieving compounds with high affinity for the transporter. However, as affinity is not predictive of translocation, derivatization in this position must...

Influence of different DEMs on the quality of the InSAR results: case study over Bankya and Mirovo areas

Science.gov (United States)

Nikolov, Hristo; Atanasova, Mila

2017-10-01

One of the key input parameters in obtaining end products from SAR data is the DEM used during their processing. This holds true especially when persistent scatterers InSAR method should be applied for example to study slow moving landslides or subsidence. Since nowadays most of the raw SAR data are of space borne origin for their correct processing to high precision products for relatively small areas with centimeter accuracy a DEM taking into account the particularities of the local topography is needed. Most of the DEMs used by the SAR processing software such as SRTM or ASTER are obtained by the same type of instrument and present some disagreements with height information acquired by leveling measurements or other geodetic means. This was the motivation for initiating this research - to prove the need of creating and using local DEM in SAR data processing at small scale and to check what the magnitude of the discrepancy between final InSAR products is in both cases where SRTM/ASTER and local DEM has been used. In addition investigated were two scenarios for SAR data processing - one with small baseline between image pairs and one having large baseline image pairs - in order to find out in which case local DEM has bigger impact. In course of this study two reference areas were considered - Bankya village near Sofia (SW region of Bulgaria) and Mirovo salt extraction site (NE region of Bulgaria). The reason those areas were selected lies in the high number of landslides registered and monitored by the competent authorities in the mentioned locations. The significance of the results obtained is witnessed by the fact that both sites we used have been included as reference sites for Bulgaria in the PanGeo EU funded project dealing with delivering information regarding ground instability geohazard as areas prone to subsidence of natural and manmade origin. In the said project largest part of the information has been extracted from Envisat SAR data, but now this

Flood extent and water level estimation from SAR using data-model integration

Science.gov (United States)

Ajadi, O. A.; Meyer, F. J.

2017-12-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images have long been recognized as a valuable data source for flood mapping. Compared to other sources, SAR's weather and illumination independence and large area coverage at high spatial resolution supports reliable, frequent, and detailed observations of developing flood events. Accordingly, SAR has the potential to greatly aid in the near real-time monitoring of natural hazards, such as flood detection, if combined with automated image processing. This research works towards increasing the reliability and temporal sampling of SAR-derived flood hazard information by integrating information from multiple SAR sensors and SAR modalities (images and Interferometric SAR (InSAR) coherence) and by combining SAR-derived change detection information with hydrologic and hydraulic flood forecast models. First, the combination of multi-temporal SAR intensity images and coherence information for generating flood extent maps is introduced. The application of least-squares estimation integrates flood information from multiple SAR sensors, thus increasing the temporal sampling. SAR-based flood extent information will be combined with a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) to reduce false alarms and to estimate water depth and flood volume. The SAR-based flood extent map is assimilated into the Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System (Hec-RAS) model to aid in hydraulic model calibration. The developed technology is improving the accuracy of flood information by exploiting information from data and models. It also provides enhanced flood information to decision-makers supporting the response to flood extent and improving emergency relief efforts.

Estimating Elevation Angles From SAR Crosstalk

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Anthony

1994-01-01

Scheme for processing polarimetric synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) image data yields estimates of elevation angles along radar beam to target resolution cells. By use of estimated elevation angles, measured distances along radar beam to targets (slant ranges), and measured altitude of aircraft carrying SAR equipment, one can estimate height of target terrain in each resolution cell. Monopulselike scheme yields low-resolution topographical data.

SAR Study of Mobile Phones as a function of Antenna Q

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bahramzy, Pevand; Svendsen, Simon; Jagielski, Ole

2015-01-01

density associated with high-Q antennas. The higher energy stored in the electric and magnetic near-field components can result in higher SAR. Hence, SAR study of high-Q antennas is necessary which, if not addressed, might not comply with the SAR safety guidelines. In this paper, SAR as a function...

SAR calculation using FDTD simulations

OpenAIRE

Ferro, Francisco Nabais; Pinto, Guilherme Taveira; Pinho, Pedro

2009-01-01

The main intend of this work, is to determinate the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) on human head tissues exposed to radiation caused by sources of 900 and 1800MHz, since those are the typical frequencies for mobile communications systems nowadays. In order to determinate the SAR, has been used the FDTD (Finite Difference Time Domain), which is a numeric method in time domain, obtained from the Maxwell equations in differential mode. In order to do this, a computational model from the human he...

High-Level Performance Modeling of SAR Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Curtis

2006-01-01

SAUSAGE (Still Another Utility for SAR Analysis that s General and Extensible) is a computer program for modeling (see figure) the performance of synthetic- aperture radar (SAR) or interferometric synthetic-aperture radar (InSAR or IFSAR) systems. The user is assumed to be familiar with the basic principles of SAR imaging and interferometry. Given design parameters (e.g., altitude, power, and bandwidth) that characterize a radar system, the software predicts various performance metrics (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio and resolution). SAUSAGE is intended to be a general software tool for quick, high-level evaluation of radar designs; it is not meant to capture all the subtleties, nuances, and particulars of specific systems. SAUSAGE was written to facilitate the exploration of engineering tradeoffs within the multidimensional space of design parameters. Typically, this space is examined through an iterative process of adjusting the values of the design parameters and examining the effects of the adjustments on the overall performance of the system at each iteration. The software is designed to be modular and extensible to enable consideration of a variety of operating modes and antenna beam patterns, including, for example, strip-map and spotlight SAR acquisitions, polarimetry, burst modes, and squinted geometries.

Verification of target motion effects on SAR imagery using the Gotcha GMTI challenge dataset

Science.gov (United States)

Hack, Dan E.; Saville, Michael A.

2010-04-01

This paper investigates the relationship between a ground moving target's kinematic state and its SAR image. While effects such as cross-range offset, defocus, and smearing appear well understood, their derivations in the literature typically employ simplifications of the radar/target geometry and assume point scattering targets. This study adopts a geometrical model for understanding target motion effects in SAR imagery, termed the target migration path, and focuses on experimental verification of predicted motion effects using both simulated and empirical datasets based on the Gotcha GMTI challenge dataset. Specifically, moving target imagery is generated from three data sources: first, simulated phase history for a moving point target; second, simulated phase history for a moving vehicle derived from a simulated Mazda MPV X-band signature; and third, empirical phase history from the Gotcha GMTI challenge dataset. Both simulated target trajectories match the truth GPS target position history from the Gotcha GMTI challenge dataset, allowing direct comparison between all three imagery sets and the predicted target migration path. This paper concludes with a discussion of the parallels between the target migration path and the measurement model within a Kalman filtering framework, followed by conclusions.

3D Monitoring of Buildings Using TerraSAR-X InSAR, DInSAR and PolSAR Capacities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flora Weissgerber

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The rapid expansion of cities increases the need of urban remote sensing for a large scale monitoring. This paper provides greater understanding of how TerraSAR-X (TSX high-resolution abilities enable to reach the spatial precision required to monitor individual buildings, through the use of a 4 year temporal stack of 100 images over Paris (France. Three different SAR modes are investigated for this purpose. First a method involving a whole time-series is proposed to measure realistic heights of buildings. Then, we show that the small wavelength of TSX makes the interferometric products very sensitive to the ordinary building-deformation, and that daily deformation can be measured over the entire building with a centimetric accuracy, and without any a priori on the deformation evolution, even when neglecting the impact of the atmosphere. Deformations up to 4 cm were estimated for the Eiffel Tower and up to 1 cm for other lower buildings. These deformations were analyzed and validated with weather and in situ local data. Finally, four TSX polarimetric images were used to investigate geometric and dielectric properties of buildings under the deterministic framework. Despite of the resolution loss of this mode, the possibility to estimate the structural elements of a building orientations and their relative complexity in the spatial organization are demonstrated.

Landslide inventory updating by means of Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI: the Setta basin (Italy case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frangioni Sara

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This paper illustrates the contribution of Persistent Scatterer SAR Interferometry (PSInSAR technique to landslide detection, using interferometric data acquired in C-band by European remote-sensing satellite (ERS 1/2 and environmental satellite (ENVISAT satellites. The main purpose is to update a pre-existing landslide inventory map, by changing or confirming the landslide geometry and state of activity and eventually, identifying new phenomena.This work presents an application of satellite remote sensing to analyse ground displacement movements in the Setta basin, located on the northern Appennine (Bologna province, Italy and extended up 268 km2.The proposed methodology, resting upon pre-existing works already consolidated in the scientific community, combines interferometric measures with aerial imagery and other auxiliary data, in order to detect landslide indicators, finally validated with field surveys. The use of an activity matrix allows the identification of the state of activity of landslide phenomena with respect to the velocity of the radar displacement rates. Field validations are carried out in the areas that are more relevant because of the highest ground velocities and the presence of structures extensively affected by ground movements.The final updated landslide database of the Setta basin, based on Persistent Scatterer Interferometry analysis and in situ checks, consists of 1550 landslides, 236 of which have persistent scatterer information.

GPS tomography tests for DInSAR applications on Mt. Etna

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Massimo Aranzulla

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Tropospheric artifacts of SAR images in a volcanic area like Mt. Etna cause ambiguity in the interpretation of deformations with such technique. It would be useful to measure the delay caused by tropospheric anomalies in synthetic aperture radar (SAR satellite signals (phase of the back-scattered radar wave that could be interpreted as deformation. From the delay estimated through the GPS data processing, the tropospheric tomography of electromagnetic waves refractivity, has been performed using the SIMULps12 software. The aim of this study was to perform software synthetic tests by using SIMULps12 applied to atmospheric tomography and to verify the influence of the different GPS geodetic network configurations on obtaining a reliable tomography. Three different anomalies of increasing complexity have been investigated in order to understand the representative parameters of a correct tomography, the best spatial resolution and the portions of space in which the tomography is reliable. The tests also focused on fixing/establishing the a-priori atmospheric model and the critical values of the main parameters involved in the tomographic inversion. To this end, we made a random choice of two days, necessary to define the tomographic problem. Three different network configurations with 15, 30 and 90 GPS receivers were studied. The results indicate that the well-resolved area of tomographic images increases with the number of GPS receivers not linearly, and that the actual GPS network of 42 receivers is capable of revealing/detecting the atmospheric anomalies.

An analytical solution for improved HIFU SAR estimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dillon, C R; Vyas, U; Christensen, D A; Roemer, R B; Payne, A

2012-01-01

Accurate determination of the specific absorption rates (SARs) present during high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) experiments and treatments provides a solid physical basis for scientific comparison of results among HIFU studies and is necessary to validate and improve SAR predictive software, which will improve patient treatment planning, control and evaluation. This study develops and tests an analytical solution that significantly improves the accuracy of SAR values obtained from HIFU temperature data. SAR estimates are obtained by fitting the analytical temperature solution for a one-dimensional radial Gaussian heating pattern to the temperature versus time data following a step in applied power and evaluating the initial slope of the analytical solution. The analytical method is evaluated in multiple parametric simulations for which it consistently (except at high perfusions) yields maximum errors of less than 10% at the center of the focal zone compared with errors up to 90% and 55% for the commonly used linear method and an exponential method, respectively. For high perfusion, an extension of the analytical method estimates SAR with less than 10% error. The analytical method is validated experimentally by showing that the temperature elevations predicted using the analytical method's SAR values determined for the entire 3D focal region agree well with the experimental temperature elevations in a HIFU-heated tissue-mimicking phantom. (paper)

Relations of SARS-Related Stressors and Coping to Chinese College Students' Psychological Adjustment during the 2003 Beijing SARS Epidemic

Science.gov (United States)

Main, Alexandra; Zhou, Qing; Ma, Yue; Luecken, Linda J.; Liu, Xin

2011-01-01

This study examined the main and interactive relations of stressors and coping related to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) with Chinese college students' psychological adjustment (psychological symptoms, perceived general health, and life satisfaction) during the 2003 Beijing SARS epidemic. All the constructs were assessed by self-report…

A patient with asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and antigenemia from the 2003-2004 community outbreak of SARS in Guangzhou, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Che, Xiao-yan; Di, Biao; Zhao, Guo-ping; Wang, Ya-di; Qiu, Li-wen; Hao, Wei; Wang, Ming; Qin, Peng-zhe; Liu, Yu-fei; Chan, Kwok-hong; Cheng, Vincent C C; Yuen, Kwok-yung

2006-07-01

An asymptomatic case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) occurred early in 2004, during a community outbreak of SARS in Guangzhou, China. This was the first time that a case of asymptomatic SARS was noted in an individual with antigenemia and seroconversion. The asymptomatic case patient and the second index case patient with SARS in the 2003-2004 outbreak both worked in the same restaurant, where they served palm civets, which were found to carry SARS-associated coronaviruses. Epidemiological information and laboratory findings suggested that the findings for the patient with asymptomatic infection, together with the findings from previously reported serological analyses of handlers of wild animals and the 4 index case patients from the 2004 community outbreak, reflected a likely intermediate phase of animal-to-human transmission of infection, rather than a case of human-to-human transmission. This intermediate phase may be a critical stage for virus evolution and disease prevention.

Satellite SAR data assessment for Silk Road archaeological prospection

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Fulong; Lasaponara, Rosa; Masini, Nicola; Yang, Ruixia

2015-04-01

direction of observed targets is beneficial for improved detection of potential linear remains (e.g. Great Wall in Han-dynasty surrounding the Yumen Frontier Pass) owing to the formation of dihedral and helix scatterings based on the theory of radar physics. Morevorer, spatial resolution of multi-mode SAR images for archaeology was compared in the sites of Niya, Yumen Frontier Pass and suspected protectorate of the western regions. Results indicated that high resolution tended to easier detection of ancient targets through the identification of backscattering anomalies. Finally, interferometric analysis was also evaluated to provide complementary information rather than the backscattering. The variation of coherence is closely related to the physical parameters of observed surface, e.g. soil moisture, mild-relief as well as materials; and consequently it is useful for the relic feature enhancement and identification, validated by the PALSAR coherence images in Niya site. Acknowledgement This research was performed within the framework of the project "Smart management of cultural heritage sites in Italy and China: Earth Observation and pilot projects", funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hundred Talents Program of the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Y2ZZ27101B). The PALSAR data were provided by the European Space Agency to the authors through the Category-1 Project Id. 28640. Reference [1] Lasaponara R., Masini N. 2013, Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar in Archaeology and Cultural Landscape: An Overview. Archaeological Prospection, 20, 71-78, doi: 10.1002/arp.1452 [2] Chen F., Masini N., Yang R., Milillo P., Feng D., Lasaponara R., 2015 A Space View of Radar Archaeological Marks: First Applications of COSMO-SkyMed X-Band Data. Remote Sens. 2015, 7, 24-50; doi:10.3390/rs70100024. [3] Cigna, F.; Tapete, D.; Lasaponara, R.; Masini, N. Amplitude change detection with Envisat ASAR to image the cultural landscape

Monitoring of Three Case Studies of Creeping Landslides in Ecuador using L-band SAR Interferometry (InSAR)

Science.gov (United States)

Mayorga Torres, T. M.; Mohseni Aref, M.

2015-12-01

Tannia Mayorga Torres1,21 Universidad Central del Ecuador. Faculty of Geology, Mining, Oil, and Environment 2 Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship 2015-16 IntroductionLandslides lead to human and economic losses across the country, mainly in the winter season. On the other hand, satellite radar data has cost-effective benefits due to open-source software and free availability of data. With the purpose of establishing an early warning system of landslide-related surface deformation, three case studies were designed in the Coast, Sierra (Andean), and Oriente (jungle) regions. The objective of this work was to assess the capability of L-band InSAR to get phase information. For the calculation of the interferograms in Repeat Orbit Interferometry PACkage, the displacement was detected as the error and was corrected. The coherence images (Figure 1) determined that L-band is suitable for InSAR processing. Under this frame, as a first approach, the stacking DInSAR technique [1] was applied in the case studies [2]; however, due to lush vegetation and steep topography, it is necessary to apply advanced InSAR techniques [3]. The purpose of the research is to determine a pattern of data acquisition and successful results to understand the spatial and temporal ground movements associated with landslides. The further work consists of establishing landslide inventories to combine phases of SAR images to generate maps of surface deformation in Tumba-San Francisco and Guarumales to compare the results with ground-based measurements to determine the maps' accuracy. References[1] Sandwell D., Price E. (1998). Phase gradient approach to stacking interferograms. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 103, N. B12, pp. 30,183-30,204. [2] Mayorga T., Platzeck G. (2014). Using DInSAR as a tool to detect unstable terrain areas in an Andes region in Ecuador. NH3.5-Blue Poster B298, Vol. 16, EGU2014-16203. Austria. [3] Wasowski J., Bovenga F. (2014). Investigating landslides and unstable slopes with

Applications of SAR Interferometry in Earth and Environmental Science Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xiaobing; Chang, Ni-Bin; Li, Shusun

2009-01-01

This paper provides a review of the progress in regard to the InSAR remote sensing technique and its applications in earth and environmental sciences, especially in the past decade. Basic principles, factors, limits, InSAR sensors, available software packages for the generation of InSAR interferograms were summarized to support future applications. Emphasis was placed on the applications of InSAR in seismology, volcanology, land subsidence/uplift, landslide, glaciology, hydrology, and forestry sciences. It ends with a discussion of future research directions.

Analysis of X-Band Very High Resolution Persistent Scatterer Interferometry Data Over Urban Areas

Science.gov (United States)

Crosetto, M.; Monserrat, O.; Cuevas-González, M.; Devanthéry, N.; Crippa, B.

2013-04-01

Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) is a satellite-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) remote sensing technique used to measure and monitor land deformation from a stack of interferometric SAR images. This work concerns X-band PSI and, in particular, PSI based on very high resolution (VHR) StripMap CosmoSkyMed and TerraSAR-X SAR imagery. In fact, it mainly focuses on the technical aspects of deformation measurement and monitoring over urban areas. A key technical aspect analysed in this paper is the thermal expansion component of PSI observations, which is a result of temperature differences in the imaged area between SAR acquisitions. This component of PSI observations is particularly important in the urban environment. This is an interesting feature of PSI, which can be surely used to illustrate the high sensitivity of X-band PSI to very subtle displacements. Thermal expansion can have a strong impact on the PSI products, especially on the deformation velocity maps and deformation time series, if not properly handled during the PSI data processing and analysis, and a comprehensive discussion of this aspect will be provided in this paper. The importance of thermal expansion is related to the fact that the PSI analyses are often performed using limited stacks of images, which may cover a limited time period, e.g. several months only. These two factors (limited number of images and short period) make the impact of a non-modelled thermal expansion particularly critical. This issue will be illustrated considering different case studies based on TerraSAR-X and CosmoSkyMed PSI data. Besides, an extended PSI model which alleviates this problem will be described and case studies from the Barcelona metropolitan area will demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

ANALYSIS OF X-BAND VERY HIGH RESOLUTION PERSISTENT SCATTERER INTERFEROMETRY DATA OVER URBAN AREAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Crosetto

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI is a satellite-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR remote sensing technique used to measure and monitor land deformation from a stack of interferometric SAR images. This work concerns X-band PSI and, in particular, PSI based on very high resolution (VHR StripMap CosmoSkyMed and TerraSAR-X SAR imagery. In fact, it mainly focuses on the technical aspects of deformation measurement and monitoring over urban areas. A key technical aspect analysed in this paper is the thermal expansion component of PSI observations, which is a result of temperature differences in the imaged area between SAR acquisitions. This component of PSI observations is particularly important in the urban environment. This is an interesting feature of PSI, which can be surely used to illustrate the high sensitivity of X-band PSI to very subtle displacements. Thermal expansion can have a strong impact on the PSI products, especially on the deformation velocity maps and deformation time series, if not properly handled during the PSI data processing and analysis, and a comprehensive discussion of this aspect will be provided in this paper. The importance of thermal expansion is related to the fact that the PSI analyses are often performed using limited stacks of images, which may cover a limited time period, e.g. several months only. These two factors (limited number of images and short period make the impact of a non-modelled thermal expansion particularly critical. This issue will be illustrated considering different case studies based on TerraSAR-X and CosmoSkyMed PSI data. Besides, an extended PSI model which alleviates this problem will be described and case studies from the Barcelona metropolitan area will demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

SARS Risk Perception, Knowledge, Precautions, and Information Sources, the Netherlands

Science.gov (United States)

Aro, Arja R.; Oenema, Anke; de Zwart, Onno; Richardus, Jan Hendrik; Bishop, George D.

2004-01-01

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)–related risk perceptions, knowledge, precautionary actions, and information sources were studied in the Netherlands during the 2003 SARS outbreak. Although respondents were highly aware of the SARS outbreak, the outbreak did not result in unnecessary precautionary actions or fears. PMID:15496256

SAR antenna design for ambiguity and multipath suppression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Erik Lintz; Dich, Mikael

1993-01-01

A high resolution airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has been developed at the Electromagnetics Institute (EMI) for remote sensing applications. The paper considers the radiation of antennas for a SAR system from a systems perspective. The basic specifications of an idealised antenna...... are obtained from the required swath and the azimuth footprint needed for the SAR processing. The radiation from a real antenna causes unwanted signal returns that lead to intensity variations (multipath) and ghost echoes (ambiguity). Additional specifications are deduced by considering these signals...

Bats and SARS

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

Bats are a natural reservoir for emerging viruses, among them henipaviruses and rabies virus variants. Dr. Nina Marano, Chief, Geographic Medicine and Health Promotion Branch, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, CDC, explains connection between horseshoe bats and SARS coronavirus transmission.

Research on Airborne SAR Imaging Based on Esc Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, X. T.; Yue, X. J.; Zhao, Y. H.; Han, C. M.

2017-09-01

Due to the ability of flexible, accurate, and fast obtaining abundant information, airborne SAR is significant in the field of Earth Observation and many other applications. Optimally the flight paths are straight lines, but in reality it is not the case since some portion of deviation from the ideal path is impossible to avoid. A small disturbance from the ideal line will have a major effect on the signal phase, dramatically deteriorating the quality of SAR images and data. Therefore, to get accurate echo information and radar images, it is essential to measure and compensate for nonlinear motion of antenna trajectories. By means of compensating each flying trajectory to its reference track, MOCO method corrects linear phase error and quadratic phase error caused by nonlinear antenna trajectories. Position and Orientation System (POS) data is applied to acquiring accuracy motion attitudes and spatial positions of antenna phase centre (APC). In this paper, extend chirp scaling algorithm (ECS) is used to deal with echo data of airborne SAR. An experiment is done using VV-Polarization raw data of C-band airborne SAR. The quality evaluations of compensated SAR images and uncompensated SAR images are done in the experiment. The former always performs better than the latter. After MOCO processing, azimuth ambiguity is declined, peak side lobe ratio (PSLR) effectively improves and the resolution of images is improved obviously. The result shows the validity and operability of the imaging process for airborne SAR.

RESEARCH ON AIRBORNE SAR IMAGING BASED ON ESC ALGORITHM

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X. T. Dong

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Due to the ability of flexible, accurate, and fast obtaining abundant information, airborne SAR is significant in the field of Earth Observation and many other applications. Optimally the flight paths are straight lines, but in reality it is not the case since some portion of deviation from the ideal path is impossible to avoid. A small disturbance from the ideal line will have a major effect on the signal phase, dramatically deteriorating the quality of SAR images and data. Therefore, to get accurate echo information and radar images, it is essential to measure and compensate for nonlinear motion of antenna trajectories. By means of compensating each flying trajectory to its reference track, MOCO method corrects linear phase error and quadratic phase error caused by nonlinear antenna trajectories. Position and Orientation System (POS data is applied to acquiring accuracy motion attitudes and spatial positions of antenna phase centre (APC. In this paper, extend chirp scaling algorithm (ECS is used to deal with echo data of airborne SAR. An experiment is done using VV-Polarization raw data of C-band airborne SAR. The quality evaluations of compensated SAR images and uncompensated SAR images are done in the experiment. The former always performs better than the latter. After MOCO processing, azimuth ambiguity is declined, peak side lobe ratio (PSLR effectively improves and the resolution of images is improved obviously. The result shows the validity and operability of the imaging process for airborne SAR.

Applications of SAR Interferometry in Earth and Environmental Science Research

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xiaobing; Chang, Ni-Bin; Li, Shusun

2009-01-01

This paper provides a review of the progress in regard to the InSAR remote sensing technique and its applications in earth and environmental sciences, especially in the past decade. Basic principles, factors, limits, InSAR sensors, available software packages for the generation of InSAR interferograms were summarized to support future applications. Emphasis was placed on the applications of InSAR in seismology, volcanology, land subsidence/uplift, landslide, glaciology, hydrology, and forestry sciences. It ends with a discussion of future research directions. PMID:22573992

Applications of SAR Interferometry in Earth and Environmental Science Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaobing Zhou

2009-03-01

Full Text Available This paper provides a review of the progress in regard to the InSAR remote sensing technique and its applications in earth and environmental sciences, especially in the past decade. Basic principles, factors, limits, InSAR sensors, available software packages for the generation of InSAR interferograms were summarized to support future applications. Emphasis was placed on the applications of InSAR in seismology, volcanology, land subsidence/uplift, landslide, glaciology, hydrology, and forestry sciences. It ends with a discussion of future research directions.

Evaluation of the Wishart test statistics for polarimetric SAR data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skriver, Henning; Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg; Conradsen, Knut

2003-01-01

A test statistic for equality of two covariance matrices following the complex Wishart distribution has previously been used in new algorithms for change detection, edge detection and segmentation in polarimetric SAR images. Previously, the results for change detection and edge detection have been...... quantitatively evaluated. This paper deals with the evaluation of segmentation. A segmentation performance measure originally developed for single-channel SAR images has been extended to polarimetric SAR images, and used to evaluate segmentation for a merge-using-moment algorithm for polarimetric SAR data....

PolSAR Land Cover Classification Based on Roll-Invariant and Selected Hidden Polarimetric Features in the Rotation Domain

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Chensong Tao

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Land cover classification is an important application for polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR. Target polarimetric response is strongly dependent on its orientation. Backscattering responses of the same target with different orientations to the SAR flight path may be quite different. This target orientation diversity effect hinders PolSAR image understanding and interpretation. Roll-invariant polarimetric features such as entropy, anisotropy, mean alpha angle, and total scattering power are independent of the target orientation and are commonly adopted for PolSAR image classification. On the other aspect, target orientation diversity also contains rich information which may not be sensed by roll-invariant polarimetric features. In this vein, only using the roll-invariant polarimetric features may limit the final classification accuracy. To address this problem, this work uses the recently reported uniform polarimetric matrix rotation theory and a visualization and characterization tool of polarimetric coherence pattern to investigate hidden polarimetric features in the rotation domain along the radar line of sight. Then, a feature selection scheme is established and a set of hidden polarimetric features are selected in the rotation domain. Finally, a classification method is developed using the complementary information between roll-invariant and selected hidden polarimetric features with a support vector machine (SVM/decision tree (DT classifier. Comparison experiments are carried out with NASA/JPL AIRSAR and multi-temporal UAVSAR data. For AIRSAR data, the overall classification accuracy of the proposed classification method is 95.37% (with SVM/96.38% (with DT, while that of the conventional classification method is 93.87% (with SVM/94.12% (with DT, respectively. Meanwhile, for multi-temporal UAVSAR data, the mean overall classification accuracy of the proposed method is up to 97.47% (with SVM/99.39% (with DT, which is also higher

Mapping Regional Inundation with Spaceborne L-Band SAR

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Bruce Chapman

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Shortly after the launch of ALOS PALSAR L-band SAR by the Japan Space Exploration Agency (JAXA, a program to develop an Earth Science Data Record (ESDR for inundated wetlands was funded by NASA. Using established methodologies, extensive multi-temporal L-band ALOS ScanSAR data acquired bi-monthly by the PALSAR instrument onboard ALOS were used to classify the inundation state for South America for delivery as a component of this Inundated Wetlands ESDR (IW-ESDR and in collaboration with JAXA’s ALOS Kyoto and Carbon Initiative science programme. We describe these methodologies and the final classification of the inundation state, then compared this with results derived from dual-season data acquired by the JERS-1 L-band SAR mission in 1995 and 1996, as well as with estimates of surface water extent measured globally every 10 days by coarser resolution sensors. Good correspondence was found when comparing open water extent classified from multi-temporal ALOS ScanSAR data with surface water fraction identified from coarse resolution sensors, except in those regions where there may be differences in sensitivity to widespread and shallow seasonal flooding event, or in areas that could be excluded through use of a continental-scale inundatable mask. It was found that the ALOS ScanSAR classification of inundated vegetation was relatively insensitive to inundated herbaceous vegetation. Inundation dynamics were examined using the multi-temporal ALOS ScanSAR acquisitions over the Pacaya-Samiria and surrounding areas in the Peruvian Amazon.

New challenges for a SAR toolbox

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loreaux, P.; Quin, G.

2013-01-01

High resolution multi-frequency synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, available since early 2008, brings all weather capability and day/night operability in support of safeguards verification. Today, a combined approach of high resolution optical and radar imagery in monitoring exercise would enable looking at any area of interest on daily basis. One of the challenges is the co-registration of SAR images acquired with different acquisition mode and also with different optical images. We show in this paper the on-going research work to find a general co-register method and an automatic tool to detect changes. Before having an operational co-register tool, a method to find automatically tie points between SAR images acquired with different acquisition mode and with optical images has to be developed. Concerning an automatic change detection method we can conclude that the study of the Harmonic mean, Geometric mean and Arithmetic mean, enables several applications like change detection for SAR imagery. Thus, we developed the MAGMA (Method for Arithmetic and Geometric Means Analysis) change detection method. As shown in this paper, the MAGMA method improves the Maximum Likelihood techniques like GLRT, using Information-Theory concepts to detect changes between SAR amplitude images. The major improvement consists in a lower false detection rate, especially in low amplitude areas. The second improvement consists in a better location of the changes in clearly delimited areas, which enables precise interpretations. Results presented here reveal the potential of high resolution radar imagery for a baseline description of some sites, change detection based on repeat pass imagery acquisitions and site specific constraints in coherent change detection due to cover conditions. (A.C.)

Characterizing post-drainage succession in Thermokarst Lake Basins on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska with TerraSAR-X Backscatter and Landsat-based NDVI data

Science.gov (United States)

Regmi, Prajna; Grosse, Guido; Jones, Miriam C.; Jones, Benjamin M.; Walter Anthony, Katey

2012-01-01

Drained thermokarst lake basins accumulate significant amounts of soil organic carbon in the form of peat, which is of interest to understanding carbon cycling and climate change feedbacks associated with thermokarst in the Arctic. Remote sensing is a tool useful for understanding temporal and spatial dynamics of drained basins. In this study, we tested the application of high-resolution X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data of the German TerraSAR-X satellite from the 2009 growing season (July–September) for characterizing drained thermokarst lake basins of various age in the ice-rich permafrost region of the northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska. To enhance interpretation of patterns identified in X-band SAR for these basins, we also analyzed the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) calculated from a Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper image acquired on July 2009 and compared both X-band SAR and NDVI data with observations of basin age. We found significant logarithmic relationships between (a) TerraSAR-X backscatter and basin age from 0 to 10,000 years, (b) Landat-5 TM NDVI and basin age from 0 to 10,000 years, and (c) TerraSAR-X backscatter and basin age from 50 to 10,000 years. NDVI was a better indicator of basin age over a period of 0–10,000 years. However, TerraSAR-X data performed much better for discriminating radiocarbon-dated basins (50–10,000 years old). No clear relationships were found for either backscatter or NDVI and basin age from 0 to 50 years. We attribute the decreasing trend of backscatter and NDVI with increasing basin age to post-drainage changes in the basin surface. Such changes include succession in vegetation, soils, hydrology, and renewed permafrost aggradation, ground ice accumulation and localized frost heave. Results of this study show the potential application of X-band SAR data in combination with NDVI data to map long-term succession dynamics of drained thermokarst lake basins.

Characterizing Post-Drainage Succession in Thermokarst Lake Basins on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska with TerraSAR-X Backscatter and Landsat-based NDVI Data

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Prajna Regmi

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Drained thermokarst lake basins accumulate significant amounts of soil organic carbon in the form of peat, which is of interest to understanding carbon cycling and climate change feedbacks associated with thermokarst in the Arctic. Remote sensing is a tool useful for understanding temporal and spatial dynamics of drained basins. In this study, we tested the application of high-resolution X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR data of the German TerraSAR-X satellite from the 2009 growing season (July–September for characterizing drained thermokarst lake basins of various age in the ice-rich permafrost region of the northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska. To enhance interpretation of patterns identified in X-band SAR for these basins, we also analyzed the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI calculated from a Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper image acquired on July 2009 and compared both X-band SAR and NDVI data with observations of basin age. We found significant logarithmic relationships between (a TerraSAR-X backscatter and basin age from 0 to 10,000 years, (b Landat-5 TM NDVI and basin age from 0 to 10,000 years, and (c TerraSAR-X backscatter and basin age from 50 to 10,000 years. NDVI was a better indicator of basin age over a period of 0–10,000 years. However, TerraSAR-X data performed much better for discriminating radiocarbon-dated basins (50–10,000 years old. No clear relationships were found for either backscatter or NDVI and basin age from 0 to 50 years. We attribute the decreasing trend of backscatter and NDVI with increasing basin age to post-drainage changes in the basin surface. Such changes include succession in vegetation, soils, hydrology, and renewed permafrost aggradation, ground ice accumulation and localized frost heave. Results of this study show the potential application of X-band SAR data in combination with NDVI data to map long-term succession dynamics of drained thermokarst lake basins.

Detection of macroalgae blooms by complex SAR imagery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Hui; Perrie, William; Liu, Qingrong; He, Yijun

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Complex SAR imagery enables better recognition of macroalgae patches. • Combination of different information in SAR matrix forms new index factors. • Proposed index factors contribute to unsupervised recognition of macroalgae. -- Abstract: Increased frequency and enhanced damage to the marine environment and to human society caused by green macroalgae blooms demand improved high-resolution early detection methods. Conventional satellite remote sensing methods via spectra radiometers do not work in cloud-covered areas, and therefore cannot meet these demands for operational applications. We present a methodology for green macroalgae bloom detection based on RADARSAT-2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. Green macroalgae patches exhibit different polarimetric characteristics compared to the open ocean surface, in both the amplitude and phase domains of SAR-measured complex radar backscatter returns. In this study, new index factors are defined which have opposite signs in green macroalgae-covered areas, compared to the open water surface. These index factors enable unsupervised detection from SAR images, providing a high-resolution new tool for detection of green macroalgae blooms, which can potentially contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms related to outbreaks of green macroalgae blooms in coastal areas throughout the world ocean

Wavelet Filter Banks for Super-Resolution SAR Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Sheybani, Ehsan O.; Deshpande, Manohar; Memarsadeghi, Nargess

2011-01-01

This paper discusses Innovative wavelet-based filter banks designed to enhance the analysis of super resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images using parametric spectral methods and signal classification algorithms, SAR finds applications In many of NASA's earth science fields such as deformation, ecosystem structure, and dynamics of Ice, snow and cold land processes, and surface water and ocean topography. Traditionally, standard methods such as Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT) and Inverse Fast-Fourier Transform (IFFT) have been used to extract Images from SAR radar data, Due to non-parametric features of these methods and their resolution limitations and observation time dependence, use of spectral estimation and signal pre- and post-processing techniques based on wavelets to process SAR radar data has been proposed. Multi-resolution wavelet transforms and advanced spectral estimation techniques have proven to offer efficient solutions to this problem.

The economic impact of SARS in Beijing, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Beutels, Philippe; Jia, Na; Zhou, Qing-Yi; Smith, Richard; Cao, Wu-Chun; de Vlas, Sake J

2009-11-01

To document the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Beijing on indicators of social and economic activity. Associations between time series of daily and monthly SARS cases and deaths and volume of public train, airplane and cargo transport, tourism, household consumption patterns and gross domestic product growth in Beijing were investigated using the cross-correlation function. Significant correlation coefficients were found for all indicators except wholesale accounts and expenditures on necessities, with the most significant correlations occurring with a delay of 1 day to 1 month. Especially leisure activities, local and international transport and tourism were affected by SARS particularly in May 2003. Much of this consumption was merely postponed; but irrecoverable losses to the tourist sector alone were estimated at about US$ 1.4 bn, or 300 times the cost of treatment for SARS cases in Beijing.

Guided SAR image despeckling with probabilistic non local weights

Science.gov (United States)

Gokul, Jithin; Nair, Madhu S.; Rajan, Jeny

2017-12-01

SAR images are generally corrupted by granular disturbances called speckle, which makes visual analysis and detail extraction a difficult task. Non Local despeckling techniques with probabilistic similarity has been a recent trend in SAR despeckling. To achieve effective speckle suppression without compromising detail preservation, we propose an improvement for the existing Generalized Guided Filter with Bayesian Non-Local Means (GGF-BNLM) method. The proposed method (Guided SAR Image Despeckling with Probabilistic Non Local Weights) replaces parametric constants based on heuristics in GGF-BNLM method with dynamically derived values based on the image statistics for weight computation. Proposed changes make GGF-BNLM method adaptive and as a result, significant improvement is achieved in terms of performance. Experimental analysis on SAR images shows excellent speckle reduction without compromising feature preservation when compared to GGF-BNLM method. Results are also compared with other state-of-the-art and classic SAR depseckling techniques to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Prototype Theory Based Feature Representation for PolSAR Images

OpenAIRE

Huang Xiaojing; Yang Xiangli; Huang Pingping; Yang Wen

2016-01-01

This study presents a new feature representation approach for Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR) image based on prototype theory. First, multiple prototype sets are generated using prototype theory. Then, regularized logistic regression is used to predict similarities between a test sample and each prototype set. Finally, the PolSAR image feature representation is obtained by ensemble projection. Experimental results of an unsupervised classification of PolSAR images show that our...

One carbon metabolism in SAR11 pelagic marine bacteria.

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Jing Sun

Full Text Available The SAR11 Alphaproteobacteria are the most abundant heterotrophs in the oceans and are believed to play a major role in mineralizing marine dissolved organic carbon. Their genomes are among the smallest known for free-living heterotrophic cells, raising questions about how they successfully utilize complex organic matter with a limited metabolic repertoire. Here we show that conserved genes in SAR11 subgroup Ia (Candidatus Pelagibacter ubique genomes encode pathways for the oxidation of a variety of one-carbon compounds and methyl functional groups from methylated compounds. These pathways were predicted to produce energy by tetrahydrofolate (THF-mediated oxidation, but not to support the net assimilation of biomass from C1 compounds. Measurements of cellular ATP content and the oxidation of (14C-labeled compounds to (14CO(2 indicated that methanol, formaldehyde, methylamine, and methyl groups from glycine betaine (GBT, trimethylamine (TMA, trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO, and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP were oxidized by axenic cultures of the SAR11 strain Ca. P. ubique HTCC1062. Analyses of metagenomic data showed that genes for C1 metabolism occur at a high frequency in natural SAR11 populations. In short term incubations, natural communities of Sargasso Sea microbial plankton expressed a potential for the oxidation of (14C-labeled formate, formaldehyde, methanol and TMAO that was similar to cultured SAR11 cells and, like cultured SAR11 cells, incorporated a much larger percentage of pyruvate and glucose (27-35% than of C1 compounds (2-6% into biomass. Collectively, these genomic, cellular and environmental data show a surprising capacity for demethylation and C1 oxidation in SAR11 cultures and in natural microbial communities dominated by SAR11, and support the conclusion that C1 oxidation might be a significant conduit by which dissolved organic carbon is recycled to CO(2 in the upper ocean.

Mapping and monitoring renewable resources with space SAR

Science.gov (United States)

Ulaby, F. T.; Brisco, B.; Dobson, M. C.; Moezzi, S.

1983-01-01

The SEASAT-A SAR and SIR-A imagery was examined to evaluate the quality and type of information that can be extracted and used to monitor renewable resources on Earth. Two tasks were carried out: (1) a land cover classification study which utilized two sets of imagery acquired by the SEASAT-A SAR, one set by SIR-A, and one LANDSAT set (4 bands); and (2) a change detection to examine differences between pairs of SEASAT-A SAR images and relates them to hydrologic and/or agronomic variations in the scene.

Automated inundation monitoring using TerraSAR-X multitemporal imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Gebhardt, S.; Huth, J.; Wehrmann, T.; Schettler, I.; Künzer, C.; Schmidt, M.; Dech, S.

2009-04-01

The Mekong Delta in Vietnam offers natural resources for several million inhabitants. However, a strong population increase, changing climatic conditions and regulatory measures at the upper reaches of the Mekong lead to severe changes in the Delta. Extreme flood events occur more frequently, drinking water availability is increasingly limited, soils show signs of salinization or acidification, species and complete habitats diminish. During the Monsoon season the river regularly overflows its banks in the lower Mekong area, usually with beneficial effects. However, extreme flood events occur more frequently causing extensive damage, on the average once every 6 to 10 years river flood levels exceed the critical beneficial level X-band SAR data are well suited for deriving inundated surface areas. The TerraSAR-X sensor with its different scanning modi allows for the derivation of spatial and temporal high resolved inundation masks. The paper presents an automated procedure for deriving inundated areas from TerraSAR-X Scansar and Stripmap image data. Within the framework of the German-Vietnamese WISDOM project, focussing the Mekong Delta region in Vietnam, images have been acquired covering the flood season from June 2008 to November 2008. Based on these images a time series of the so called watermask showing inundated areas have been derived. The product is required as intermediate to (i) calibrate 2d inundation model scenarios, (ii) estimate the extent of affected areas, and (iii) analyze the scope of prior crisis. The image processing approach is based on the assumption that water surfaces are forward scattering the radar signal resulting in low backscatter signals to the sensor. It uses multiple grey level thresholds and image morphological operations. The approach is robust in terms of automation, accuracy, robustness, and processing time. The resulting watermasks show the seasonal flooding pattern with inundations starting in July, having their peak at the end

Comparison of SAR calculation algorithms for the finite-difference time-domain method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laakso, Ilkka; Uusitupa, Tero; Ilvonen, Sami

2010-01-01

Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations of specific-absorption rate (SAR) have several uncertainty factors. For example, significantly varying SAR values may result from the use of different algorithms for determining the SAR from the FDTD electric field. The objective of this paper is to rigorously study the divergence of SAR values due to different SAR calculation algorithms and to examine if some SAR calculation algorithm should be preferred over others. For this purpose, numerical FDTD results are compared to analytical solutions in a one-dimensional layered model and a three-dimensional spherical object. Additionally, the implications of SAR calculation algorithms for dosimetry of anatomically realistic whole-body models are studied. The results show that the trapezium algorithm-based on the trapezium integration rule-is always conservative compared to the analytic solution, making it a good choice for worst-case exposure assessment. In contrast, the mid-ordinate algorithm-named after the mid-ordinate integration rule-usually underestimates the analytic SAR. The linear algorithm-which is approximately a weighted average of the two-seems to be the most accurate choice overall, typically giving the best fit with the shape of the analytic SAR distribution. For anatomically realistic models, the whole-body SAR difference between different algorithms is relatively independent of the used body model, incident direction and polarization of the plane wave. The main factors affecting the difference are cell size and frequency. The choice of the SAR calculation algorithm is an important simulation parameter in high-frequency FDTD SAR calculations, and it should be explained to allow intercomparison of the results between different studies. (note)

Evidence of rock slope breathing using ground-based InSAR

Science.gov (United States)

Rouyet, Line; Kristensen, Lene; Derron, Marc-Henri; Michoud, Clément; Blikra, Lars Harald; Jaboyedoff, Michel; Lauknes, Tom Rune

2017-07-01

Ground-Based Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (GB-InSAR) campaigns were performed in summer 2011 and 2012 in the Romsdalen valley (Møre & Romsdal county, western Norway) in order to assess displacements on Mannen/Børa rock slope. Located 1 km northwest, a second GB-InSAR system continuously monitors the large Mannen rockslide. The availability of two GB-InSAR positions creates a wide coverage of the rock slope, including a slight dataset overlap valuable for validation. A phenomenon of rock slope breathing is detected in a remote and hard-to-access area in mid-slope. Millimetric upward displacements are recorded in August 2011. Analysis of 2012 GB-InSAR campaign, combined with the large dataset from the continuous station, shows that the slope is affected by inflation/deflation phenomenon between 5 and 10 mm along the line-of-sight. The pattern is not homogenous in time and inversions of movement have a seasonal recurrence. These seasonal changes are confirmed by satellite InSAR observations and can possibly be caused by hydrogeological variations. In addition, combination of GB-InSAR results, in situ measurements and satellite InSAR analyses contributes to a better overview of movement distribution over the whole area.

Analysis of the Scattering Characteristics of Sea Surface with the Influence from Internal Wave

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Wei Yi-wen

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The internal wave travels beneath the sea surface and modulate the roughness of the sea surface through the wave-current interaction. This makes some dark and bright bands can be observed in the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR images. In this paper, we first establish the profile of the internal wave based on the KdV equations; then, the action balance equation and the wave-current interaction source function are used to modify the sea spectrum; finally, the two-scale theory based facet model is combined with the modified sea spectrum to calculate the scattering characteristics of the sea. We have simulated the scattering coefficient distribution of the sea with an internal wave traveling through. The influence on the scattering coefficients and the Doppler spectra under different internal wave parameters and sea state parameters are analyzed.

SAR Ground Moving Target Indication Based on Relative Residue of DPCA Processing

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Jia Xu

2016-10-01

Full Text Available For modern synthetic aperture radar (SAR, it has much more urgent demands on ground moving target indication (GMTI, which includes not only the point moving targets like cars, truck or tanks but also the distributed moving targets like river or ocean surfaces. Among the existing GMTI methods, displaced phase center antenna (DPCA can effectively cancel the strong ground clutter and has been widely used. However, its detection performance is closely related to the target’s signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR as well as radial velocity, and it cannot effectively detect the weak large-sized river surfaces in strong ground clutter due to their low SCR caused by specular scattering. This paper proposes a novel method called relative residue of DPCA (RR-DPCA, which jointly utilizes the DPCA cancellation outputs and the multi-look images to improve the detection performance of weak river surfaces. Furthermore, based on the statistics analysis of the RR-DPCA outputs on the homogenous background, the cell average (CA method can be well applied for subsequent constant false alarm rate (CFAR detection. The proposed RR-DPCA method can well detect the point moving targets and distributed moving targets simultaneously. Finally, the results of both simulated and real data are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed SAR/GMTI method.

Mapping the Extent and Magnitude of Severe Flooding Induced by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria with Sentinel-1 SAR and InSAR Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, B.; Koirala, R.; Oliver-Cabrera, T.; Wdowinski, S.; Osmanoglu, B.

2017-12-01

Hurricanes can cause winds, rainfall and storm surge, all of which could result in flooding. Between August and September 2017, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria made landfall over Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico causing destruction and damages. Flood mapping is important for water management and to estimate risks and property damage. Though water gauges are able to monitor water levels, they are normally distributed sparsely. To map flooding products of these extreme events, we use Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) observations acquired by the European satellite constellation Sentinel-1. We obtained two acquisitions from before each flooding event, a single acquisition during the hurricane, and two after each event, a total of five acquisitions. We use both amplitude and phase observations to map extent and magnitude of flooding respectively. To map flooding extents, we use amplitude images from before, after and if possible during the hurricane pass. A calibration is used to convert the image raw data to backscatter coefficient, termed sigma nought. We generate a composite of the two image layers using red and green bands to show the change of sigma nought between acquisitions, which directly reflects the extent of flooding. Because inundation can result with either an increase or decrease of sigma nought values depending on the surface scattering characteristics, we map flooded areas in location where sigma nought changes were above a detection threshold. To study magnitude of flooding we study Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) phase changes. Changes in the water level can be detected by the radar when the signal is reflected away from water surface and bounces again by another object (e.g. trees and/or buildings) known as double bounce phase. To generate meaningful interferograms, we compare phase information with the nearest water gauge records to verify our results. Preliminary results show that the three hurricanes caused flooding condition over

Long Wavelength SAR Backscatter Modelling Trends as a Consequence of the Emergent Properties of Tree Populations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Brolly

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This study describes the novel use of a macroecological plant and forest structure model in conjunction with a Radiative Transfer (RT model to better understand interactions between microwaves and forest canopies. Trends predicted by the RT model, resulting from interactions with mixed age, mono and multi species forests, are analysed in comparison to those predicted using a simplistic structure based scattering model. This model relates backscatter to scatterer cross sectional or volume specifications, dependent on the size. The Spatially Explicit Reiterative Algorithm (SERA model is used to provide a widely varied tree size distribution while maintaining allometric consistency to produce a natural-like forest representation. The RT model is parameterised using structural information from SERA and microwave backscatter simulations are used to analyse the impact of changes to the forest stand. Results show that the slope of the saturation curve observed in the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR backscatter-biomass relationship is sensitive to thinning and therefore forest basal area. Due to similarities displayed between the results of the RT and simplistic model, it is determined that forest SAR backscatter behaviour at long microwave wavelengths may be described generally using equations related to total stem volume and basal area. The nature of these equations is such that they describe saturating behaviour of forests in the absence of attenuation in comparable fashion to the trends exhibited using the RT model. Both modelled backscatter trends predict a   relationship to forest basal area from an early age when forest volume is increasing. When this is not the case, it is assumed to be a result of attenuation of the dominant stem-ground interaction due to the presence of excessive numbers of stems. This work shows how forest growth models can be successfully incorporated into existing independent scattering models and reveals, through the RT

Characteristics of Decomposition Powers of L-Band Multi-Polarimetric SAR in Assessing Tree Growth of Industrial Plantation Forests in the Tropics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshio Yamaguchi

2012-10-01

Full Text Available A decomposition scheme was applied to ALOS/PALSAR data obtained from a fast-growing tree plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia to extract tree stem information and then estimate the forest stand volume. The scattering power decomposition of the polarimetric SAR data was performed both with and without a rotation matrix and compared to the following field-measured forest biometric parameters: tree diameter, tree height and stand volume. The analytical results involving the rotation matrix correlated better than those without the rotation matrix even for natural scattering surfaces within the forests. Our primary finding was that all of the decomposition powers from the rotated matrix correlated significantly to the forest biometric parameters when divided by the total power. The surface scattering ratio of the total power markedly decreased with the forest growth, whereas the canopy and double-bounce scattering ratios increased. The observations of the decomposition powers were consistent with the tree growth characteristics. Consequently, we found a significant logarithmic relationship between the decomposition powers and the forest biometric parameters that can potentially be used to estimate the forest stand volume.

Global Rapid Flood Mapping System with Spaceborne SAR Data

Science.gov (United States)

Yun, S. H.; Owen, S. E.; Hua, H.; Agram, P. S.; Fattahi, H.; Liang, C.; Manipon, G.; Fielding, E. J.; Rosen, P. A.; Webb, F.; Simons, M.

2017-12-01

As part of the Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis (ARIA) project for Natural Hazards, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and California Institute of Technology, we have developed an automated system that produces derived products for flood extent map generation using spaceborne SAR data. The system takes user's input of area of interest polygons and time window for SAR data search (pre- and post-event). Then the system automatically searches and downloads SAR data, processes them to produce coregistered SAR image pairs, and generates log amplitude ratio images from each pair. Currently the system is automated to support SAR data from the European Space Agency's Sentinel-1A/B satellites. We have used the system to produce flood extent maps from Sentinel-1 SAR data for the May 2017 Sri Lanka floods, which killed more than 200 people and displaced about 600,000 people. Our flood extent maps were delivered to the Red Cross to support response efforts. Earlier we also responded to the historic August 2016 Louisiana floods in the United States, which claimed 13 people's lives and caused over $10 billion property damage. For this event, we made synchronized observations from space, air, and ground in close collaboration with USGS and NOAA. The USGS field crews acquired ground observation data, and NOAA acquired high-resolution airborne optical imagery within the time window of +/-2 hours of the SAR data acquisition by JAXA's ALOS-2 satellite. The USGS coordinates of flood water boundaries were used to calibrate our flood extent map derived from the ALOS-2 SAR data, and the map was delivered to FEMA for estimating the number of households affected. Based on the lessons learned from this response effort, we customized the ARIA system automation for rapid flood mapping and developed a mobile friendly web app that can easily be used in the field for data collection. Rapid automatic generation of SAR-based global flood maps calibrated with independent observations from

Analysis of Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Pandemic SARS Spread in Mainland China.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Chunxiang; Chen, Wei; Zheng, Sheng; Zhao, Jian; Wang, Jinfeng; Cao, Wuchun

2016-01-01

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is one of the most severe emerging infectious diseases of the 21st century so far. SARS caused a pandemic that spread throughout mainland China for 7 months, infecting 5318 persons in 194 administrative regions. Using detailed mainland China epidemiological data, we study spatiotemporal aspects of this person-to-person contagious disease and simulate its spatiotemporal transmission dynamics via the Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME) method. The BME reveals that SARS outbreaks show autocorrelation within certain spatial and temporal distances. We use BME to fit a theoretical covariance model that has a sine hole spatial component and exponential temporal component and obtain the weights of geographical and temporal autocorrelation factors. Using the covariance model, SARS dynamics were estimated and simulated under the most probable conditions. Our study suggests that SARS transmission varies in its epidemiological characteristics and SARS outbreak distributions exhibit palpable clusters on both spatial and temporal scales. In addition, the BME modelling demonstrates that SARS transmission features are affected by spatial heterogeneity, so we analyze potential causes. This may benefit epidemiological control of pandemic infectious diseases.

Hydrodynamics of the groundwater-fed Sian Ka'an Wetlands, Mexico, From InSAR and SAR Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gondwe, Bibi Ruth Neuman; Hong, S.; Wdowinski, S.

2008-01-01

The 5300 km2 pristine Sian Ka'an wetland in Mexico is fed entirely by groundwater from the karst aquifer of the Yucatan Peninsula. The area is undeveloped and hence difficult to access. The inflow through underground rivers and karst structures is hard to observe resulting in difficulties......-changes of the backscattered radar signal, which can be related to the water level changes in vegetated wetlands. SAR data reveals information of surface properties such as the degree of flooding through the amplitude of the backscattered signal. We used RADARSAT-1 InSAR and SAR data to form 36 interferograms and 13 flooding...... maps with 24 to 48 day intervals covering the time span of October 2006 to March 2008. The dataset has a high spatial resolution of ca. 20 to 60 m. Sian Ka'an consists of a mosaic of freshwater sloughs, canals, floodplains and brackish tidally-influenced areas. Throughout most of the year, water level...

SAR Polarimetry

Science.gov (United States)

vanZyl, Jakob J.

2012-01-01

Radar Scattering includes: Surface Characteristics, Geometric Properties, Dielectric Properties, Rough Surface Scattering, Geometrical Optics and Small Perturbation Method Solutions, Integral Equation Method, Magellan Image of Pancake Domes on Venus, Dickinson Impact Crater on Venus (Magellan), Lakes on Titan (Cassini Radar, Longitudinal Dunes on Titan (Cassini Radar), Rough Surface Scattering: Effect of Dielectric Constant, Vegetation Scattering, Effect of Soil Moisture. Polarimetric Radar includes: Principles of Polarimetry: Field Descriptions, Wave Polarizations: Geometrical Representations, Definition of Ellipse Orientation Angles, Scatter as Polarization Transformer, Scattering Matrix, Coordinate Systems, Scattering Matrix, Covariance Matrix, Pauli Basis and Coherency Matrix, Polarization Synthesis, Polarimeter Implementation.

Methodology of dose calculation for the SRS SAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, J.B.

1991-07-01

The Savannah River Site (SRS) Safety Analysis Report (SAR) covering K reactor operation assesses a spectrum of design basis accidents. The assessment includes estimation of the dose consequences from the analyzed accidents. This report discusses the methodology used to perform the dose analysis reported in the SAR and also includes the quantified doses. Doses resulting from postulated design basis reactor accidents in Chapter 15 of the SAR are discussed, as well as an accident in which three percent of the fuel melts. Doses are reported for both atmospheric and aqueous releases. The methodology used to calculate doses from these accidents as reported in the SAR is consistent with NRC guidelines and industry standards. The doses from the design basis accidents for the SRS reactors are below the limits set for commercial reactors by the NRC and also meet industry criteria. A summary of doses for various postulated accidents is provided

Empirical wind retrieval model based on SAR spectrum measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Panfilova, Maria; Karaev, Vladimir; Balandina, Galina; Kanevsky, Mikhail; Portabella, Marcos; Stoffelen, Ad

The present paper considers polarimetric SAR wind vector applications. Remote-sensing measurements of the near-surface wind over the ocean are of great importance for the understanding of atmosphere-ocean interaction. In recent years investigations for wind vector retrieval using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data have been performed. In contrast with scatterometers, a SAR has a finer spatial resolution that makes it a more suitable microwave instrument to explore wind conditions in the marginal ice zones, coastal regions and lakes. The wind speed retrieval procedure from scatterometer data matches the measured radar backscattering signal with the geophysical model function (GMF). The GMF determines the radar cross section dependence on the wind speed and direction with respect to the azimuthal angle of the radar beam. Scatterometers provide information on wind speed and direction simultaneously due to the fact that each wind vector cell (WVC) is observed at several azimuth angles. However, SAR is not designed to be used as a high resolution scatterometer. In this case, each WVC is observed at only one single azimuth angle. That is why for wind vector determination additional information such as wind streak orientation over the sea surface is required. It is shown that the wind vector can be obtained using polarimetric SAR without additional information. The main idea is to analyze the spectrum of a homogeneous SAR image area instead of the backscattering normalized radar cross section. Preliminary numerical simulations revealed that SAR image spectral maxima positions depend on the wind vector. Thus the following method for wind speed retrieval is proposed. In the first stage of the algorithm, the SAR spectrum maxima are determined. This procedure is carried out to estimate the wind speed and direction with ambiguities separated by 180 degrees due to the SAR spectrum symmetry. The second stage of the algorithm allows us to select the correct wind direction

Demonstrator for Automatic Target Classification in SAR Imagery

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wit, J.J.M. de; Broek, A.C. van den; Dekker, R.J.

2006-01-01

Due to the increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition applications, the interest in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems is growing. In order to facilitate the processing of the enormous amount of SAR data on the ground, automatic

Mapping Plastic-Mulched Farmland with C-Band Full Polarization SAR Remote Sensing Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hasituya

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Plastic mulching is an important technology in agricultural production both in China and the rest of the world. In spite of its benefit of increasing crop yields, the booming expansion of the plastic mulching area has been changing the landscape patterns and affecting the environment. Accurate and effective mapping of Plastic-Mulched Farmland (PMF can provide useful information for leveraging its advantages and disadvantages. However, mapping the PMF with remote sensing is still challenging owing to its varying spectral characteristics with the crop growth and geographic spatial division. In this paper, we investigated the potential of Radarsat-2 data for mapping PMF. We obtained the backscattering intensity of different polarizations and multiple polarimetric decomposition descriptors. These remotely-sensed information was used as input features for Random Forest (RF and Support Vector Machine (SVM classifiers. The results indicated that the features from Radarsat-2 data have great potential for mapping PMF. The overall accuracies of PMF mapping with Radarsat-2 data were close to 75%. Although the classification accuracy with the back-scattering intensity information alone was relatively lower owing to the inherent speckle noise in SAR data, it has been improved significantly by introducing the polarimetric decomposition descriptors. The accuracy was nearly 75%. In addition, the features derived from the Entropy/Anisotropy/Alpha (H/A/Alpha polarimetric decomposition, such as Alpha, entropy, and so on, made a greater contribution to PMF mapping than the Freeman decomposition, Krogager decomposition and the Yamaguchi4 decomposition. The performances of different classifiers were also compared. In this study, the RF classifier performed better than the SVM classifier. However, it is expected that the classification accuracy of PMF with SAR remote sensing data can be improved by combining SAR remote sensing data with optical remote sensing data.

SAR image effects on coherence and coherence estimation.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bickel, Douglas Lloyd

2014-01-01

Radar coherence is an important concept for imaging radar systems such as synthetic aperture radar (SAR). This document quantifies some of the effects in SAR which modify the coherence. Although these effects can disrupt the coherence within a single SAR image, this report will focus on the coherence between separate images, such as for coherent change detection (CCD) processing. There have been other presentations on aspects of this material in the past. The intent of this report is to bring various issues that affect the coherence together in a single report to support radar engineers in making decisions about these matters.

Phase correction and error estimation in InSAR time series analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Y.; Fattahi, H.; Amelung, F.

2017-12-01

During the last decade several InSAR time series approaches have been developed in response to the non-idea acquisition strategy of SAR satellites, such as large spatial and temporal baseline with non-regular acquisitions. The small baseline tubes and regular acquisitions of new SAR satellites such as Sentinel-1 allows us to form fully connected networks of interferograms and simplifies the time series analysis into a weighted least square inversion of an over-determined system. Such robust inversion allows us to focus more on the understanding of different components in InSAR time-series and its uncertainties. We present an open-source python-based package for InSAR time series analysis, called PySAR (https://yunjunz.github.io/PySAR/), with unique functionalities for obtaining unbiased ground displacement time-series, geometrical and atmospheric correction of InSAR data and quantifying the InSAR uncertainty. Our implemented strategy contains several features including: 1) improved spatial coverage using coherence-based network of interferograms, 2) unwrapping error correction using phase closure or bridging, 3) tropospheric delay correction using weather models and empirical approaches, 4) DEM error correction, 5) optimal selection of reference date and automatic outlier detection, 6) InSAR uncertainty due to the residual tropospheric delay, decorrelation and residual DEM error, and 7) variance-covariance matrix of final products for geodetic inversion. We demonstrate the performance using SAR datasets acquired by Cosmo-Skymed and TerraSAR-X, Sentinel-1 and ALOS/ALOS-2, with application on the highly non-linear volcanic deformation in Japan and Ecuador (figure 1). Our result shows precursory deformation before the 2015 eruptions of Cotopaxi volcano, with a maximum uplift of 3.4 cm on the western flank (fig. 1b), with a standard deviation of 0.9 cm (fig. 1a), supporting the finding by Morales-Rivera et al. (2017, GRL); and a post-eruptive subsidence on the same

Fast Superpixel Segmentation Algorithm for PolSAR Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Yue

2017-10-01

Full Text Available As a pre-processing technique, superpixel segmentation algorithms should be of high computational efficiency, accurate boundary adherence and regular shape in homogeneous regions. A fast superpixel segmentation algorithm based on Iterative Edge Refinement (IER has shown to be applicable on optical images. However, it is difficult to obtain the ideal results when IER is applied directly to PolSAR images due to the speckle noise and small or slim regions in PolSAR images. To address these problems, in this study, the unstable pixel set is initialized as all the pixels in the PolSAR image instead of the initial grid edge pixels. In the local relabeling of the unstable pixels, the fast revised Wishart distance is utilized instead of the Euclidean distance in CIELAB color space. Then, a post-processing procedure based on dissimilarity measure is empolyed to remove isolated small superpixels as well as to retain the strong point targets. Finally, extensive experiments based on a simulated image and a real-world PolSAR image from Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR are conducted, showing that the proposed algorithm, compared with three state-of-the-art methods, performs better in terms of several commonly used evaluation criteria with high computational efficiency, accurate boundary adherence, and homogeneous regularity.

Program Merges SAR Data on Terrain and Vegetation Heights

Science.gov (United States)

Siqueira, Paul; Hensley, Scott; Rodriguez, Ernesto; Simard, Marc

2007-01-01

X/P Merge is a computer program that estimates ground-surface elevations and vegetation heights from multiple sets of data acquired by the GeoSAR instrument [a terrain-mapping synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) system that operates in the X and bands]. X/P Merge software combines data from X- and P-band digital elevation models, SAR backscatter magnitudes, and interferometric correlation magnitudes into a simplified set of output topographical maps of ground-surface elevation and tree height.

The Danish (Q)SAR Database Update Project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nikolov, Nikolai Georgiev; Dybdahl, Marianne; Abildgaard Rosenberg, Sine

2013-01-01

The Danish (Q)SAR Database is a collection of predictions from quantitative structure–activity relationship ((Q)SAR) models for over 70 environmental and human health-related endpoints (covering biodegradation, metabolism, allergy, irritation, endocrine disruption, teratogenicity, mutagenicity......, carcinogenicity and others), each of them available for 185,000 organic substances. The database has been available online since 2005 (http://qsar.food.dtu.dk). A major update project for the Danish (Q)SAR database is under way, with a new online release planned in the beginning of 2015. The updated version...... will contain more than 600,000 discrete organic structures and new, more precise predictions for all endpoints, derived by consensus algorithms from a number of state-of-the-art individual predictions. Copyright © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd....

First Image Products from EcoSAR - Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

Science.gov (United States)

Osmanoglu, Batuhan; Lee, SeungKuk; Rincon, Rafael; Fatuyinbo, Lola; Bollian, Tobias; Ranson, Jon

2016-01-01

Designed especially for forest ecosystem studies, EcoSAR employs state-of-the-art digital beamforming technology to generate wide-swath, high-resolution imagery. EcoSARs dual antenna single-pass imaging capability eliminates temporal decorrelation from polarimetric and interferometric analysis, increasing the signal strength and simplifying models used to invert forest structure parameters. Antennae are physically separated by 25 meters providing single pass interferometry. In this mode the radar is most sensitive to topography. With 32 active transmit and receive channels, EcoSARs digital beamforming is an order of magnitude more versatile than the digital beamforming employed on the upcoming NISAR mission. EcoSARs long wavelength (P-band, 435 MHz, 69 cm) measurements can be used to simulate data products for ESAs future BIOMASS mission, allowing scientists to develop algorithms before the launch of the satellite. EcoSAR can also be deployed to collect much needed data where BIOMASS satellite wont be allowed to collect data (North America, Europe and Arctic), filling in the gaps to keep a watchful eye on the global carbon cycle. EcoSAR can play a vital role in monitoring, reporting and verification schemes of internationals programs such as UN-REDD (United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) benefiting global society. EcoSAR was developed and flown with support from NASA Earth Sciences Technology Offices Instrument Incubator Program.

Research on the method of extracting DEM based on GBInSAR

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Jianping; Yue, Shun; Qiu, Zhiwei; Wang, Xueqin; Guo, Leping

2016-05-01

Precise topographical information has a very important role in geology, hydrology, natural resources survey and deformation monitoring. The extracting DEM technology based on synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) obtains the three-dimensional elevation of the target area through the phase information of the radar image data. The technology has large-scale, high-precision, all-weather features. By changing track in the location of the ground radar system up and down, it can form spatial baseline. Then we can achieve the DEM of the target area by acquiring image data from different angles. Three-dimensional laser scanning technology can quickly, efficiently and accurately obtain DEM of target area, which can verify the accuracy of DEM extracted by GBInSAR. But research on GBInSAR in extracting DEM of the target area is a little. For lack of theory and lower accuracy problems in extracting DEM based on GBInSAR now, this article conducted research and analysis on its principle deeply. The article extracted the DEM of the target area, combined with GBInSAR data. Then it compared the DEM obtained by GBInSAR with the DEM obtained by three-dimensional laser scan data and made statistical analysis and normal distribution test. The results showed the DEM obtained by GBInSAR was broadly consistent with the DEM obtained by three-dimensional laser scanning. And its accuracy is high. The difference of both DEM approximately obeys normal distribution. It indicated that extracting the DEM of target area based on GBInSAR is feasible and provided the foundation for the promotion and application of GBInSAR.

The effect of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on emergency airway management.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Evelyn; Ho, Khoy Kheng

2006-07-01

From early March 2003 to late May 2003, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was detected in Singapore. The increase in workload and new infection control procedures were thought to affect resuscitation and airway management. Our aim was to study the effects of wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE) and powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) and the restriction in the number of resuscitation personnel on airway management during the SARS crisis. Data was collected prospectively through an ongoing emergency airway registry. The data was divided into three periods: (1) before PPE was instituted from 1 November 2002 to 31 March 2003; (2) during SARS (when PPE use was mandatory) from 1 April to 31 July 2003; (3) post-SARs (when PPE use was non-mandatory but encouraged) from 1 August to 31 March 2004. There was no change in patient demographics during the three periods. There were significant increases in the proportion of resuscitation cases and airway interventions during the SARS period compared to the pre-SARS period. The resident medical officer intubation rate decreased from 45.1% pre-SARS to 35.2% during SARS and 17.7% post-SARS. The complication rates were 10.5%, 9.9% and 9.4% in periods 1-3, respectively. Restriction in the number of healthcare staff attending to each patient may have influenced the department's decision to allow only the most confident or experienced personnel to manage the airway. The exposure of junior medical officers in emergency airway management during SARS and the immediate post-SARS period was decreased. This trend should be monitored further and intervention may be necessary should it continue to decline.

MAPPING THE EXTENT AND MAGNITUDE OF SEVER FLOODING INDUCED BY HURRICANE IRMA WITH MULTI-TEMPORAL SENTINEL-1 SAR AND INSAR OBSERVATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Zhang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available During Hurricane Irma’s passage over Florida in September 2017, many sections of the state experienced heavy rain and sequent flooding. In order to drain water out of potential flooding zones and assess property damage, it is important to map the extent and magnitude of the flooded areas at various stages of the storm. We use Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR and Interferometric SAR (InSAR observations, acquired by Sentinel-1 before, during and after the hurricane passage, which enable us to evaluate surface condition during different stages of the hurricane. This study uses multi-temporal images acquired under dry condition before the hurricane to constrain the background backscattering signature. Flooded areas are detected when the backscattering during the hurricane is statistically significantly different from the average dry conditions. The detected changes can be either an increase or decrease of the backscattering, which depends on the scattering characteristics of the surface. In addition, water level change information in Palmdale, South Florida is extracted from an interferogram with the aid of a local water gauge as the reference. The results of our flooding analysis revealed that the majority of the study area in South Florida was flooded during Hurricane Irma.

Synthetic aperture design for increased SAR image rate

Science.gov (United States)

Bielek, Timothy P [Albuquerque, NM; Thompson, Douglas G [Albuqerque, NM; Walker, Bruce C [Albuquerque, NM

2009-03-03

High resolution SAR images of a target scene at near video rates can be produced by using overlapped, but nevertheless, full-size synthetic apertures. The SAR images, which respectively correspond to the apertures, can be analyzed in sequence to permit detection of movement in the target scene.

The Danish polarimetric SAR for remote sensing applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Erik Lintz; Madsen, Søren Nørvang; Dall, Jørgen

1994-01-01

Presents the Danish polarimetric SAR system, EMISAR, and the approach taken in the system design to achieve a reliable high performance system. The design and implementation of the antenna system as well as the analog and digital hardware are discussed. The SAR utilises a dual polarised microstri...

SEGMENTATION OF POLARIMETRIC SAR IMAGES USIG WAVELET TRANSFORMATION AND TEXTURE FEATURES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Rezaeian

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR sensors can collect useful observations from earth’s surfaces and phenomena for various remote sensing applications, such as land cover mapping, change and target detection. These data can be acquired without the limitations of weather conditions, sun illumination and dust particles. As result, SAR images, and in particular Polarimetric SAR (PolSAR are powerful tools for various environmental applications. Unlike the optical images, SAR images suffer from the unavoidable speckle, which causes the segmentation of this data difficult. In this paper, we use the wavelet transformation for segmentation of PolSAR images. Our proposed method is based on the multi-resolution analysis of texture features is based on wavelet transformation. Here, we use the information of gray level value and the information of texture. First, we produce coherency or covariance matrices and then generate span image from them. In the next step of proposed method is texture feature extraction from sub-bands is generated from discrete wavelet transform (DWT. Finally, PolSAR image are segmented using clustering methods as fuzzy c-means (FCM and k-means clustering. We have applied the proposed methodology to full polarimetric SAR images acquired by the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR L-band system, during July, in 2012 over an agricultural area in Winnipeg, Canada.

Segmentation of Polarimetric SAR Images Usig Wavelet Transformation and Texture Features

Science.gov (United States)

Rezaeian, A.; Homayouni, S.; Safari, A.

2015-12-01

Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR) sensors can collect useful observations from earth's surfaces and phenomena for various remote sensing applications, such as land cover mapping, change and target detection. These data can be acquired without the limitations of weather conditions, sun illumination and dust particles. As result, SAR images, and in particular Polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) are powerful tools for various environmental applications. Unlike the optical images, SAR images suffer from the unavoidable speckle, which causes the segmentation of this data difficult. In this paper, we use the wavelet transformation for segmentation of PolSAR images. Our proposed method is based on the multi-resolution analysis of texture features is based on wavelet transformation. Here, we use the information of gray level value and the information of texture. First, we produce coherency or covariance matrices and then generate span image from them. In the next step of proposed method is texture feature extraction from sub-bands is generated from discrete wavelet transform (DWT). Finally, PolSAR image are segmented using clustering methods as fuzzy c-means (FCM) and k-means clustering. We have applied the proposed methodology to full polarimetric SAR images acquired by the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) L-band system, during July, in 2012 over an agricultural area in Winnipeg, Canada.

Excretion and detection of SARS coronavirus and its nucleic acid from digestive system

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xin-Wei; Li, Jin-Song; Guo, Ting-Kai; Zhen, Bei; Kong, Qing-Xin; Yi, Bin; Li, Zhong; Song, Nong; Jin, Min; Wu, Xiao-Ming; Xiao, Wen-Jun; Zhu, Xiu-Mei; Gu, Chang-Qing; Yin, Jing; Wei, Wei; Yao, Wei; Liu, Chao; Li, Jian-Feng; Ou, Guo-Rong; Wang, Min-Nian; Fang, Tong-Yu; Wang, Gui-Jie; Qiu, Yao-Hui; Wu, Huai-Huan; Chao, Fu-Huan; Li, Jun-Wen

2005-01-01

AIM: To study whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) could be excreted from digestive system. METHODS: Cell culture and semi-nested RT-PCR were used to detect SARS-CoV and its RNA from 21 stool and urine samples, and a kind of electropositive filter media particles was used to concentrate the virus in 10 sewage samples from two hospitals receiving SARS patients in Beijing in China. RESULTS: It was demonstrated that there was no live SARS-CoV in all samples collected, but the RNA of SARS-CoV could be detected in seven stool samples from SARS patients with any one of the symptoms of fever, malaise, cough, or dyspnea, in 10 sewage samples before disinfection and 3 samples after disinfection from the two hospitals. The RNA could not be detected in urine and stool samples from patients recovered from SARS. CONCLUSION: Nucleic acid of SARS-CoV can be excreted through the stool of patients into sewage system, and the possibility of SARS-CoV transmitting through digestive system cannot be excluded. PMID:16038039

PSInSAR technology and its use for monitoring of the Earth's surface deformation; Technologia PSInSAR a jej vyuzitie na monitorovanie deformacii zemskeho povrchu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Batorova, K [Univerzita Komenskeho v Bratislave, Prirodovedecka fakulta, Katedra inzinierskej geologie, 84215 Bratislava (Slovakia)

2012-04-25

Method of permanent reflex points (PSInSAR) allows to monitor the time evolution of deformations of the Earth's surface with a millimeter precision. For deformation size determination there are used the maps of movement speed or time delay of line set of data that are obtained by evaluating of SAR images. SAR files must be processed using the basic mathematical calculation presented in the work, with an emphasis on the parameters used in geology. Extensive processing of multiple SAR imagery showed that they can be used during monitoring of the field with an accurate identification of the objects on the Earth's surface, which provide a stable reflection of radar rays transmitted from the satellite. These objects are known as permanent reflection points (PS). PS can be geo-referenced, allowing accurate determination of the movement size of the Earth's surface deformation. In this paper an example of using of PSInSAR technology for monitoring of slope movements on the territory of Slovakia is presented. (authors)

A Novel Fusion-Based Ship Detection Method from Pol-SAR Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenguang Wang

2015-09-01

Full Text Available A novel fusion-based ship detection method from polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (Pol-SAR images is proposed in this paper. After feature extraction and constant false alarm rate (CFAR detection, the detection results of HH channel, diplane scattering by Pauli decomposition and helical factor by Barnes decomposition are fused together. The confirmed targets and potential target pixels can be obtained after the fusion process. Using the difference degree of the target, potential target pixels can be classified. The fusion-based ship detection method works accurately by utilizing three different features comprehensively. The result of applying the technique to measured Airborne Synthetic Radar (AIRSAR data shows that the novel detection method can achieve better performance in both ship’s detection and ship’s shape preservation compared to the result of K-means clustering method and the Notch Filter method.

Analysis of Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Pandemic SARS Spread in Mainland China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunxiang Cao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS is one of the most severe emerging infectious diseases of the 21st century so far. SARS caused a pandemic that spread throughout mainland China for 7 months, infecting 5318 persons in 194 administrative regions. Using detailed mainland China epidemiological data, we study spatiotemporal aspects of this person-to-person contagious disease and simulate its spatiotemporal transmission dynamics via the Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME method. The BME reveals that SARS outbreaks show autocorrelation within certain spatial and temporal distances. We use BME to fit a theoretical covariance model that has a sine hole spatial component and exponential temporal component and obtain the weights of geographical and temporal autocorrelation factors. Using the covariance model, SARS dynamics were estimated and simulated under the most probable conditions. Our study suggests that SARS transmission varies in its epidemiological characteristics and SARS outbreak distributions exhibit palpable clusters on both spatial and temporal scales. In addition, the BME modelling demonstrates that SARS transmission features are affected by spatial heterogeneity, so we analyze potential causes. This may benefit epidemiological control of pandemic infectious diseases.

Analysis of Ground Displacements in Taipei Area by Using High Resolution X-band SAR Interferometry

Science.gov (United States)

Tung, H.; Chen, H. Y.; Hu, J. C.

2014-12-01

Located at the northern part of Taiwan, Taipei is the most densely populated city and the center of politic, economic, and culture of this island. North of the Taipei basin, the active Tatun volcano group with the eruptive potential to devastate the entire Taipei is only 15 km away from the capital Taipei. Furthermore, the active Shanchiao fault located in the western margin of Taipei basin. Therefore, it is not only an interesting scientific topic but also a strong social impact to better understand the assessment and mitigation of geological hazard in the metropolitan Taipei city. In this study, we use 12 high resolution X-band SAR images from the new generation COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) constellation for associating with leveling and GPS data to monitor surface deformation around the Shanchiao fault and the Tatun volcano group. The stripmap mode of CSK SAR images provides spatial resolution of 3 m x 3 m, which is one order of magnitude better than the previous available satellite SAR data. Furthermore, the more frequent revisit of the same Area of Interest (AOI) of the present X-band missions provides massive datasets to avoid the baseline limitation and temporal decorrelation to improve the temporal resolution of deformation in time series. After transferring the GPS vectors and leveling data to the LOS direction by referring to continuous GPS station BANC, the R square between PS velocities and GPS velocities is approximate to 0.9, which indicates the high reliability of our PSInSAR result. In addition, the well-fitting profiles between leveling data and PSInSAR result along two leveling routes both demonstrate that the significant deformation gradient mainly occurs along the Shanchiao fault. The severe land subsidence area is located in the western part of Taipei basin just next to the Shanchiao fault with a maximum of SRD rate of 30 mm/yr. However, the severe subsidence area, Wuku, is also one industrial area in Taipei which could be attributed to anthropogenic

Retrieving current and wind vectors from ATI SAR data: airborne evidence and inversion strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Adrien; Gommenginger, Christine; Chapron, Bertrand; Marquez, José; Doody, Sam

2017-04-01

Conventional and along-track interferometric (ATI) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sense the motion of the ocean surface by measuring the Doppler shift of reflected signals. Together with the water displacement associated with ocean currents, the SAR measurements are also affected by a Wind-wave induced Artefact Surface Velocity (WASV) caused by the velocity of Bragg scatterers and the orbital velocity of ocean surface gravity waves. The WASV has been modelled theoretically in past studies but has been estimated empirically only once using Envisat ASAR. Here we propose, firstly, to evaluate this WASV from airborne ATI SAR data, secondly, to validate the airborne retrieved surface current after correction of the WASV against HF radar measurements and thirdly to examine the best inversion strategy for a an Ocean Surface Current (OSC) satellite mission to retrieve accurately both the ocean surface current vector (OSCV) and the wind vector in the frame of an OSC satellite mission. The airborne ATI SAR data were acquired in the tidally dominated Irish Sea using a Wavemill-type dual-beam SAR interferometer. A comprehensive collection of airborne Wavemill data acquired in a star pattern over a well-instrumented site made it possible to estimate the magnitude and dependence on azimuth and incidence angle of the WASV. The airborne results compare favourably with those reported for Envisat ASAR, empirical model, which has been used to correct for it. Validation of the current retrieval capabilities of the proof-of-concept has been conducted against HF radar giving a precisions typically better than 0.1 m/s for surface current speed and 7° for direction. Comparisons with POLCOMS (1.8 km) indicate that the model reproduces well the overall temporal evolution but does not capture the high spatial variability of ocean surface currents at the maximum ebb flow. Airborne retrieved currents highlight a short-scale spatial variability up to 100m related to bathymetry channels, which

Early appearance of SARS on chest CT scan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Xiaoguang; Feng Suchen; Xia Guoguang; Zhao Tao; Gu Xiang; Qu Hui

2003-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the early appearance of SARS on chest CT scan and its role in the early diagnosis. Methods: Forty cases of SARS in keeping with the criteria of the Ministry of Health had chest CT scans within 7 days of onset of symptoms, and CR chest X-ray films were available as well. These chest X-rays and CT images were retrospectively reviewed to determine if there were any abnormalities on the images. The lesions on the chest CT images were then further analyzed in terms of the number, location, size, and density. Results: Positive abnormalities on chest CT scans were revealed in all 40 SARS cases. Positive findings on CR chest films were showed in only 25 cases, equivocal in 6, and normal in 9 cases. The main abnormalities seen on CT and X-rays were pulmonary infiltrations varied markedly in severity. 70 % cases had 1 or 2 lesions on chest CT scan, 30 % cases had 3 or more lesions. The lesions seen on chest CT scan tended to be ground-glass opacification, sometimes with consolidation which was very faint and inhomogeneous, easily missed on chest X-rays. Typically the lesions were located in the periphery of the lung, or both central and peripheral lung, but very rare in a pure central location. They were commonly in the shape of patch or ball. Conclusions: Chest CT scan is much more sensitive in detecting the lesions of the lung in SARS. The early appearance of SARS on chest CT scan is characteristic but non-specific, indicating that chest CT scan plays a very important role in the early diagnosis and differential diagnosis of SARS

Slope Superficial Displacement Monitoring by Small Baseline SAR Interferometry Using Data from L-band ALOS PALSAR and X-band TerraSAR: A Case Study of Hong Kong, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fulong Chen

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Owing to the development of spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR platforms, and in particular the increase in the availability of multi-source (multi-band and multi-resolution data, it is now feasible to design a surface displacement monitoring application using multi-temporal SAR interferometry (MT-InSAR. Landslides have high socio-economic impacts in many countries because of potential geo-hazards and heavy casualties. In this study, taking into account the merits of ALOS PALSAR (L-band, good coherence preservation and TerraSAR (X-band, high resolution and short revisit times data, we applied an improved small baseline InSAR (SB-InSAR with 3-D phase unwrapping approach, to monitor slope superficial displacement in Hong Kong, China, a mountainous subtropical zone city influenced by over-urbanization and heavy monsoonal rains. Results revealed that the synergistic use of PALSAR and TerraSAR data produces different outcomes in relation to data reliability and spatial-temporal resolution, and hence could be of significant value for a comprehensive understanding and monitoring of unstable slopes.

Segment-based change detection for polarimetric SAR data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skriver, Henning; Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg; Conradsen, Knut

2006-01-01

that is needed compared to single polarisation SAR to provide reliable and robust detection of changes. Polarimetric SAR data will be available from satellites in the near future, e.g. the Japanese ALOS, the Canadian Radarsat-2 and the German TerraSAR-X. An appropriate way of representing multi-look fully...... be split into a number of smaller fields, a building may be removed from or added to some area, hedgerows may be removed/added or other type of vegetated areas may be partly removed or added. In this case, ambiguities may arise when segments have changed shape and extent from one image to another...

Crop Classification Using Short-Revisit Multitemporal SAR Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skriver, Henning; Mattia, Francesco; Satalino, Giuseppe

2011-01-01

Classification of crops and other land cover types is an important application of both optical/infrared and SAR satellite data. It is already an import application of present satellite systems, as it will be for planned missions, such as the Sentinels. An airborne SAR data set with a short revisi...

Science data collection with polarimetric SAR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dall, Jørgen; Woelders, Kim; Madsen, Søren Nørvang

1996-01-01

Discusses examples on the use of polarimetric SAR in a number of Earth science studies. The studies are presently being conducted by the Danish Center for Remote Sensing. A few studies of the European Space Agency's EMAC programme are also discussed. The Earth science objectives are presented......, and the potential of polarimetric SAR is discussed and illustrated with data collected by the Danish airborne EMISAR system during a number of experiments in 1994 and 1995. The presentation will include samples of data acquired for the different studies...

Potential of TCPInSAR in Monitoring Linear Infrastructure with a Small Dataset of SAR Images: Application of the Donghai Bridge, China

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Lei Zhang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Reliably monitoring deformation associated with linear infrastructures, such as long-span bridges, is vitally important to assess their structural health. In this paper, we attempt to employ satellite interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR to map the deformation of Donghai Bridge over a half of an annual cycle. The bridge, as the fourth longest cross-sea bridge in the world, located in the north of Hangzhou Bay, East China Sea where the featureless sea surface largely occupied the radar image raises challenges to accurately co-register the coherent points along the bridge. To tackle the issues due to co-registration and the limited number of synthetic aperture radar (SAR images, we adopt the termed temporarily-coherent point (TCP InSAR (TCPInSAR technique to process the radar images. TCPs that are not necessarily coherent during the whole observation period can be identified within every two SAR acquisitions during the co-registration procedure based on the statistics of azimuth and range offsets. In the process, co-registration is performed only using the offsets of these TCPs, leading to improved interferometric phases and the local Delaunay triangulation is used to construct point pairs to reduce the atmospheric artifacts along the bridge. With the TCPInSAR method the deformation rate along the bridge is estimated with no need of phase unwrapping. The achieved result reveals that the Donghai Bridge suffered a line-of-sight (LOS deformation rate up to −2.3 cm/year from January 2009 to July 2009 at the cable-stayed part, which is likely due to the thermal expansion of cables.

Detecting and monitoring UCG subsidence with InSAR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mellors, R J; Foxall, W; Yang, X

2012-03-23

The use of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) to measure surface subsidence caused by Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) is tested. InSAR is a remote sensing technique that uses Synthetic Aperture Radar images to make spatial images of surface deformation and may be deployed from satellite or an airplane. With current commercial satellite data, the technique works best in areas with little vegetation or farming activity. UCG subsidence is generally caused by roof collapse, which adversely affects UCG operations due to gas loss and is therefore important to monitor. Previous studies have demonstrated the usefulness of InSAR in measuring surface subsidence related to coal mining and surface deformation caused by a coal mining roof collapse in Crandall Canyon, Utah is imaged as a proof-of-concept. InSAR data is collected and processed over three known UCG operations including two pilot plants (Majuba, South Africa and Wulanchabu, China) and an operational plant (Angren, Uzbekistan). A clear f eature showing approximately 7 cm of subsidence is observed in the UCG field in Angren. Subsidence is not observed in the other two areas, which produce from deeper coal seams and processed a smaller volume. The results show that in some cases, InSAR is a useful tool to image UCG related subsidence. Data from newer satellites and improved algorithms will improve effectiveness.

Change detection in a time series of polarimetric SAR data by an omnibus test statistic and its factorization (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, Allan A.; Conradsen, Knut; Skriver, Henning

2016-10-01

., Skriver, H., Nielsen, A. A., and Conradsen, K., "CFAR edge detector for polarimetric SAR images," IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 41(1): 20-32, 2003. [4] van Zyl, J. J. and Ulaby, F. T., "Scattering matrix representation for simple targets," in Radar Polarimetry for Geoscience Applications, Ulaby, F. T. and Elachi, C., eds., Artech, Norwood, MA (1990). [5] Canty, M. J., Image Analysis, Classification and Change Detection in Remote Sensing,with Algorithms for ENVI/IDL and Python, Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, third revised ed. (2014). [6] Nielsen, A. A., Conradsen, K., and Skriver, H., "Change detection in full and dual polarization, single- and multi-frequency SAR data," IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing 8(8): 4041-4048, 2015. [7] Conradsen, K., Nielsen, A. A., and Skriver, H., "Determining the points of change in time series of polarimetric SAR data," IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 54(5), 3007-3024, 2016. [9] Christensen, E. L., Skou, N., Dall, J., Woelders, K., rgensen, J. H. J., Granholm, J., and Madsen, S. N., "EMISAR: An absolutely calibrated polarimetric L- and C-band SAR," IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 36: 1852-1865 (1998).

Performance Analysis for Airborne Interferometric SAR Affected by Flexible Baseline Oscillation

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Liu Zhong-sheng

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The airborne interferometric SAR platform suffers from instability factors, such as air turbulence and mechanical vibrations during flight. Such factors cause the oscillation of the flexible baseline, which leads to significant degradation of the performance of the interferometric SAR system. This study is concerned with the baseline oscillation. First, the error of the slant range model under baseline oscillation conditions is formulated. Then, the SAR complex image signal and dual-channel correlation coefficient are modeled based on the first-order, second-order, and generic slant range error. Subsequently, the impact of the baseline oscillation on the imaging and interferometric performance of the SAR system is analyzed. Finally, simulations of the echo data are used to validate the theoretical analysis of the baseline oscillation in the airborne interferometric SAR.

Space Radar Image of West Texas - SAR scan

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

This radar image of the Midland/Odessa region of West Texas, demonstrates an experimental technique, called ScanSAR, that allows scientists to rapidly image large areas of the Earth's surface. The large image covers an area 245 kilometers by 225 kilometers (152 miles by 139 miles). It was obtained by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) flying aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on October 5, 1994. The smaller inset image is a standard SIR-C image showing a portion of the same area, 100 kilometers by 57 kilometers (62 miles by 35 miles) and was taken during the first flight of SIR-C on April 14, 1994. The bright spots on the right side of the image are the cities of Odessa (left) and Midland (right), Texas. The Pecos River runs from the top center to the bottom center of the image. Along the left side of the image are, from top to bottom, parts of the Guadalupe, Davis and Santiago Mountains. North is toward the upper right. Unlike conventional radar imaging, in which a radar continuously illuminates a single ground swath as the space shuttle passes over the terrain, a Scansar radar illuminates several adjacent ground swaths almost simultaneously, by 'scanning' the radar beam across a large area in a rapid sequence. The adjacent swaths, typically about 50 km (31 miles) wide, are then merged during ground processing to produce a single large scene. Illumination for this L-band scene is from the top of the image. The beams were scanned from the top of the scene to the bottom, as the shuttle flew from left to right. This scene was acquired in about 30 seconds. A normal SIR-C image is acquired in about 13 seconds. The ScanSAR mode will likely be used on future radar sensors to construct regional and possibly global radar images and topographic maps. The ScanSAR processor is being designed for 1996 implementation at NASA's Alaska SAR Facility, located at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and will produce digital images from the

Genomic Characterization of Two Novel SAR11 Isolates From the Red Sea, Including the First Strain of the SAR11 Ib clade

KAUST Repository

Jimenez Infante, Francy M.

2017-06-22

The SAR11 clade (Pelagibacterales) is a diverse group that forms a monophyletic clade within the Alphaproteobacteria, and constitutes up to one third of all prokaryotic cells in the photic zone of most oceans. Pelagibacterales are very abundant in the warm and highly saline surface waters of the Red Sea, raising the question of adaptive traits of SAR11 populations in this water body and warmer oceans through the world. In this study, two pure cultures were successfully obtained from surface waters on the Red Sea, one isolate of subgroup Ia and one of the previously uncultured SAR11 Ib lineage. The novel genomes were very similar to each other and to genomes of isolates of SAR11 subgroup Ia (Ia pan-genome), both in terms of gene content and synteny. Among the genes that were not present in the Ia pan-genome, 108 (RS39, Ia) and 151 genes (RS40, Ib) were strain-specific. Detailed analyses showed that only 51 (RS39, Ia) and 55 (RS40, Ib) of these strain-specific genes had not reported before on genome fragments of Pelagibacterales. Further analyses revealed the potential production of phosphonates by some SAR11 members and possible adaptations for oligotrophic life, including pentose sugar utilization and adhesion to marine particulate matter.

Genomic Characterization of Two Novel SAR11 Isolates From the Red Sea, Including the First Strain of the SAR11 Ib clade

KAUST Repository

Jimenez Infante, Francy M.; Ngugi, David; Vinu, Manikandan; Blom, Jochen; Alam, Intikhab; Bajic, Vladimir B.; Stingl, Ulrich

2017-01-01

The SAR11 clade (Pelagibacterales) is a diverse group that forms a monophyletic clade within the Alphaproteobacteria, and constitutes up to one third of all prokaryotic cells in the photic zone of most oceans. Pelagibacterales are very abundant in the warm and highly saline surface waters of the Red Sea, raising the question of adaptive traits of SAR11 populations in this water body and warmer oceans through the world. In this study, two pure cultures were successfully obtained from surface waters on the Red Sea, one isolate of subgroup Ia and one of the previously uncultured SAR11 Ib lineage. The novel genomes were very similar to each other and to genomes of isolates of SAR11 subgroup Ia (Ia pan-genome), both in terms of gene content and synteny. Among the genes that were not present in the Ia pan-genome, 108 (RS39, Ia) and 151 genes (RS40, Ib) were strain-specific. Detailed analyses showed that only 51 (RS39, Ia) and 55 (RS40, Ib) of these strain-specific genes had not reported before on genome fragments of Pelagibacterales. Further analyses revealed the potential production of phosphonates by some SAR11 members and possible adaptations for oligotrophic life, including pentose sugar utilization and adhesion to marine particulate matter.

SAR compliance assessment of PMR 446 and FRS walkie-talkies.

Science.gov (United States)

Vermeeren, Günter; Joseph, Wout; Martens, Luc

2015-10-01

The vast amount of studies on radiofrequency dosimetry deal with exposure due to mobile devices and base station antennas for cellular communication systems. This study investigates compliance of walkie-talkies to exposure guidelines established by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection and the Federal Communications Committee. The generic walkie-talkie consisted of a helical antenna and a ground plane and was derived by reverse engineering of a commercial walkie-talkie. Measured and simulated values of antenna characteristics and electromagnetic near fields of the generic walkie-talkie were within 2% and 8%, respectively. We also validated normalized electromagnetic near fields of the generic walkie-talkie against a commercial device and observed a very good agreement (deviation based on magnetic near field. Finally, we found that SAR of commercial devices is within current SAR limits for general public exposure for a worst-case duty cycle of 100%, that is, about 3 times and 6 times lower than the limit on the 1 g SAR (1.6 W/kg) and 10 g SAR (2 W/kg), respectively. But, an effective radiated power as specified by the Private Mobile Radio at 446 MHz (PMR 446) radio standard can cause localized SAR exceeding SAR limits for 1 g of tissue. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Irrigated Grassland Monitoring Using a Time Series of TerraSAR-X and COSMO-SkyMed X-Band SAR Data

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Mohammad El Hajj

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to analyze the sensitivity of radar signals in the X-band in irrigated grassland conditions. The backscattered radar signals were analyzed according to soil moisture and vegetation parameters using linear regression models. A time series of radar (TerraSAR-X and COSMO-SkyMed and optical (SPOT and LANDSAT images was acquired at a high temporal frequency in 2013 over a small agricultural region in southeastern France. Ground measurements were conducted simultaneously with the satellite data acquisitions during several grassland growing cycles to monitor the evolution of the soil and vegetation characteristics. The comparison between the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI computed from optical images and the in situ Leaf Area Index (LAI showed a logarithmic relationship with a greater scattering for the dates corresponding to vegetation well developed before the harvest. The correlation between the NDVI and the vegetation parameters (LAI, vegetation height, biomass, and vegetation water content was high at the beginning of the growth cycle. This correlation became insensitive at a certain threshold corresponding to high vegetation (LAI ~2.5 m2/m2. Results showed that the radar signal depends on variations in soil moisture, with a higher sensitivity to soil moisture for biomass lower than 1 kg/m². HH and HV polarizations had approximately similar sensitivities to soil moisture. The penetration depth of the radar wave in the X-band was high, even for dense and high vegetation; flooded areas were visible in the images with higher detection potential in HH polarization than in HV polarization, even for vegetation heights reaching 1 m. Lower sensitivity was observed at the X-band between the radar signal and the vegetation parameters with very limited potential of the X-band to monitor grassland growth. These results showed that it is possible to track gravity irrigation and soil moisture variations from SAR

SAR11 bacteria linked to ocean anoxia and nitrogen loss

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tsementzi, Despina; Wu, Jieying; Deutsch, Samuel

2016-01-01

Bacteria of the SAR11 clade constitute up to one half of all microbial cells in the oxygen-rich surface ocean. SAR11 bacteria are also abundant in oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), where oxygen falls below detection and anaerobic microbes have vital roles in converting bioavailable nitrogen to N2 gas...... activity. These results link SAR11 to pathways of ocean nitrogen loss, redefining the ecological niche of Earth’s most abundant organismal group....

On Signal Modeling of Moon-Based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR Imaging of Earth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhen Xu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The Moon-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (Moon-Based SAR, using the Moon as a platform, has a great potential to offer global-scale coverage of the earth’s surface with a high revisit cycle and is able to meet the scientific requirements for climate change study. However, operating in the lunar orbit, Moon-Based SAR imaging is confined within a complex geometry of the Moon-Based SAR, Moon, and Earth, where both rotation and revolution have effects. The extremely long exposure time of Moon-Based SAR presents a curved moving trajectory and the protracted time-delay in propagation makes the “stop-and-go” assumption no longer valid. Consequently, the conventional SAR imaging technique is no longer valid for Moon-Based SAR. This paper develops a Moon-Based SAR theory in which a signal model is derived. The Doppler parameters in the context of lunar revolution with the removal of ‘stop-and-go’ assumption are first estimated, and then characteristics of Moon-Based SAR imaging’s azimuthal resolution are analyzed. In addition, a signal model of Moon-Based SAR and its two-dimensional (2-D spectrum are further derived. Numerical simulation using point targets validates the signal model and enables Doppler parameter estimation for image focusing.

SAR Ambiguity Study for the Cassini Radar

Science.gov (United States)

Hensley, Scott; Im, Eastwood; Johnson, William T. K.

1993-01-01

The Cassini Radar's synthetic aperture radar (SAR) ambiguity analysis is unique with respect to other spaceborne SAR ambiguity analyses owing to the non-orbiting spacecraft trajectory, asymmetric antenna pattern, and burst mode of data collection. By properly varying the pointing, burst mode timing, and radar parameters along the trajectory this study shows that the signal-to-ambiguity ratio of better than 15 dB can be achieved for all images obtained by the Cassini Radar.

Pulse-based internal calibration of polarimetric SAR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dall, Jørgen; Skou, Niels; Christensen, Erik Lintz

1994-01-01

Internal calibration greatly diminishes the dependence on calibration target deployment compared to external calibration. Therefore the Electromagnetics Institute (EMI) at the Technical University of Denmark (TUD) has equipped its polarimetric SAR, EMISAR, with several calibration loops and devel......Internal calibration greatly diminishes the dependence on calibration target deployment compared to external calibration. Therefore the Electromagnetics Institute (EMI) at the Technical University of Denmark (TUD) has equipped its polarimetric SAR, EMISAR, with several calibration loops...

Multi-look polarimetric SAR image filtering using simulated annealing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schou, Jesper

2000-01-01

Based on a previously published algorithm capable of estimating the radar cross-section in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) intensity images, a new filter is presented utilizing multi-look polarimetric SAR images. The underlying mean covariance matrix is estimated from the observed sample covariance...

The integration of Human Factors (HF) in the SAR process training course text

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryan, T.G.

1995-03-01

This text provides the technical basis for a two-day course on human factors (HF), as applied to the Safety Analysis Report (SAR) process. The overall objective of this text and course is to: provide the participant with a working knowledge of human factors-related requirements, suggestions for doing a human safety analysis applying a graded approach, and an ability to demonstrate using the results of the human safety analysis, that human factors elements as defined by DOE (human factors engineering, procedures, training, oversight, staffing, qualifications), can support wherever necessary, nuclear safety commitments in the SAR. More specifically, the objectives of the text and course are: (1) To provide the SAR preparer with general guidelines for doing HE within the context of a graded approach for the SAR; (2) To sensitize DOE facility managers and staff, safety analysts and SAR preparers, independent reviewers, and DOE reviewers and regulators, to DOE Order 5480.23 requirements for HE in the SAR; (3) To provide managers, analysts, reviewers and regulators with a working knowledge of HE concepts and techniques within the context of a graded approach for the SAR, and (4) To provide SAR managers and DOE reviewers and regulators with general guidelines for monitoring and coordinating the work of preparers of HE inputs throughout the SAR process, and for making decisions regarding the safety relevance of HE inputs to the SAR. As a ready reference for implementing the human factors requirements of DOE Order 5480.22 and DOE Standard 3009-94, this course text and accompanying two-day course are intended for all persons who are involved in the SAR

The integration of Human Factors (HF) in the SAR process training course text

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ryan, T.G.

1995-03-01

This text provides the technical basis for a two-day course on human factors (HF), as applied to the Safety Analysis Report (SAR) process. The overall objective of this text and course is to: provide the participant with a working knowledge of human factors-related requirements, suggestions for doing a human safety analysis applying a graded approach, and an ability to demonstrate using the results of the human safety analysis, that human factors elements as defined by DOE (human factors engineering, procedures, training, oversight, staffing, qualifications), can support wherever necessary, nuclear safety commitments in the SAR. More specifically, the objectives of the text and course are: (1) To provide the SAR preparer with general guidelines for doing HE within the context of a graded approach for the SAR; (2) To sensitize DOE facility managers and staff, safety analysts and SAR preparers, independent reviewers, and DOE reviewers and regulators, to DOE Order 5480.23 requirements for HE in the SAR; (3) To provide managers, analysts, reviewers and regulators with a working knowledge of HE concepts and techniques within the context of a graded approach for the SAR, and (4) To provide SAR managers and DOE reviewers and regulators with general guidelines for monitoring and coordinating the work of preparers of HE inputs throughout the SAR process, and for making decisions regarding the safety relevance of HE inputs to the SAR. As a ready reference for implementing the human factors requirements of DOE Order 5480.22 and DOE Standard 3009-94, this course text and accompanying two-day course are intended for all persons who are involved in the SAR.

Fusion method of SAR and optical images for urban object extraction

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Yonghong; Blum, Rick S.; Li, Fangfang

2007-11-01

A new image fusion method of SAR, Panchromatic (Pan) and multispectral (MS) data is proposed. First of all, SAR texture is extracted by ratioing the despeckled SAR image to its low pass approximation, and is used to modulate high pass details extracted from the available Pan image by means of the á trous wavelet decomposition. Then, high pass details modulated with the texture is applied to obtain the fusion product by HPFM (High pass Filter-based Modulation) fusion method. A set of image data including co-registered Landsat TM, ENVISAT SAR and SPOT Pan is used for the experiment. The results demonstrate accurate spectral preservation on vegetated regions, bare soil, and also on textured areas (buildings and road network) where SAR texture information enhances the fusion product, and the proposed approach is effective for image interpret and classification.

SIMULATION OF SHIP GENERATED TURBULENT AND VORTICAL WAKE IMAGING BY SAR

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Wang Aiming; Zhu Minhui

2004-01-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging of ocean surface features is studied. The simulation of the turbulent and vortical features generated by a moving ship and SAR imaging of these wakes is carried out. The turbulent wake damping the ocean surface capillary waves may be partially responsible for the suppression of surface waves near the ship track. The vortex pair generating a change in the lateral flow field behind the ship may be partially responsible for an enhancement of the waves near the edges of the smooth area. These hydrodynamic phenomena as well as the changes of radar backscatter generated by turbulence and vortex are simulated.An SAR imaging model is then used on such ocean surface features to provide SAR images.Comparison of two ships' simulated SAR images shows that the wake features are different for various ship parameters.

Risk factors for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in SARS survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Mak, Ivan Wing Chit; Chu, Chung Ming; Pan, Pey Chyou; Yiu, Michael Gar Chung; Ho, Suzanne C; Chan, Veronica Lee

2010-01-01

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most prevalent long-term psychiatric diagnoses among survivors of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The objective of this study was to identify the predictors of chronic PTSD in SARS survivors. PTSD at 30 months after the SARS outbreak was assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV. Survivors' demographic data, medical information and psychosocial variables were collected for risk factor analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that female gender as well as the presence of chronic medical illnesses diagnosed before the onset of SARS and avascular necrosis were independent predictors of PTSD at 30 months post-SARS. Associated factors included higher-chance external locus of control, higher functional disability and higher average pain intensity. The study of PTSD at 30 months post-SARS showed that the predictive value of acute medical variables may fade out. Our findings do not support some prior hypotheses that the use of high dose corticosteroids is protective against the development of PTSD. On the contrary, the adversity both before and after the SARS outbreak may be more important in hindering recovery from PTSD. The risk factor analysis can not only improve the detection of hidden psychiatric complications but also provide insight for the possible model of care delivery for the SARS survivors. With the complex interaction of the biopsychosocial challenges of SARS, an integrated multidisciplinary clinic setting may be a superior approach in the long-term management of complicated PTSD cases. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Monitoring of "urban villages" in Shenzhen, China from high-resolution GF-1 and TerraSAR-X data

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Chunzhu; Blaschke, Thomas; Taubenböck, Hannes

2015-10-01

Urban villages comprise mainly low-rise and congested, often informal settlements surrounded by new constructions and high-rise buildings whereby structures can be very different between neighboring areas. Monitoring urban villages and analyzing their characteristics are crucial for urban development and sustainability research. In this study, we carried out a combined analysis of multispectral GaoFen-1 (GF-1) and high resolution TerraSAR-X radar (TSX) imagery to extract the urban village information. GF-1 and TSX data are combined with the Gramshmidt spectral sharpening method so as to provide new input data for urban village classification. The Grey-Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) approach was also applied to four directions to provide another four types (all, 0°, 90°, 45° directions) of TSX-based inputs for urban village detection. We analyzed the urban village mapping performance using the Random Forest approach. The results demonstrate that the best overall accuracy and the best producer accuracy of urban villages reached with the GLCM 90° dataset (82.33%, 68.54% respectively). Adding single polarization TSX data as input information to the optical image GF-1 provided an average product accuracy improvement of around 7% in formal built-up area classification. The SAR and optical fusion imagery also provided an effective means to eliminate some layover, shadow effects, and dominant scattering at building locations and green spaces, improving the producer accuracy by 7% in urban area classification. To sum up, the added value of SAR information is demonstrated by the enhanced results achievable over built-up areas, including formal and informal settlements.

SAR Cross-Ambiguities in SAOCOM-CS Large Baseline Bistatic Configuration

OpenAIRE

Bordoni, Federica; Rodriguez-Cassola, Marc; Younis, Marwan; Prats-Iraola, Pau; Lopez-Dekker, Paco; Krieger, Gerhard

2016-01-01

The evaluation of the ambiguous signal level, the Ambiguity-to-Signal Ratio (ASR), plays a key role in the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) design and performance prediction. In conventional SAR acquisition scenarios, the computation of the ASR is based on the evaluation of the range and azimuth ambiguous contributes. Though appealing for its simplicity, this approach could be inaccurate in case of complex SAR acquisition geometries. In this paper we focus on the ASR performance of the SAOCOM-...

Rice Crop Monitoring and Yield Estimation Through Cosmo Skymed and TerraSAR-X: A SAR-Based Experience in India

OpenAIRE

Pazhanivelan, S.; Kannan, P.; Christy Nirmala Mary, P.; Subramanian, E.; Jeyaraman, S.; Nelson, A.; Setiyono, T.; Holecz, F.; Barbieri, M.; Yadav, M.

2015-01-01

Rice is the most important cereal crop governing food security in Asia. Reliable and regular information on the area under rice production is the basis of policy decisions related to imports, exports and prices which directly affect food security. Recent and planned launches of SAR sensors coupled with automated processing can provide sustainable solutions to the challenges on mapping and monitoring rice systems. High resolution (3m) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imageries were used...

The Temporal and Spatial Variability of the Confined Aquifer Head and Storage Properties in the San Luis Valley, Colorado Inferred From Multiple InSAR Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jingyi; Knight, Rosemary; Zebker, Howard A.

2017-11-01

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data from multiple satellite missions were combined to study the temporal and spatial variability of head and storage properties in a confined aquifer system on a decadal time scale. The area of study was a 4,500 km2 agricultural basin in the San Luis Valley (SLV), Colorado. We had available previous analyses of C-band ERS-1/2 data from June 1992 to November 2000, and L-band ALOS PALSAR data from October 2009 to March 2011. We used C-band Envisat data to fill in the time period from November 2006 to July 2010. In processing the Envisat data, we successfully employed a phase interpolation between persistent scatterer pixels to reduce the impact of vegetation decorrelation, which can significantly reduce the quality of C-band InSAR data over agricultural basins. In comparing the results from the L-band ALOS data and C-band Envisat data in a 10 month overlapping time period, we found that the shorter wavelength of C-band InSAR allowed us to preserve small deformation signals that were not detectable using L-band ALOS data. A significant result was the finding that the elastic storage properties of the SLV confined aquifer system remained stable over the 20 year time period and vary slowly in space, allowing us to combine InSAR data acquired from multiple missions to fill the temporal and spatial gaps in well data. The InSAR estimated head levels were validated with well measurements, which indicate little permanent water-storage loss over the study time period in the SLV.

Integrating interferometric SAR data with levelling measurements of land subsidence using geostatistics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhou, Y.; Stein, A.; Molenaar, M.

2003-01-01

Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) interferometric (D-InSAR) data of ground surface deformation are affected by several error sources associated with image acquisitions and data processing. In this paper, we study the use of D-InSAR for quantifying land subsidence due to groundwater

Bats and SARS

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2006-11-08

Bats are a natural reservoir for emerging viruses, among them henipaviruses and rabies virus variants. Dr. Nina Marano, Chief, Geographic Medicine and Health Promotion Branch, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, CDC, explains connection between horseshoe bats and SARS coronavirus transmission.  Created: 11/8/2006 by Emerging Infectious Diseases.   Date Released: 11/17/2006.

G0-WISHART Distribution Based Classification from Polarimetric SAR Images

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, G. C.; Zhao, Q. H.

2017-09-01

Enormous scientific and technical developments have been carried out to further improve the remote sensing for decades, particularly Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar(PolSAR) technique, so classification method based on PolSAR images has getted much more attention from scholars and related department around the world. The multilook polarmetric G0-Wishart model is a more flexible model which describe homogeneous, heterogeneous and extremely heterogeneous regions in the image. Moreover, the polarmetric G0-Wishart distribution dose not include the modified Bessel function of the second kind. It is a kind of simple statistical distribution model with less parameter. To prove its feasibility, a process of classification has been tested with the full-polarized Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image by the method. First, apply multilook polarimetric SAR data process and speckle filter to reduce speckle influence for classification result. Initially classify the image into sixteen classes by H/A/α decomposition. Using the ICM algorithm to classify feature based on the G0-Wshart distance. Qualitative and quantitative results show that the proposed method can classify polaimetric SAR data effectively and efficiently.

The Generalized Gamma-DBN for High-Resolution SAR Image Classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiqiang Zhao

2018-06-01

Full Text Available With the increase of resolution, effective characterization of synthetic aperture radar (SAR image becomes one of the most critical problems in many earth observation applications. Inspired by deep learning and probability mixture models, a generalized Gamma deep belief network (g Γ-DBN is proposed for SAR image statistical modeling and land-cover classification in this work. Specifically, a generalized Gamma-Bernoulli restricted Boltzmann machine (gΓB-RBM is proposed to capture high-order statistical characterizes from SAR images after introducing the generalized Gamma distribution. After stacking the g Γ B-RBM and several standard binary RBMs in a hierarchical manner, a gΓ-DBN is constructed to learn high-level representation of different SAR land-covers. Finally, a discriminative neural network is constructed by adding an additional predict layer for different land-covers over the constructed deep structure. Performance of the proposed approach is evaluated via several experiments on some high-resolution SAR image patch sets and two large-scale scenes which are captured by ALOS PALSAR-2 and COSMO-SkyMed satellites respectively.

a Statistical Texture Feature for Building Collapse Information Extraction of SAR Image

Science.gov (United States)

Li, L.; Yang, H.; Chen, Q.; Liu, X.

2018-04-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has become one of the most important ways to extract post-disaster collapsed building information, due to its extreme versatility and almost all-weather, day-and-night working capability, etc. In view of the fact that the inherent statistical distribution of speckle in SAR images is not used to extract collapsed building information, this paper proposed a novel texture feature of statistical models of SAR images to extract the collapsed buildings. In the proposed feature, the texture parameter of G0 distribution from SAR images is used to reflect the uniformity of the target to extract the collapsed building. This feature not only considers the statistical distribution of SAR images, providing more accurate description of the object texture, but also is applied to extract collapsed building information of single-, dual- or full-polarization SAR data. The RADARSAT-2 data of Yushu earthquake which acquired on April 21, 2010 is used to present and analyze the performance of the proposed method. In addition, the applicability of this feature to SAR data with different polarizations is also analysed, which provides decision support for the data selection of collapsed building information extraction.

Multi-Pixel Simultaneous Classification of PolSAR Image Using Convolutional Neural Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xin; Gui, Rong; Pu, Fangling

2018-01-01

Convolutional neural networks (CNN) have achieved great success in the optical image processing field. Because of the excellent performance of CNN, more and more methods based on CNN are applied to polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) image classification. Most CNN-based PolSAR image classification methods can only classify one pixel each time. Because all the pixels of a PolSAR image are classified independently, the inherent interrelation of different land covers is ignored. We use a fixed-feature-size CNN (FFS-CNN) to classify all pixels in a patch simultaneously. The proposed method has several advantages. First, FFS-CNN can classify all the pixels in a small patch simultaneously. When classifying a whole PolSAR image, it is faster than common CNNs. Second, FFS-CNN is trained to learn the interrelation of different land covers in a patch, so it can use the interrelation of land covers to improve the classification results. The experiments of FFS-CNN are evaluated on a Chinese Gaofen-3 PolSAR image and other two real PolSAR images. Experiment results show that FFS-CNN is comparable with the state-of-the-art PolSAR image classification methods. PMID:29510499

SAR11 Bacteria: The Most Abundant Plankton in the Oceans.

Science.gov (United States)

Giovannoni, Stephen J

2017-01-03

SAR11 is a group of small, carbon-oxidizing bacteria that reach a global estimated population size of 2.4×10 28 cells-approximately 25% of all plankton. They are found throughout the oceans but reach their largest numbers in stratified, oligotrophic gyres, which are an expanding habitat in the warming oceans. SAR11 likely had a Precambrian origin and, over geological time, evolved into the niche of harvesting labile, low-molecular-weight dissolved organic matter (DOM). SAR11 cells are minimal in size and complexity, a phenomenon known as streamlining that is thought to benefit them by lowering the material costs of replication and maximizing transport functions that are essential to competition at ultralow nutrient concentrations. One of the surprises in SAR11 metabolism is their ability to both oxidize and produce a variety of volatile organic compounds that can diffuse into the atmosphere. SAR11 cells divide slowly and lack many forms of regulation commonly used by bacterial cells to adjust to changing environmental conditions. As a result of genome reduction, they require an unusual range of nutrients, which leads to complex biochemical interactions with other plankton. The study of SAR11 is providing insight into the biogeochemistry of labile DOM and is affecting microbiology beyond marine science by providing a model for understanding the evolution and function of streamlined cells.

Multi-temporal and Dual-polarization Interferometric SAR for Land Cover Type Classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WANG Xinshuang

2015-05-01

Full Text Available In order to study SAR land cover classification method, this paper uses the multi-dimensional combination of temporal,polarization and InSAR data. The area covered by space borne data of ALOS PALSAR in Xunke County,Heilongjiang Province was chosen as test site. A land cover classification technique of SVM based on multi-temporal, multi-polarization and InSAR data had been proposed, using the sensitivity to land cover type of multi-temporal, multi-polarization SAR data and InSAR measurements, and combing time series characteristic of backscatter coefficient and correlation coefficient to identify ground objects. The results showed the problem of confusion between forest land and urban construction land can be nicely solved, using the correlation coefficient between HH and HV, and also combing the selected temporal, polarization and InSAR characteristics. The land cover classification result with higher accuracy is gotten using the classification algorithm proposed in this paper.

New free Danish online (Q)SAR predictions database with >600,000 substances

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wedebye, Eva Bay; Dybdahl, Marianne; Reffstrup, Trine Klein

Since 2005 the Danish (Q)SAR Database has been freely available on the Internet. It is a tool that allows single chemical substance profiling and screenings based on predicted hazard information. The database is also included in the OECD (Q)SAR Application Toolbox which is used worldwide...... by regulators and industry. A lot of progress in (Q)SAR model development, application and documentation has been made since the publication in 2005. A new and completely rebuild online (Q)SAR predictions database was therefore published in November 2015 at http://qsar.food.dtu.dk. The number of chemicals...... in the database has been expanded from 185,000 to >600,000. As far as possible all organic single constituent substances that were pre-registered under REACH have been included in the new structure set. The new Danish (Q)SAR Database includes estimates from more than 200 (Q)SARs covering a wide range of hazardous...

Comparing satellite SAR and wind farm wake models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hasager, Charlotte Bay; Vincent, P.; Husson, R.

2015-01-01

. These extend several tens of kilometres downwind e.g. 70 km. Other SAR wind maps show near-field fine scale details of wake behind rows of turbines. The satellite SAR wind farm wake cases are modelled by different wind farm wake models including the PARK microscale model, the Weather Research and Forecasting...... (WRF) model in high resolution and WRF with coupled microscale parametrization....

Stimulated Raman scattering and hot-electron production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drake, R.P.; Turner, R.E.; Lasinski, B.F.; Estabrook, K.G.; Campbell, E.M.; Wang, C.L.; Phillion, D.W.; Williams, E.A.; Kruer, W.L.

1985-01-01

High-intensity laser light can excite parametric instabilities that scatter or absorb it. One instability that can arise when laser light penetrates a plasma is sub-quarter-critical stimulated Raman (SQSR) scattering. It occurs below the quarter-critical density of the incident light and involves the decay of the incident light wave into a scattered light wave and electron plasma wave. The scattered-light wavelength ranges from 1 to 2 times that of the incident light, depending on the plasma density and temperature. This article reports studies of SQSR scattering and hot-electron production in plasmas produced by irradiating thick gold targets with up to 4 kJ of 0.53-μm light in 1-ns (FWHM) pulses. These studies have important implications for laser fusion. Hot electrons attributed to the SQSR instability can increase the difficulty of achieving high-gain implosions by penetrating and preheating the fusion fuel

Genomic characterization of two novel SAR11 isolates from the Red Sea, including the first strain of the SAR11 Ib clade.

Science.gov (United States)

Jimenez-Infante, Francy; Ngugi, David Kamanda; Vinu, Manikandan; Blom, Jochen; Alam, Intikhab; Bajic, Vladimir B; Stingl, Ulrich

2017-07-01

The SAR11 clade (Pelagibacterales) is a diverse group that forms a monophyletic clade within the Alphaproteobacteria, and constitutes up to one third of all prokaryotic cells in the photic zone of most oceans. Pelagibacterales are very abundant in the warm and highly saline surface waters of the Red Sea, raising the question of adaptive traits of SAR11 populations in this water body and warmer oceans through the world. In this study, two pure cultures were successfully obtained from surface waters on the Red Sea: one isolate of subgroup Ia and one of the previously uncultured SAR11 Ib lineage. The novel genomes were very similar to each other and to genomes of isolates of SAR11 subgroup Ia (Ia pan-genome), both in terms of gene content and synteny. Among the genes that were not present in the Ia pan-genome, 108 (RS39, Ia) and 151 genes (RS40, Ib) were strain specific. Detailed analyses showed that only 51 (RS39, Ia) and 55 (RS40, Ib) of these strain-specific genes had not reported before on genome fragments of Pelagibacterales. Further analyses revealed the potential production of phosphonates by some SAR11 members and possible adaptations for oligotrophic life, including pentose sugar utilization and adhesion to marine particulate matter. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

TOWARDS CHANGE DETECTION IN URBAN AREA BY SAR INTERFEROMETRY AND RADARGRAMMETRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Dubois

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Change detection in urban area is an active topic in remote sensing. However, well-dealt subject in optical remote sensing, this research topic is still at an early stage and needs deeper investigations and improvement in what concerns SAR and InSAR remote sensing. Due to their weather and daylight-independency, SAR sensors allow an all-time observation of the earth. This is determining in cases where rapid change detection is required after a natural – or technological – disaster. Due to the high resolution that can be achieved, the new generation of space-borne radar sensors opens up new perspectives for analysing buildings in urban areas. Moreover, due to their short revisiting cycle, they give rise to monitoring and change detection applications. In this paper, we present a concept for change detection in urban area at building level, relying only on SAR- and InSAR data. In this approach, interferometric and radargrammetric SAR data are merged in order to detect changes. Here, we present the overall workflow, the test area, the required data as well as first findings on the best-suited stereo-configurations for change detection.

SAR China Land Mapping Project: Development, Production and Potential Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Lu; Guo, Huadong; Liu, Guang; Fu, Wenxue; Yan, Shiyong; Song, Rui; Ji, Peng; Wang, Xinyuan

2014-01-01

Large-area, seamless synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mosaics can reflect overall environmental conditions and highlight general trends in observed areas from a macroscopic standpoint, and effectively support research at the global scale, which is in high demand now across scientific fields. The SAR China Land Mapping Project (SCLM), supported by the Digital Earth Science Platform Project initiated and managed by the Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CEODE), is introduced in this paper. This project produced a large-area SAR mosaic dataset and generated the first complete seamless SAR map covering the entire land area of China using EnviSat-ASAR images. The value of the mosaic map is demonstrated by some potential applications in studies of urban distribution, rivers and lakes, geologic structures, geomorphology and paleoenvironmental change

Vegetation Parameter Extraction Using Dual Baseline Polarimetric SAR Interferometry Data

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, H.; Wang, C.; Chen, X.; Tang, Y.

2009-04-01

For vegetation parameter inversion, the single baseline polarimetric SAR interferometry (POLinSAR) technique, such as the three-stage method and the ESPRIT algorithm, is limited by the observed data with the minimum ground to volume amplitude ration, which effects the estimation of the effective phase center for the vegetation canopy or the surface, and thus results in the underestimated vegetation height. In order to remove this effect of the single baseline inversion techniques in some extend, another baseline POLinSAR data is added on vegetation parameter estimation in this paper, and a dual baseline POLinSAR technique for the extraction of the vegetation parameter is investigated and improved to reduce the dynamic bias for the vegetation parameter estimation. Finally, the simulated data and real data are used to validate this dual baseline technique.

Exploring cloud and big data components for SAR archiving and analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, S.; Crosby, C. J.; Meertens, C.; Phillips, D.

2017-12-01

Under the Geodesy Advancing Geoscience and EarthScope (GAGE) NSF Cooperative Agreement, UNAVCO has seen the volume of the SAR Data Archive grow at a substantial rate, from 2 TB in Y1 and 5 TB in Y2 to 41 TB in Y3 primarily due to WInSAR PI proposal management of ALOS-­2/JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) data and to a lesser extent Supersites and other data collections. JAXA provides a fixed number of scenes per year for each PI, and some data files are 50­-60GB each, which accounts for the large volume of data. In total, over 100TB of SAR data are in the WInSAR/UNAVCO archive and a large portion of these are available unrestricted for WInSAR members. In addition to the existing data, newer data streams from the Sentinel-1 and NISAR missions will require efficient processing pipelines and easily scalable infrastructure to handle processed results. With these growing data sizes and space concerns, the SAR archive operations migrated to the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) via an NSF XSEDE proposal in spring 2017. Data are stored on an HPC system while data operations are running on Jetstream virtual machines within the same datacenter. In addition to the production data operations, testing was done in early 2017 with container based InSAR processing analysis using JupyterHub and Docker images deployed on a VM cluster on Jetstream. The JupyterHub environment is well suited for short courses and other training opportunities for the community such as labs for university courses on InSAR. UNAVCO is also exploring new processing methodologies using DC/OS (the datacenter operating system) for batch and stream processing workflows and time series analysis with Big Data open source components like the Spark, Mesos, Akka, Cassandra, Kafka (SMACK) stack. The comparison of the different methodologies will provide insight into the pros and cons for each and help the SAR community with decisions about infrastructure and software requirements to meet their research

Calibration of SAR probes in waveguide at 900 MHz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jokela, K.; Puranen, L.; Hyysalo, P.

1998-01-01

The radiation safety tests for hand-held mobile phones require precise calibration of the small electric field probes used for the measurement of SAR in phantoms simulating the human body. In this study a calibration based on a rectangular waveguide was developed for SAR calibrations at 900 MHz

Project PHARUS: Towards a polarimetric C-band airborne SAR

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoogeboom, P.; Koomen, P.J.; Otten, M.P.G.; Pouwels, H.; Snoeij, P.

1989-01-01

A few years ago three institutes in the Netherlands developed a plan to design and build a polarimetric C-band aircraft SAR system of a novel design, called PHARUS (PHased Array Universal SAR), meant as a replacement for our current digital SLAR system. These institutes are the Physics and

Immune responses against SARS-coronavirus nucleocapsid protein induced by DNA vaccine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Ping; Cao Jie; Zhao Lanjuan; Qin Zhaolin; Ke Jinshan; Pan Wei; Ren Hao; Yu Jianguo; Qi Zhongtian

2005-01-01

The nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is the key protein for the formation of the helical nucleocapsid during virion assembly. This protein is believed to be more conserved than other proteins of the virus, such as spike and membrane glycoprotein. In this study, the N protein of SARS-CoV was expressed in Escherichia coli DH5α and identified with pooled sera from patients in the convalescence phase of SARS. A plasmid pCI-N, encoding the full-length N gene of SARS-CoV, was constructed. Expression of the N protein was observed in COS1 cells following transfection with pCI-N. The immune responses induced by intramuscular immunization with pCI-N were evaluated in a murine model. Serum anti-N immunoglobulins and splenocytes proliferative responses against N protein were observed in immunized BALB/c mice. The major immunoglobulin G subclass recognizing N protein was immunoglobulin G2a, and stimulated splenocytes secreted high levels of gamma interferon and IL-2 in response to N protein. More importantly, the immunized mice produced strong delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) and CD8 + CTL responses to N protein. The study shows that N protein of SARS-CoV not only is an important B cell immunogen, but also can elicit broad-based cellular immune responses. The results indicate that the N protein may be of potential value in vaccine development for specific prophylaxis and treatment against SARS

Change Detection with Polarimetric SAR Imagery for Nuclear Verification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canty, M.

2015-01-01

This paper investigates the application of multivariate statistical change detection with high-resolution polarimetric SAR imagery acquired from commercial satellite platforms for observation and verification of nuclear activities. A prototype software tool comprising a processing chain starting from single look complex (SLC) multitemporal data through to change detection maps is presented. Multivariate change detection algorithms applied to polarimetric SAR data are not common. This is because, up until recently, not many researchers or practitioners have had access to polarimetric data. However with the advent of several spaceborne polarimetric SAR instruments such as the Japanese ALOS, the Canadian Radarsat-2, the German TerraSAR-X, the Italian COSMO-SkyMed missions and the European Sentinal SAR platform, the situation has greatly improved. There is now a rich source of weather-independent satellite radar data which can be exploited for Nuclear Safeguards purposes. The method will also work for univariate data, that is, it is also applicable to scalar or single polarimetric SAR data. The change detection procedure investigated here exploits the complex Wishart distribution of dual and quad polarimetric imagery in look-averaged covariance matrix format in order to define a per-pixel change/no-change hypothesis test. It includes approximations for the probability distribution of the test statistic, and so permits quantitative significance levels to be quoted for change pixels. The method has been demonstrated previously with polarimetric images from the airborne EMISAR sensor, but is applied here for the first time to satellite platforms. In addition, an improved multivariate method is used to estimate the so-called equivalent number of looks (ENL), which is a critical parameter of the hypothesis test. (author)

From genome to antivirals: SARS as a test tube.

Science.gov (United States)

Kliger, Yossef; Levanon, Erez Y; Gerber, Doron

2005-03-01

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic brought into the spotlight the need for rapid development of effective anti-viral drugs against newly emerging viruses. Researchers have leveraged the 20-year battle against AIDS into a variety of possible treatments for SARS. Most prominently, based solely on viral genome information, silencers of viral genes, viral-enzyme blockers and viral-entry inhibitors were suggested as potential therapeutic agents for SARS. In particular, inhibitors of viral entry, comprising therapeutic peptides, were based on the recently launched anti-HIV drug enfuvirtide. This could represent one of the most direct routes from genome sequencing to the discovery of antiviral drugs.

Target discrimination method for SAR images based on semisupervised co-training

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yan; Du, Lan; Dai, Hui

2018-01-01

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) target discrimination is usually performed in a supervised manner. However, supervised methods for SAR target discrimination may need lots of labeled training samples, whose acquirement is costly, time consuming, and sometimes impossible. This paper proposes an SAR target discrimination method based on semisupervised co-training, which utilizes a limited number of labeled samples and an abundant number of unlabeled samples. First, Lincoln features, widely used in SAR target discrimination, are extracted from the training samples and partitioned into two sets according to their physical meanings. Second, two support vector machine classifiers are iteratively co-trained with the extracted two feature sets based on the co-training algorithm. Finally, the trained classifiers are exploited to classify the test data. The experimental results on real SAR images data not only validate the effectiveness of the proposed method compared with the traditional supervised methods, but also demonstrate the superiority of co-training over self-training, which only uses one feature set.

Use of multitemporal InSAR data to develop geohazard scenarios for Bandung, Western Java, Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Salvi, Stefano; Tolomei, Cristiano; Duro, Javier; Pezzo, Giuseppe; Koudogbo, Fifamè

2015-04-01

The Greater Bandung metropolitan area is the second largest urban area in Indonesia, with a population of 8.6 million. It is subject to a variety of geohazards: volcanic hazards from seven active volcanoes within a radius of 50 km; high flood hazards, seismic hazard due to crustal active faults, the best known being the 30-km long Lembang fault, 10 km North of the city centre; subsidence hazards due to strong aquifer depletion; landslide hazard in the surrounding high country. In the framework of the FP7 RASOR project, multitemporal satellite SAR data have been processed over Bandung, Western Java. We used the SBAS InSAR technique (Berardino et al., 2002) to process two ALOS-1 datasets, to investigate the various sources of surface deformation acting in the area in the period 2008-2011. Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) has also been applied to achieve ground motion measurements with millimetric precision and high accuracy. The PSI processing technique considers a system of points that reflect the radar signal from the satellite continuously through the time. It makes use of differential interferometric phase measurements to generate long term terrain deformation and digital surface model maps. The GlobalSARTM algorithms developed by Altamira Information are applied to COSMO-SkyMed data acquired to measure ground motion over the area of interest. Strong ground displacements (up to 7 cm/yr) due to groundwater abstraction have been measured in the Bandung basin. The identification of long wavelength signals from tectonic sources is difficult due to the limited InSAR coherence outside of the urban environment. Limited deformation is observed also in the Tangkuban Perahu volcano to the north. The spatial and temporal distribution of the ground motion is important supporting information for the generation of long term subsidence and flood hazard scenarios.

Investigation of the Capability of Compact Polarimetric SAR Interferometry to Estimate Forest Height

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hong; Xie, Lei; Wang, Chao; Chen, Jiehong

2013-08-01

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the capability of compact Polarimetric SAR Interferometry (C-PolInSAR) on forest height estimation. For this, the pseudo fully polarimetric interferomteric (F-PolInSAR) covariance matrix is firstly reconstructed, then the three- stage inversion algorithm, hybrid algorithm, Music and Capon algorithm are applied to both C-PolInSAR covariance matrix and pseudo F-PolInSAR covariance matrix. The availability of forest height estimation is demonstrated using L-band data generated by simulator PolSARProSim and X-band airborne data acquired by East China Research Institute of Electronic Engineering, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation.

Information theoretic bounds for compressed sensing in SAR imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jingxiong, Zhang; Ke, Yang; Jianzhong, Guo

2014-01-01

Compressed sensing (CS) is a new framework for sampling and reconstructing sparse signals from measurements significantly fewer than those prescribed by Nyquist rate in the Shannon sampling theorem. This new strategy, applied in various application areas including synthetic aperture radar (SAR), relies on two principles: sparsity, which is related to the signals of interest, and incoherence, which refers to the sensing modality. An important question in CS-based SAR system design concerns sampling rate necessary and sufficient for exact or approximate recovery of sparse signals. In the literature, bounds of measurements (or sampling rate) in CS have been proposed from the perspective of information theory. However, these information-theoretic bounds need to be reviewed and, if necessary, validated for CS-based SAR imaging, as there are various assumptions made in the derivations of lower and upper bounds on sub-Nyquist sampling rates, which may not hold true in CS-based SAR imaging. In this paper, information-theoretic bounds of sampling rate will be analyzed. For this, the SAR measurement system is modeled as an information channel, with channel capacity and rate-distortion characteristics evaluated to enable the determination of sampling rates required for recovery of sparse scenes. Experiments based on simulated data will be undertaken to test the theoretic bounds against empirical results about sampling rates required to achieve certain detection error probabilities

Pixel Classification of SAR ice images using ANFIS-PSO Classifier

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Vasumathi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR is playing a vital role in taking extremely high resolution radar images. It is greatly used to monitor the ice covered ocean regions. Sea monitoring is important for various purposes which includes global climate systems and ship navigation. Classification on the ice infested area gives important features which will be further useful for various monitoring process around the ice regions. Main objective of this paper is to classify the SAR ice image that helps in identifying the regions around the ice infested areas. In this paper three stages are considered in classification of SAR ice images. It starts with preprocessing in which the speckled SAR ice images are denoised using various speckle removal filters; comparison is made on all these filters to find the best filter in speckle removal. Second stage includes segmentation in which different regions are segmented using K-means and watershed segmentation algorithms; comparison is made between these two algorithms to find the best in segmenting SAR ice images. The last stage includes pixel based classification which identifies and classifies the segmented regions using various supervised learning classifiers. The algorithms includes Back propagation neural networks (BPN, Fuzzy Classifier, Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference Classifier (ANFIS classifier and proposed ANFIS with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO classifier; comparison is made on all these classifiers to propose which classifier is best suitable for classifying the SAR ice image. Various evaluation metrics are performed separately at all these three stages.

PSP SAR interferometry monitoring of ground and structure deformations applied to archaeological sites

Science.gov (United States)

Costantini, Mario; Francioni, Elena; Trillo, Francesco; Minati, Federico; Margottini, Claudio; Spizzichino, Daniele; Trigila, Alessandro; Iadanza, Carla

2017-04-01

Archaeological sites and cultural heritage are considered as critical assets for the society, representing not only the history of region or a culture, but also contributing to create a common identity of people living in a certain region. In this view, it is becoming more and more urgent to preserve them from climate changes effect and in general from their degradation. These structures are usually just as precious as fragile: remote sensing technology can be useful to monitor these treasures. In this work, we will focus on ground deformation measurements obtained by satellite SAR interferometry and on the methodology adopted and implemented in order to use the results operatively for conservation policies in a Italian archaeological site. The analysis is based on the processing of COSMO-SkyMed Himage data by the e-GEOS proprietary Persistent Scatterer Pair (PSP) SAR interferometry technology. The PSP technique is a proven SAR interferometry technology characterized by the fact of exploiting in the processing only the relative properties between close points (pairs) in order to overcome atmospheric artefacts (which are one of the main problems of SAR interferometry). Validations analyses [Costantini et al. 2015] settled that this technique applied to COSMO-SkyMed Himage data is able to retrieve very dense (except of course on vegetated or cultivated areas) millimetric deformation measurements with sub-metric localization. Considering the limitations of all the interferometric techniques, in particular the fact that the measurement are along the line of sight (LOS) and the geometric distortions, in order to obtain the maximum information from interferometric analysis, both ascending and descending geometry have been used. The ascending analysis allows selecting measurements points over the top and, approximately, South-West part of the structures, while the descending one over the top and the South-East part of the structures. The interferometric techniques needs

Secondary Fault Activity of the North Anatolian Fault near Avcilar, Southwest of Istanbul: Evidence from SAR Interferometry Observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faqi Diao

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Strike-slip faults may be traced along thousands of kilometers, e.g., the San Andreas Fault (USA or the North Anatolian Fault (Turkey. A closer look at such continental-scale strike faults reveals localized complexities in fault geometry, associated with fault segmentation, secondary faults and a change of related hazards. The North Anatolian Fault displays such complexities nearby the mega city Istanbul, which is a place where earthquake risks are high, but secondary processes are not well understood. In this paper, long-term persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI analysis of synthetic aperture radar (SAR data time series was used to precisely identify the surface deformation pattern associated with the faulting complexity at the prominent bend of the North Anatolian Fault near Istanbul city. We elaborate the relevance of local faulting activity and estimate the fault status (slip rate and locking depth for the first time using satellite SAR interferometry (InSAR technology. The studied NW-SE-oriented fault on land is subject to strike-slip movement at a mean slip rate of ~5.0 mm/year and a shallow locking depth of <1.0 km and thought to be directly interacting with the main fault branch, with important implications for tectonic coupling. Our results provide the first geodetic evidence on the segmentation of a major crustal fault with a structural complexity and associated multi-hazards near the inhabited regions of Istanbul, with similarities also to other major strike-slip faults that display changes in fault traces and mechanisms.

Research on Strong Clutter Suppression for Gaofen-3 Dual-Channel SAR/GMTI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mingjie Zheng

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR, moving targets are almost buried in ground clutter due to the wide clutter Doppler spectrum and the restricted pulse repetition frequency (PRF, which increases the difficulty of moving target detection. Clutter suppression is one of the key issues in the spaceborne SAR moving target indicator operation. In this paper, we describe the clutter suppression principle and analyze the influence of amplitude and phase error on clutter suppression. In the following, a novel dual-channel SAR clutter suppression algorithm is proposed, which is suitable for the Gaofen-3(GF-3 SAR sensor. The proposed algorithm consists of three technique steps, namely adaptive two-dimensional (2D channel calibration, refined amplitude error correction and refined phase error correction. After channel error is corrected by these procedures, the clutter component, especially a strong clutter component, can be well suppressed. The validity of the proposed algorithm is verified by GF-3 SAR real data which demonstrates the ground moving-target indication (GMTI capability of GF-3 SAR sensor.

Advanced InSAR imaging for dune mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Havivi, Shiran; August, Yitzhak; Blumberg, Dan G.; Rotman, Stanley R.

2015-04-01

Aeolian morphologies are formed in the presence of sufficient wind energy and available particles. These processes occur naturally or are further enhanced or reduced by human intervention. The dimensions of change are dependent primarily on the wind energy and surface properties. Since the 1970's, remote sensing imagery both optical and radar, are used for documentation and interpretation of the geomorphologic changes of sand dunes. Remote sensing studies of Aeolian morphologies is mostly useful to document major changes, yet, subtle changes, occurring in a period of days or months in scales of centimeters, are very difficult to detect in imagery. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is an imaging technique for measuring Earth's surface topography and deformation. InSAR images are produced by measuring the radar phase difference between two separated antennas that view the same surface area. Classical InSAR is based on high coherence between two images or more. The output (interferogram) can show subtle changes with an accuracy of several millimeters to centimeters. Very little work has been done on measuring or identifying the changes in dunes using InSAR. The reason is that dunes tend to be less coherent than firm, stable, surfaces. This research aims to demonstrate how interferometric decorrelation, or, coherence change detection, can be used for identifying dune instability. We hypothesize and demonstrate that the loss of radar coherence over time on dunes can be used as an indication of the dune's instability. When SAR images are acquired at sufficiently close intervals one can measure the time it takes to lose coherence and associate this time with geomorphic stability. To achieve our goals, the Nitzanim coastal dunes along the Mediterranean, 40 km south of Tel-Aviv, Israel, were chosen as a case study. The dunes in this area are of varying levels of stability and vegetation cover and have been monitored meteorologically, geomorphologically and

Latitudinal dynamics of SAR-arcs relative to the local time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alekseev, V.N.; Ievenko, I.B.

1991-01-01

In November-December, 1988, January-April, 1989-1990, at the Maymaga station in Yakutia according to spectrophotometric data 47 events of the occurrence of red stable middle-latitudinal arcs (SAR-arcs) were recorded. On the basis of these data the latitudinal dynamics of SAR-arcs was studied depending on the local time and geomagnetic disturbance level. The uniform equatorial shift of SAR arcs in the night time is noticed, and a sharp increase of the speed of this motion can be caused by the nonstationary character of the magnetospheric activity

Alaska Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Facility science data processing architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Hilland, Jeffrey E.; Bicknell, Thomas; Miller, Carol L.

1991-01-01

The paper describes the architecture of the Alaska SAR Facility (ASF) at Fairbanks, being developed to generate science data products for supporting research in sea ice motion, ice classification, sea-ice-ocean interaction, glacier behavior, ocean waves, and hydrological and geological study areas. Special attention is given to the individual substructures of the ASF: the Receiving Ground Station (RGS), the SAR Processor System, and the Interactive Image Analysis System. The SAR data will be linked to the RGS by the ESA ERS-1 and ERS-2, the Japanese ERS-1, and the Canadian Radarsat.

Wind mapping offshore in coastal Mediterranean area using SAR images

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Calaudi, Rosamaria; Arena, Felice; Badger, Merete

Satellite observations of the ocean surface from Synthetic Aperture Radars (SAR) provide information about the spatial wind variability over large areas. This is of special interest in the Mediterranean, where spatial wind information is only provided by sparse buoys, often with long periods...... of missing data. Here, we focus on evaluating the use of SAR for offshore wind mapping. Preliminary results from the analysis of SAR-based ocean winds in Mediterranean areas show interesting large scale wind flow features consistent with results from previous studies using numerical models and space borne...

LTE modem power consumption, SAR and RF signal strength emulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Musiige, Deogratius; Vincent, Laulagnet; Anton, François

2012-01-01

This paper presents a new methodology for emulating the LTE modem power consumption, emitted SAR and RF signal strength when transmitting an LTE signal. The inputs of the methodology are: modem logical/protocol commands, time advance, near-field specifier, and antenna characteristics. The power...... emulation model(s) are computed by a two layer 451 neural network based on physical power measurements. SAR is emulated by polynomial interpolation models based on FDTD simulations. The accuracies of the mathematical function approximations for the emulation models of power and SAR are 5.19% and 3...

Blood donors--Serious adverse reactions (SAR) 2010-2014 EFS Châteauroux, France.

Science.gov (United States)

Riga, A; Sapey, T; Bacanu, M; Py, J-Y; Dehaut, F

2015-06-01

In 2013, the national French incidence of serious adverse reactions (SAR) was 155.7 per 100,000 donations and 82% of SAR were grade 2 (French classification of SAR related to blood donors) The purpose of our study was to describe the profile of blood donator candidate which had a SAR in our center. The study contains all the SAR superior to grade 1 occurred on the site EFS Châteauroux (site and mobile blood collection) from January 2010 to October 31, 2014. We analyzed 37 parameters from the e-fit files (e-site French blood vigilance) and In-log software. We identified 82 SAR for 72,553 blood donations (incidence: 113.02 SAR per 100,000 donations). Forty-one men and 41 women, middle age 39 years (18-66). Average height: 1.68 m (1.49-1.85); average weight: 68 kg (50-98); body mass index (kg/m(2)): 24,13(18.6-31.9). All donors were Caucasian and 30% unemployed. We found 74 vasovagal syncope (VVS), 5 hematomas, 2 arterial injuries and an adverse reaction to citrate. In 90%, the SAR was immediate and of grade 2 in 85% of cases. Thirty-seven percent of SAR were first donation in connection with whole blood in 87% of cases. Regarding the seniority of donors, the number of average donations (whole blood, plasma, platelets) was 16.5. An SAR determined the stop of blood donation in 65% of cases with nearly 80% stoppage if it was a first donation. Seventy-three percent of SAR as a VVS took place during blood collection or within 5 minutes following the end of the donation. Sixty-one percent were men. Forty-four percent of cases were a first donation and 83% occurred in mobile blood collection. Average age was 36 years. The result was a permanent stop of all type of donations in 76% of cases. Twenty-seven percent of SAR as a VVS took place beyond 5 minutes after the end of the donation. Seventy-five percent were women. Thirty percent of cases were a first donation and 95% of SAR occurred in mobile blood collection. Average age was 42 years. The result was a permanent stop of

The planned Alaska SAR Facility - An overview

Science.gov (United States)

Carsey, Frank; Weeks, Wilford

1987-01-01

The Alaska SAR Facility (ASF) is described in an overview fashion. The facility consists of three major components, a Receiving Ground System, a SAR Processing System and an Analysis and Archiving System; the ASF Program also has a Science Working Team and the requisite management and operations systems. The ASF is now an approved and fully funded activity; detailed requirements and science background are presented for the facility to be implemented for data from the European ERS-1, the Japanese ERS-1 and Radarsat.

Satellite sar detection of hurricane helene (2006)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ju, Lian; Cheng, Yongcun; Xu, Qing

2013-01-01

In this paper, the wind structure of hurricane Helene (2006) over the Atlantic Ocean is investigated from a C-band RADARSAT-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image acquired on 20 September 2006. First, the characteristics, e.g., the center, scale and area of the hurricane eye (HE) are determined. ...... observations from the stepped frequency microwave radiometer (SFMR) on NOAA P3 aircraft. All the results show the capability of hurricane monitoring by satellite SAR. Copyright © 2013 by the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE)....

Geologic mapping in Greenland with polarimetric SAR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dall, Jørgen; Madsen, Søren Nørvang; Brooks, C. K.

1995-01-01

The application of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for geologic mapping in Greenland is investigated by the Danish Center for Remote Sensing (DCRS) in co-operation with the Danish Lithosphere Centre (DLC). In 1994 a pilot project was conducted in East Greenland. The Danish airborne SAR, EMISAR...... mapping is complicated by an extreme topography leading to massive shadowing, foreshortening and layover. An artifact characterised by high cross-polarisation is observed behind many sharp mountain ridges. A multi-reflection hypothesis has been investigated without finding the ultimate proof...

Hyper-Rayleigh scattering and hyper-Raman scattering of dye-adsorbed silver nanoparticles induced by a focused continuous-wave near-infrared laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itoh, Tamitake; Ozaki, Yukihiro; Yoshikawa, Hiroyuki; Ihama, Takashi; Masuhara, Hiroshi

2006-01-01

We report that hyper-Rayleigh scattering, surface-enhanced hyper-Raman scattering, and two-photon excited luminescence occur intermittently by focusing a continuous-wave near-infrared (cw-NIR) laser into a colloidal silver solution including rhodamine 6G (R6G) and sodium chloride (NaCl). On the other hand, continuous hyper-Rayleigh scattering is observed from colloidal silver free from R6G and NaCl, demonstrating that hyper-Raman scattering and two-photon excited luminescence are attributed to R6G and their intermittent features are dependent on the colloidal dispersion. These results suggest that the cw-NIR laser has three roles; the source of the nonlinear response, optical trapping of nanoparticles, and making nanoparticle aggregates possessing the high activity for the nonlinear response

SAR processing in the cloud for oil detection in the Arctic

Science.gov (United States)

Garron, J.; Stoner, C.; Meyer, F. J.

2016-12-01

A new world of opportunity is being thawed from the ice of the Arctic, driven by decreased persistent Arctic sea-ice cover, increases in shipping, tourism, natural resource development. Tools that can automatically monitor key sea ice characteristics and potential oil spills are essential for safe passage in these changing waters. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data can be used to discriminate sea ice types and oil on the ocean surface and also for feature tracking. Additionally, SAR can image the earth through the night and most weather conditions. SAR data is volumetrically large and requires significant computing power to manipulate. Algorithms designed to identify key environmental features, like oil spills, in SAR imagery require secondary processing, and are computationally intensive, which can functionally limit their application in a real-time setting. Cloud processing is designed to manage big data and big data processing jobs by means of small cycles of off-site computations, eliminating up-front hardware costs. Pairing SAR data with cloud processing has allowed us to create and solidify a processing pipeline for SAR data products in the cloud to compare operational algorithms efficiency and effectiveness when run using an Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) defined Amazon Machine Image (AMI). The products created from this secondary processing, were compared to determine which algorithm was most accurate in Arctic feature identification, and what operational conditions were required to produce the results on the ASF defined AMI. Results will be used to inform a series of recommendations to oil-spill response data managers and SAR users interested in expanding their analytical computing power.

Sentinel-3 SAR Altimetry Toolbox

Science.gov (United States)

Benveniste, Jerome; Lucas, Bruno; DInardo, Salvatore

2015-04-01

The prime objective of the SEOM (Scientific Exploitation of Operational Missions) element is to federate, support and expand the large international research community that the ERS, ENVISAT and the Envelope programmes have build up over the last 20 years for the future European operational Earth Observation missions, the Sentinels. Sentinel-3 builds directly on a proven heritage of ERS-2 and Envisat, and CryoSat-2, with a dual-frequency (Ku and C band) advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter (SRAL) that provides measurements at a resolution of ~300m in SAR mode along track. Sentinel-3 will provide exact measurements of sea-surface height along with accurate topography measurements over sea ice, ice sheets, rivers and lakes. The first of the two Sentinels is expected to be launched in early 2015. The current universal altimetry toolbox is BRAT (Basic Radar Altimetry Toolbox) which can read all previous and current altimetry mission's data, but it does not have the capabilities to read the upcoming Sentinel-3 L1 and L2 products. ESA will endeavour to develop and supply this capability to support the users of the future Sentinel-3 SAR Altimetry Mission. BRAT is a collection of tools and tutorial documents designed to facilitate the processing of radar altimetry data. This project started in 2005 from the joint efforts of ESA (European Space Agency) and CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales), and it is freely available at http://earth.esa.int/brat. The tools enable users to interact with the most common altimetry data formats, the BratGUI is the front-end for the powerful command line tools that are part of the BRAT suite. BRAT can also be used in conjunction with Matlab/IDL (via reading routines) or in C/C++/Fortran via a programming API, allowing the user to obtain desired data, bypassing the data-formatting hassle. BRAT can be used simply to visualise data quickly, or to translate the data into other formats such as netCDF, ASCII text files, KML (Google Earth

Wind class sampling of satellite SAR imagery for offshore wind resource mapping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Badger, Merete; Badger, Jake; Nielsen, Morten

2010-01-01

developed for mesoscale modeling of wind resources. Its performance in connection with sampling of SAR scenes is tested against two sets of random SAR samples and meteorological observations at three sites in the North Sea during 2005–08. Predictions of the mean wind speed and the Weibull scale parameter......High-resolution wind fields retrieved from satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery are combined for mapping of wind resources offshore where site measurements are costly and sparse. A new sampling strategy for the SAR scenes is introduced, based on a method for statistical......-dynamical downscaling of large-scale wind conditions using a set of wind classes that describe representative wind situations. One or more SAR scenes are then selected to represent each wind class and the classes are weighted according to their frequency of occurrence. The wind class methodology was originally...

An Advanced Rotation Invariant Descriptor for SAR Image Registration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuming Xiang

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT algorithm and its many variants have been widely used in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR image registration. The SIFT-like algorithms maintain rotation invariance by assigning a dominant orientation for each keypoint, while the calculation of dominant orientation is not robust due to the effect of speckle noise in SAR imagery. In this paper, we propose an advanced local descriptor for SAR image registration to achieve rotation invariance without assigning a dominant orientation. Based on the improved intensity orders, we first divide a circular neighborhood into several sub-regions. Second, rotation-invariant ratio orientation histograms of each sub-region are proposed by accumulating the ratio values of different directions in a rotation-invariant coordinate system. The proposed descriptor is composed of the concatenation of the histograms of each sub-region. In order to increase the distinctiveness of the proposed descriptor, multiple image neighborhoods are aggregated. Experimental results on several satellite SAR images have shown an improvement in the matching performance over other state-of-the-art algorithms.

InSAR observations of active volcanoes in Latin America

Science.gov (United States)

Morales Rivera, A. M.; Chaussard, E.; Amelung, F.

2012-12-01

Over the last decade satellite-based interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has developed into a well-known technique to gauge the status of active volcanoes. The InSAR technique can detect the ascent of magma to shallow levels of the volcanic plumbing system because new arriving magma pressurizes the system. This is likely associated with the inflation of the volcanic edifice and the surroundings. Although the potential of InSAR to detect magma migration is well known, the principal limitation was that only for few volcanoes frequent observations were acquired. The ALOS-1 satellite of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) acquired a global L-band data set of 15-20 acquisitions during 2006-2011. Here we use ALOS InSAR and Small Baseline (SB) time-series methods for a ground deformation survey of Latin America with emphasis on the northern Andes. We present time-dependent ground deformation data for the volcanoes in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and interpret the observations in terms of the dynamics of the volcanic systems.

Emergency product generation for disaster management using RISAT and DMSAR quick look SAR processors

Science.gov (United States)

Desai, Nilesh; Sharma, Ritesh; Kumar, Saravana; Misra, Tapan; Gujraty, Virendra; Rana, SurinderSingh

2006-12-01

Since last few years, ISRO has embarked upon the development of two complex Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) missions, viz. Spaceborne Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT) and Airborne SAR for Disaster Mangement (DMSAR), as a capacity building measure under country's Disaster Management Support (DMS) Program, for estimating the extent of damage over large areas (~75 Km) and also assess the effectiveness of the relief measures undertaken during natural disasters such as cyclones, epidemics, earthquakes, floods and landslides, forest fires, crop diseases etc. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has an unique role to play in mapping and monitoring of large areas affected by natural disasters especially floods, owing to its unique capability to see through clouds as well as all-weather imaging capability. The generation of SAR images with quick turn around time is very essential to meet the above DMS objectives. Thus the development of SAR Processors, for these two SAR systems poses considerable challenges and design efforts. Considering the growing user demand and inevitable necessity for a full-fledged high throughput processor, to process SAR data and generate image in real or near-real time, the design and development of a generic SAR Processor has been taken up and evolved, which will meet the SAR processing requirements for both Airborne and Spaceborne SAR systems. This hardware SAR processor is being built, to the extent possible, using only Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) DSP and other hardware plug-in modules on a Compact PCI (cPCI) platform. Thus, the major thrust has been on working out Multi-processor Digital Signal Processor (DSP) architecture and algorithm development and optimization rather than hardware design and fabrication. For DMSAR, this generic SAR Processor operates as a Quick Look SAR Processor (QLP) on-board the aircraft to produce real time full swath DMSAR images and as a ground based Near-Real Time high precision full swath Processor (NRTP). It will

Planet-planet scattering leads to tightly packed planetary systems

OpenAIRE

Raymond, Sean N.; Barnes, Rory; Veras, Dimitri; Armitage, Philip J.; Gorelick, Noel; Greenberg, Richard

2009-01-01

The known extrasolar multiple-planet systems share a surprising dynamical attribute: they cluster just beyond the Hill stability boundary. Here we show that the planet-planet scattering model, which naturally explains the observed exoplanet eccentricity distribution, can reproduce the observed distribution of dynamical configurations. We calculated how each of our scattered systems would appear over an appropriate range of viewing geometries; as Hill stability is weakly dependent on the masse...

[SARS: a new emergency in the world health].

Science.gov (United States)

Calza, Leonardo; Manfredi, Roberto; Verucchi, Gabriella; Chiodo, Francesco

2003-01-01

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a new life-threatening respiratory disease which has its origins in Guangdong province, China, where the earliest known cases were identified in November 2002. Since then, probable cases of SARS have been reported in 30 countries and the current cumulative number of cases is 8,240 with 745 deaths and a global fatality rate of 9%. The most frequently involved areas include China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, Vietnam and Philippines. Most cases of SARS to date have occurred in young adults and this disease appears to spread most commonly by close person-to-person contact, involving exposure to infectious droplets and body fluids. This transmission pattern generally involves household members, health care workers and international travellers, while a large and sudden cluster of almost simultaneous cases in an housing estate of Hong Kong has raised the possibility of transmission from an environmental source. The most common presenting symptoms are fever, malaise, non-productive cough and dyspnea, associated with pulmonary interstitial infiltrates on chest radiography. A novel coronavirus is associated with this outbreak, and the laboratory evidences indicate that this virus has an etiologic role in SARS, but the role of other concurrent viral agents (such as metapneumovirus) identified in these patients requires further investigation.

Detection of moving humans in UHF wideband SAR

Science.gov (United States)

Sjögren, Thomas K.; Ulander, Lars M. H.; Frölind, Per-Olov; Gustavsson, Anders; Stenström, Gunnar; Jonsson, Tommy

2014-06-01

In this paper, experimental results for UHF wideband SAR imaging of humans on an open field and inside a forest is presented. The results show ability to detect the humans and suggest possible ways to improve the results. In the experiment, single channel wideband SAR mode of the UHF UWB system LORA developed by Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI). The wideband SAR mode used in the experiment was from 220 to 450 MHz, thus with a fractional bandwidth of 0.68. Three humans walking and one stationary were available in the scene with one of the walking humans in the forest. The signature of the human in the forest appeared on the field, due to azimuth shift from the positive range speed component. One human on the field and the one in the forest had approximately the same speed and walking direction. The signatures in the SAR image were compared as a function of integration time based on focusing using the average relative speed of these given by GPS logs. A signal processing gain was obtained for the human in forest until approximately 15 s and 35 s for the human on the field. This difference is likely explained by uneven terrain and trees in the way, causing a non-straight walking path.

Risk factors for SARS transmission from patients requiring intubation: a multicentre investigation in Toronto, Canada.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janet Raboud

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In the 2003 Toronto SARS outbreak, SARS-CoV was transmitted in hospitals despite adherence to infection control procedures. Considerable controversy resulted regarding which procedures and behaviours were associated with the greatest risk of SARS-CoV transmission. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to identify risk factors for transmission of SARS-CoV during intubation from laboratory confirmed SARS patients to HCWs involved in their care. All SARS patients requiring intubation during the Toronto outbreak were identified. All HCWs who provided care to intubated SARS patients during treatment or transportation and who entered a patient room or had direct patient contact from 24 hours before to 4 hours after intubation were eligible for this study. Data was collected on patients by chart review and on HCWs by interviewer-administered questionnaire. Generalized estimating equation (GEE logistic regression models and classification and regression trees (CART were used to identify risk factors for SARS transmission. RESULTS: 45 laboratory-confirmed intubated SARS patients were identified. Of the 697 HCWs involved in their care, 624 (90% participated in the study. SARS-CoV was transmitted to 26 HCWs from 7 patients; 21 HCWs were infected by 3 patients. In multivariate GEE logistic regression models, presence in the room during fiberoptic intubation (OR = 2.79, p = .004 or ECG (OR = 3.52, p = .002, unprotected eye contact with secretions (OR = 7.34, p = .001, patient APACHE II score > or = 20 (OR = 17.05, p = .009 and patient Pa0(2/Fi0(2 ratio < or = 59 (OR = 8.65, p = .001 were associated with increased risk of transmission of SARS-CoV. In CART analyses, the four covariates which explained the greatest amount of variation in SARS-CoV transmission were covariates representing individual patients. CONCLUSION: Close contact with the airway of severely ill patients and failure of infection control practices to prevent exposure

Study on Zero-Doppler Centroid Control for GEO SAR Ground Observation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yicheng Jiang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In geosynchronous Earth orbit SAR (GEO SAR, Doppler centroid compensation is a key step for imaging process, which could be performed by the attitude steering of a satellite platform. However, this zero-Doppler centroid control method does not work well when the look angle of radar is out of an expected range. This paper primarily analyzes the Doppler properties of GEO SAR in the Earth rectangular coordinate. Then, according to the actual conditions of the GEO SAR ground observation, the effective range is presented by the minimum and maximum possible look angles which are directly related to the orbital parameters. Based on the vector analysis, a new approach for zero-Doppler centroid control in GEO SAR, performing the attitude steering by a combination of pitch and roll rotation, is put forward. This approach, considering the Earth’s rotation and elliptical orbit effects, can accurately reduce the residual Doppler centroid. All the simulation results verify the correctness of the range of look angle and the proposed steering method.

Feature Fusion Based Road Extraction for HJ-1-C SAR Image

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lu Ping-ping

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Road network extraction in SAR images is one of the key tasks of military and civilian technologies. To solve the issues of road extraction of HJ-1-C SAR images, a road extraction algorithm is proposed based on the integration of ratio and directional information. Due to the characteristic narrow dynamic range and low signal to noise ratio of HJ-1-C SAR images, a nonlinear quantization and an image filtering method based on a multi-scale autoregressive model are proposed here. A road extraction algorithm based on information fusion, which considers ratio and direction information, is also proposed. By processing Radon transformation, main road directions can be extracted. Cross interferences can be suppressed, and the road continuity can then be improved by the main direction alignment and secondary road extraction. The HJ-1-C SAR image acquired in Wuhan, China was used to evaluate the proposed method. The experimental results show good performance with correctness (80.5% and quality (70.1% when applied to a SAR image with complex content.

A MATCHING METHOD TO REDUCE THE INFLUENCE OF SAR GEOMETRIC DEFORMATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Gao

2018-04-01

Full Text Available There are large geometrical deformations in SAR image, including foreshortening, layover, shade，which leads to SAR Image matching with low accuracy. Especially in complex terrain area, the control points are difficult to obtain, and the matching is difficult to achieve. Considering the impact of geometric distortions in SAR image pairs, a matching algorithm with a combination of speeded up robust features (SURF and summed of normalize cross correlation (SNCC was proposed, which can avoid the influence of SAR geometric deformation. Firstly, SURF algorithm was utilized to predict the search area. Then the matching point pairs was selected based on summed of normalized cross correlation. Finally, false match points were eliminated by the bidirectional consistency. SURF algorithm can control the range of matching points, and the matching points extracted from the deformation area are eliminated, and the matching points with stable and even distribution are obtained. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed algorithm had high precision, and can effectively avoid the effect of geometric distortion on SAR image matching. Meet accuracy requirements of the block adjustment with sparse control points.

Ionospheric errors compensation for ground deformation estimation with new generation SAR

Science.gov (United States)

Gomba, Giorgio; De Zan, Francesco; Rodriguez Gonzalez, Fernando

2017-04-01

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and interferometric SAR (InSAR) measurements are disturbed by the propagation velocity changes of microwaves that are caused by the high density of free electrons in the ionosphere. Most affected are low-frequency (L- or P-band) radars, as the recently launched ALOS-2 and the future Tandem-L and NISAR, although higher frequency (C- or X-band) systems, as the recently launched Sentinel-1, are not immune. Since the ionosphere is an obstacle to increasing the precision of new generation SAR systems needed to remotely measure the Earth's dynamic processes as for example ground deformation, it is necessary to estimate and compensate ionospheric propagation delays in SAR signals. In this work we discuss about the influence of the ionosphere on interferograms and the possible correction methods with relative accuracies. Consequently, the effect of ionospheric induced errors on ground deformation measurements prior and after ionosphere compensation will be analyzed. Examples will be presented of corrupted measurements of earthquakes and fault motion along with the corrected results using different methods.

Analysis of Secular Ground Motions in Istanbul from a Long-Term InSAR Time-Series (1992–2017

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gokhan Aslan

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The identification and measurement of ground deformations in urban areas is of great importance for determining the vulnerable parts of the cities that are prone to geohazards, which is a crucial element of both sustainable urban planning and hazard mitigation. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR time series analysis is a very powerful tool for the operational mapping of ground deformation related to urban subsidence and landslide phenomena. With an analysis spanning almost 25 years of satellite radar observations, we compute an InSAR time series of data from multiple satellites (European Remote Sensing satellites ERS-1 and ERS-2, Envisat, Sentinel-1A, and its twin sensor Sentinel-1B in order to investigate the spatial extent and rate of ground deformation in the megacity of Istanbul. By combining the various multi-track InSAR datasets (291 images in total and analysing persistent scatterers (PS-InSAR, we present mean velocity maps of ground surface displacement in selected areas of Istanbul. We identify several sites along the terrestrial and coastal regions of Istanbul that underwent vertical ground subsidence at varying rates, from 5 ± 1.2 mm/yr to 15 ± 2.1 mm/yr. The results reveal that the most distinctive subsidence patterns are associated with both anthropogenic factors and relatively weak lithologies along the Haramirede valley in particular, where the observed subsidence is up to 10 ± 2 mm/yr. We show that subsidence has been occurring along the Ayamama river stream at a rate of up to 10 ± 1.8 mm/yr since 1992, and has also been slowing down over time following the restoration of the river and stream system. We also identify subsidence at a rate of 8 ± 1.2 mm/yr along the coastal region of Istanbul, which we associate with land reclamation, as well as a very localised subsidence at a rate of 15 ± 2.3 mm/yr starting in 2016 around one of the highest skyscrapers of Istanbul, which was built in 2010.

Estimating snow water equivalent (SWE) using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR)

Science.gov (United States)

Deeb, Elias J.

Since the early 1990s, radar interferometry and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) have been used extensively to measure changes in the Earth's surface. Previous research has presented theory for estimating snow properties, including potential for snow water equivalent (SWE) retrieval, using InSAR. The motivation behind using remote sensing to estimate SWE is to provide a more complete, continuous set of "observations" to assist in water management operations, climate change studies, and flood hazard forecasting. The research presented here primarily investigates the feasibility of using the InSAR technique at two different wavelengths (C-Band and L-Band) for SWE retrieval of dry snow within the Kuparuk watershed, North Slope, Alaska. Estimating snow distribution around meteorological towers on the coastal plain using a three-day repeat orbit of C-Band InSAR data was successful (Chapter 2). A longer wavelength L-band SAR is evaluated for SWE retrievals (Chapter 3) showing the ability to resolve larger snow accumulation events over a longer period of time. Comparisons of InSAR estimates and late spring manual sampling of SWE show a R2 = 0.61 when a coherence threshold is used to eliminate noisy SAR data. Qualitative comparisons with a high resolution digital elevation model (DEM) highlight areas of scour on windward slopes and areas of deposition on leeward slopes. When compared to a mid-winter transect of manually sampled snow depths, the InSAR SWE estimates yield a RMSE of 2.21cm when a bulk snow density is used and corrections for bracketing the satellite acquisition timing is performed. In an effort to validate the interaction of radar waves with a snowpack, the importance of the "dry snow" assumption for the estimation of SWE using InSAR is tested with an experiment in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Alta, Utah (Chapter 5). Snow wetness is shown to have a significant effect on the velocity of propagation within the snowpack. Despite the radar

Training Convolutional Neural Networks for Translational Invariance on SAR ATR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malmgren-Hansen, David; Engholm, Rasmus; Østergaard Pedersen, Morten

2016-01-01

In this paper we present a comparison of the robustness of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) to other classifiers in the presence of uncertainty of the objects localization in SAR image. We present a framework for simulating simple SAR images, translating the object of interest systematically...

PSP SAR interferometry monitoring of ground and structure deformations in the archeological site of Pompeii

Science.gov (United States)

Costantini, Mario; Francioni, Elena; Paglia, Luca; Minati, Federico; Margottini, Claudio; Spizzichino, Daniele; Trigila, Alessandro; Iadanza, Carla; De Nigris, Bruno

2016-04-01

The "Major Project Pompeii" (MPP) is a great collective commitment of different institututions and people to set about solving the serious problem of conservation of the largest archeological sites in the world. The ancient city of Pompeii with its 66 hectares, 44 of which are excaveted, is divided into 9 regiones (district), subdivided in 118 insulae (blocks) and almost 1500 domus (houses), and is Unesco site since 1996. The Italian Ministry for Heritage and Cultural Activities and Tourism (MiBACT) and Finmeccanica Group have sealed an agreement whereby the Finmeccanica Group will donate innovative technologies and services for monitoring and protecting the archaeological site of Pompeii. Moreover, the Italian Institute for Environment Protection and Research (ISPRA) - Geological Survey of Italy, was also involved to support the ground based analysis and interpretation of the measurements provided by the industrial team, in order to promote an interdisciplinary approach. In this work, we will focus on ground deformation measurements obtained by satellite SAR interferometry and on their interpretation. The satellite monitoring service is based on the processing of COSMO-SkyMed Himage data by the e-Geos proprietary Persistent Scatterer Pair (PSP) SAR interferometry technology. The PSP technique is a proven SAR interferometry method characterized by the fact of exploiting in the processing only the relative properties between close points (pairs) in order to overcome atmospheric artifacts (which are one of the main problems of SAR interferometry). Validations analyses showed that this technique applied to COSMO-SkyMed Himage data is able to retrieve very dense (except of course on vegetated or cultivated areas) millimetric deformation measurements with sub-metric localization. By means of the COSMO-SkyMed PSP SAR interferometry processing, a historical analysis of the ground and structure deformations occurred over the entire archaeological site of Pompeii in the

A MODIFIED H-α PLANE FOR THE EXTRACTION OF SCATTERING MECHANISMS FROM DUAL CIRCULAR POLARIZATION SAR DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Ghods

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Cloude–Pottier entropy and α-angle are two important parameters for the interpretation of fully polarimetric data. They indicate the randomness of the polarisation of the back scattered waves and the scattering mechanisms of the targets respectively. For fully polarimetric data the H-α plane is presented which using the borders of it the full polarimetric data can be classified into 8 different physical scattering mechanisms. In recent years new approaches have proposed H-α classification spaces by mapping the points which are belong to each PSMs of FP data into the space of H/α for CP data and approximate borders were extracted for the classification purpose. In this paper a novel approach for defining H/α classification plane has been presented which maximizes the producer’s accuracy. The optimum borders have been found and the results of classification using the new plane have been compared with the rival method and the superiority of the new proposed method has been revealed.

ALGORITHM OF SAR SATELLITE ATTITUDE MEASUREMENT USING GPS AIDED BY KINEMATIC VECTOR

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2007-01-01

In this paper, in order to improve the accuracy of the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)satellite attitude using Global Positioning System (GPS) wide-band carrier phase, the SAR satellite attitude kinematic vector and Kalman filter are introduced. Introducing the state variable function of GPS attitude determination algorithm in SAR satellite by means of kinematic vector and describing the observation function by the GPS wide-band carrier phase, the paper uses the Kalman filter algorithm to obtian the attitude variables of SAR satellite. Compared the simulation results of Kalman filter algorithm with the least square algorithm and explicit solution, it is indicated that the Kalman filter algorithm is the best.

Measurement of Subsidence in the Yangbajain Geothermal Fields from TerraSAR-X

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yongsheng; Zhang, Jingfa; Li, Zhenhong

2016-08-01

Yangbajain contains the largest geothermal energy power station in China. Geothermal explorations in Yangbajain first started in 1976, and two plants were subsequently built in 1981 and 1986. A large amount of geothermal fluids have been extracted since then, leading to considerable surface subsidence around the geothermal fields. In this paper, InSAR time series analysis is applied to map the subsidence of the Yangbajain geothermal fields during the period from December 2011 to November 2012 using 16 senses of TerraSAR-X stripmap SAR images. Due to its high resolution and short repeat cycle, TerraSAR-X provides detailed surface deformation information at the Yangbajain geothermal fields.

Dynamics of Kilauea's Magmatic System Imaged Using a Joint Analysis of Geodetic and Seismic Data

Science.gov (United States)

Wauthier, C.; Roman, D. C.; Poland, M. P.; Fukushima, Y.; Hooper, A. J.

2012-12-01

Nowadays, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is commonly used to study a wide range of active volcanic areas. InSAR provides high-spatial-resolution measurements of surface deformation with centimeter-scale accuracy. At Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i, InSAR shows complex processes that are not well constrained by GPS data (which have relatively poor spatial resolution). However, GPS data have higher temporal resolution than InSAR data. Both datasets are thus complementary. To overcome some of the limitations of conventional InSAR, which are mainly induced by temporal decorrelation, topographic, orbital and atmospheric delays, a Multi-Temporal InSAR (MT-InSAR) approach can be used. MT-InSAR techniques involve the processing of multiple SAR acquisitions over the same area. Two classes of MT-InSAR algorithms are defined: the persistent scatterers (PS) and small baseline (SBAS) methods. Each method is designed for a specific type of scattering mechanism. A PS pixel is a pixel in which a single scatterer dominates, while the contributions from other scatterers are negligible. A SBAS pixel is a pixel that includes distributed scatterers, which have a phase with little decorrelation over short time periods. Here, we apply the "StaMPS" ("Stanford Method for Permanent Scatterers") technique, which incorporates both a PS and SBAS approach, on ENVISAT and ALOS datasets acquired from 2003 to 2010 at Kilauea. In particular, we focus our InSAR analysis on the time period before the June 2007 "Father's Day" dike intrusion and eruption, and also incorporate seismic and GPS data in our models. Our goal is to identify any precursors to the Father's Day event within Kilauea's summit magma system, east rift zone, and/or southwest rift zone.

Monitoring of ground movement in open pit iron mines of Carajás Province (Amazon region) based on A-DInSAR techniques using TerraSAR-X data

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Guilherme Gregório; Mura, José Claudio; Paradella, Waldir Renato; Gama, Fabio Furlan; Temporim, Filipe Altoé

2017-04-01

Persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) analysis of a large area is always a challenging task regarding the removal of the atmospheric phase component. This work presents an investigation of ground movement measurements based on a combination of differential SAR interferometry time-series (DTS) and PSI techniques, applied on a large area of extent with open pit iron mines located in Carajás (Brazilian Amazon Region), aiming at detecting linear and nonlinear ground movement. These mines have presented a history of instability, and surface monitoring measurements over sectors of the mines (pit walls) have been carried out based on ground-based radar and total station (prisms). Using a priori information regarding the topographic phase error and a phase displacement model derived from DTS, temporal phase unwrapping in the PSI processing and the removal of the atmospheric phases can be performed more efficiently. A set of 33 TerraSAR-X (TSX-1) images, acquired during the period from March 2012 to April 2013, was used to perform this investigation. The DTS analysis was carried out on a stack of multilook unwrapped interferograms using an extension of SVD to obtain the least-square solution. The height errors and deformation rates provided by the DTS approach were subtracted from the stack of interferograms to perform the PSI analysis. This procedure improved the capability of the PSI analysis for detecting high rates of deformation, as well as increased the numbers of point density of the final results. The proposed methodology showed good results for monitoring surface displacement in a large mining area, which is located in a rain forest environment, providing very useful information about the ground movement for planning and risk control.

Surface deformation monitoring of Sinabung volcano using multi temporal InSAR method and GIS analysis for affected area assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Aditiya, A.; Aoki, Y.; Anugrah, R. D.

2018-04-01

Sinabung Volcano which located in northern part of Sumatera island is part of a hundred active volcano in Indonesia. Surface deformation is detected over Sinabung Volcano and surrounded area since the first eruption in 2010 after 400 years long rest. We present multi temporal Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) time-series method of ALOS-2 L-band SAR data acquired from December 2014 to July 2017 to reveal surface deformation with high spatial resolution. The method includes focusing the SAR data, generating interferogram and phase unwrapping using SNAPHU tools. The result reveal significant deformation over Sinabung Volcano areas at rates up to 10 cm during observation period and the highest deformation occurs in western part which is trajectory of lava. We concluded the observed deformation primarily caused by volcanic activity respectively after long period of rest. In addition, Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis produces disaster affected areas of Sinabung eruption. GIS is reliable technique to estimate the impact of the hazard scenario to the exposure data and develop scenarios of disaster impacts to inform their contingency and emergency plan. The GIS results include the estimated affected area divided into 3 zones based on pyroclastic lava flow and pyroclastic fall (incandescent rock and ash). The highest impact is occurred in zone II due to many settlements are scattered in this zone. This information will be support stakeholders to take emergency preparation for disaster reduction. The continuation of this high rate of decline tends to endanger the population in next periods.

SAR image dataset of military ground targets with multiple poses for ATR

Science.gov (United States)

Belloni, Carole; Balleri, Alessio; Aouf, Nabil; Merlet, Thomas; Le Caillec, Jean-Marc

2017-10-01

Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) is the task of automatically detecting and classifying targets. Recognition using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images is interesting because SAR images can be acquired at night and under any weather conditions, whereas optical sensors operating in the visible band do not have this capability. Existing SAR ATR algorithms have mostly been evaluated using the MSTAR dataset.1 The problem with the MSTAR is that some of the proposed ATR methods have shown good classification performance even when targets were hidden,2 suggesting the presence of a bias in the dataset. Evaluations of SAR ATR techniques are currently challenging due to the lack of publicly available data in the SAR domain. In this paper, we present a high resolution SAR dataset consisting of images of a set of ground military target models taken at various aspect angles, The dataset can be used for a fair evaluation and comparison of SAR ATR algorithms. We applied the Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) technique to echoes from targets rotating on a turntable and illuminated with a stepped frequency waveform. The targets in the database consist of four variants of two 1.7m-long models of T-64 and T-72 tanks. The gun, the turret position and the depression angle are varied to form 26 different sequences of images. The emitted signal spanned the frequency range from 13 GHz to 18 GHz to achieve a bandwidth of 5 GHz sampled with 4001 frequency points. The resolution obtained with respect to the size of the model targets is comparable to typical values obtained using SAR airborne systems. Single polarized images (Horizontal-Horizontal) are generated using the backprojection algorithm.3 A total of 1480 images are produced using a 20° integration angle. The images in the dataset are organized in a suggested training and testing set to facilitate a standard evaluation of SAR ATR algorithms.

Advanced radar-interpretation of InSAR time series for mapping and characterization of geological processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Cigna

2011-03-01

Full Text Available We present a new post-processing methodology for the analysis of InSAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry multi-temporal measures, based on the temporal under-sampling of displacement time series, the identification of potential changes occurring during the monitoring period and, eventually, the classification of different deformation behaviours. The potentials of this approach for the analysis of geological processes were tested on the case study of Naro (Italy, specifically selected due to its geological setting and related ground instability of unknown causes that occurred in February 2005. The time series analysis of past (ERS1/2 descending data; 1992–2000 and current (RADARSAT-1 ascending data; 2003–2007 ground movements highlighted significant displacement rates (up to 6 mm yr⁻¹ in 2003–2007, followed by a post-event stabilization. The deformational behaviours of instable areas involved in the 2005 event were also detected, clarifying typology and kinematics of ground instability. The urban sectors affected and unaffected by the event were finally mapped, consequently re-defining and enlarging the influenced area previously detected by field observations. Through the integration of InSAR data and conventional field surveys (i.e. geological, geomorphologic and geostructural campaigns, the causes of instability were finally attributed to tectonics.

Feature extraction for SAR target recognition based on supervised manifold learning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du, C; Zhou, S; Sun, J; Zhao, J

2014-01-01

On the basis of manifold learning theory, a new feature extraction method for Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) target recognition is proposed. First, the proposed algorithm estimates the within-class and between-class local neighbourhood surrounding each SAR sample. After computing the local tangent space for each neighbourhood, the proposed algorithm seeks for the optimal projecting matrix by preserving the local within-class property and simultaneously maximizing the local between-class separability. The use of uncorrelated constraint can also enhance the discriminating power of the optimal projecting matrix. Finally, the nearest neighbour classifier is applied to recognize SAR targets in the projected feature subspace. Experimental results on MSTAR datasets demonstrate that the proposed method can provide a higher recognition rate than traditional feature extraction algorithms in SAR target recognition

Road-Mapping the Way Forward for Sentinel-3 STM SAR-Mode Waveform Retracking over Water Surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Benveniste, Jérôme; Cotton, David; Dinardo, Salvatore; Lucas, Bruno Manuel; Martin-Puig, Cristina; Ray, Chris; Clarizia, Maria Paola; Gommenginger, Christine

2013-04-01

In the framework of the preparation activities for the Sentinel-3 Topography Mission, ESA launched an R&D project on SAR Altimetry and Applications over Ocean, Coastal zones and Inland waters. The main objective was to design a novel processing algorithm over ocean surface that would run in the Sentinel-3 ground segment to provide unprecedented quality altimeter measurements over ocean surfaces when in SAR mode. Also coastal zones and inland waters were the targets of research to derive new models and re-trackers for these difficult measurements. Innovative physically based models have been developed for near-nadir ocean altimetric waveforms in SAR-Mode and subsequently implemented in prototype ocean SAR re-trackers to perform the validation. A Detailed Processing Model Document was delivered for implementation in the Sentinel-3 Topography Mission Ground Segment. In this paper, we present the approach used to date within SAMOSA and the heritage behind the latest SAMOSA2 model. The SAMOSA2 model offers a complete description of SAR altimeter echoes from ocean surfaces, expressed in the form of maps of reflected power in delay and Doppler space. SAMOSA2 is able to account for an elliptical antenna pattern, mispointing errors in roll and yaw, errors in range cell migration correction, surface scattering pattern, non-linear ocean wave statistics and spherical Earth surface effects. SAMOSA2 addresses some of the known limitations of the earlier SAMOSA1 model, in particular with regards to sensitivity to mispointing. Due to its truly comprehensive character, the full SAMOSA2 model is a complicated semi-analytical formulation that still relies on some numerical integrations. The need for numerical integrations significantly impacts the computation time and raises problems of numerical stability once implemented operationally in a re-tracker scheme. This has potentially serious implications that could prevent the implementation of SAMOSA2 in operational re-tracker schemes

Biodistribution and Radiation Dosimetry of the Integrin Marker 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 Determined from Whole-Body PET/CT in a Non-Human Primate

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shuanglong; Vorobyova, Ivetta; Park, Ryan; Conti, Peter S.

2017-10-01

Introduction: 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 is a positron emission radiotracer taken up by integrin αvβ3, which is overexpressed in many malignancies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biodistribution of 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 in a non-human primate with positron emission tomography and to estimate the absorbed doses in major organs for human. Materials and methods: Whole-body PET imaging was done in a Siemens Biograph scanner in a male macaque monkey. After an i.v. injection of 13.1–19.7 MBq/kg of 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2, whole body scan was collected for a total duration of 180 min. Attenuation and scatter corrections were applied to reconstruction of the whole-body emission scan. After image reconstruction, three-dimensional volumes of interest (VOI) were hand-drawn on the PET transaxial or coronal slices of the frame where the organ was most conspicuous. Time-activity curves for each VOI were obtained, and residence time of each organ was calculated by integration of the time-activity curves. Human absorbed doses were estimated using the standard human model in OLINDA/EXM software. Results: Injection of 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 was well tolerated in the macaque monkey, with no serious tracer-related adverse events observed. 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 was cleared rapidly from the blood pool, with a 12.1-min biological half-time. Increased 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 uptake was observed in the kidneys, and bladder, with mean percentage injected dose (ID%) values at 1 h after injection approximately 35.50 ± 6.47 and 36.89 ± 5.48, respectively. The calculated effective dose was 15.30 ± 2.21 µSv/MBq, and the kidneys had the highest absorbed dose at 108.43 ± 16.41 µGy/MBq using the non-voiding model. For an injected activity of 925 MBq 64Cu for human, the effective dose would be 14.2 ± 2.1 mSv. Discussion: Due to the limitation of the monkey number, we evaluated 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 in the same monkey of three imaging sessions. Measured absorbed doses and effective doses of 64Cu-BaBaSar-RGD2 are

The retrieval of two-dimensional distribution of the earth's surface aerodynamic roughness using SAR image and TM thermal infrared image

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHANG; Renhua; WANG; Jinfeng; ZHU; Caiying; SUN; Xiaomin

2004-01-01

After having analyzed the requirement on the aerodynamic earth's surface roughness in two-dimensional distribution in the research field of interaction between land surface and atmosphere, this paper presents a new way to calculate the aerodynamic roughness using the earth's surface geometric roughness retrieved from SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) and TM thermal infrared image data. On the one hand, the SPM (Small Perturbation Model) was used as a theoretical SAR backscattering model to describe the relationship between the SAR backscattering coefficient and the earth's surface geometric roughness and its dielectric constant retrieved from the physical model between the soil thermal inertia and the soil surface moisture with the simultaneous TM thermal infrared image data and the ground microclimate data. On the basis of the SAR image matching with the TM image, the non-volume scattering surface geometric information was obtained from the SPM model at the TM image pixel scale, and the ground pixel surface's equivalent geometric roughness-height standard RMS (Root Mean Square) was achieved from the geometric information by the transformation of the typical topographic factors. The vegetation (wheat, tree) height retrieved from spectrum model was also transferred into its equivalent geometric roughness. A completely two-dimensional distribution map of the equivalent geometric roughness over the experimental area was produced by the data mosaic technique. On the other hand, according to the atmospheric eddy currents theory, the aerodynamic surface roughness was iterated out with the atmosphere stability correction method using the wind and the temperature profiles data measured at several typical fields such as bare soil field and vegetation field. After having analyzed the effect of surface equivalent geometric roughness together with dynamic and thermodynamic factors on the aerodynamic surface roughness within the working area, this paper first establishes a scale

Relation of Biospeckle Activity with Quality Attributes of Apples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Artur Zdunek

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Biospeckle is nondestructive optical technique based on the analysis of variations of laser light scattered from biological samples. Biospeckle activity reflects the state of the investigated object. In this study the relation of biospeckle activity (BA with firmness, soluble solids content (SSC, titratable acidity (TA and starch content (SC during the shelf life of seven apple cultivars was studied. The results showed that the quality attributes change significantly during storage. Significant and pronounced positive correlation between BA and SC was found. This result shows that degradation of starch granules, which could be stimulated to vibration by intracellular cyclosis, causes a lesser number of laser light scattering centers and results in smaller apparent biospeckle activity.

Relation of biospeckle activity with quality attributes of apples.

Science.gov (United States)

Zdunek, Artur; Cybulska, Justyna

2011-01-01

Biospeckle is nondestructive optical technique based on the analysis of variations of laser light scattered from biological samples. Biospeckle activity reflects the state of the investigated object. In this study the relation of biospeckle activity (BA) with firmness, soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and starch content (SC) during the shelf life of seven apple cultivars was studied. The results showed that the quality attributes change significantly during storage. Significant and pronounced positive correlation between BA and SC was found. This result shows that degradation of starch granules, which could be stimulated to vibration by intracellular cyclosis, causes a lesser number of laser light scattering centers and results in smaller apparent biospeckle activity.

Application of SAR interferometry to low-rate crustal deformation fields

Science.gov (United States)

Vincent, Paul

Differential SAR interferometry is applied to the study of low-rate interseismic crustal deformation fields along three regions of the San Adreas fault system: Salton Sea (southernmost region), Pinto Mountain fault (south-central region), and San Francisco Bay (northern region). New techniques are developed to analyze and model these low-rate deformation fields including constrained horizontal-vertical component deconvolution, deformation phase pattern analysis and strain field evolution modeling. Several new active faults were discovered as well as unmeasured activity on existing faults in the process of this SAR interferometry study. The feasibility and limitations of InSAR as a tool to study low-rate deformation fields is also addressed.

Yeast based small molecule screen for inhibitors of SARS-CoV.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Frieman

Full Text Available Severe acute respiratory coronavirus (SARS-CoV emerged in 2002, resulting in roughly 8000 cases worldwide and 10% mortality. The animal reservoirs for SARS-CoV precursors still exist and the likelihood of future outbreaks in the human population is high. The SARS-CoV papain-like protease (PLP is an attractive target for pharmaceutical development because it is essential for virus replication and is conserved among human coronaviruses. A yeast-based assay was established for PLP activity that relies on the ability of PLP to induce a pronounced slow-growth phenotype when expressed in S. cerevisiae. Induction of the slow-growth phenotype was shown to take place over a 60-hour time course, providing the basis for conducting a screen for small molecules that restore growth by inhibiting the function of PLP. Five chemical suppressors of the slow-growth phenotype were identified from the 2000 member NIH Diversity Set library. One of these, NSC158362, potently inhibited SARS-CoV replication in cell culture without toxic effects on cells, and it specifically inhibited SARS-CoV replication but not influenza virus replication. The effect of NSC158362 on PLP protease, deubiquitinase and anti-interferon activities was investigated but the compound did not alter these activities. Another suppressor, NSC158011, demonstrated the ability to inhibit PLP protease activity in a cell-based assay. The identification of these inhibitors demonstrated a strong functional connection between the PLP-based yeast assay, the inhibitory compounds, and SARS-CoV biology. Furthermore the data with NSC158362 suggest a novel mechanism for inhibition of SARS-CoV replication that may involve an unknown activity of PLP, or alternatively a direct effect on a cellular target that modifies or bypasses PLP function in yeast and mammalian cells.

Remote sensing science for the Nineties; Proceedings of IGARSS '90 - 10th Annual International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, University of Maryland, College Park, May 20-24, 1990. Vols. 1, 2, & 3

Science.gov (United States)

1990-01-01

Various papers on remote sensing (RS) for the nineties are presented. The general topics addressed include: subsurface methods, radar scattering, oceanography, microwave models, atmospheric correction, passive microwave systems, RS in tropical forests, moderate resolution land analysis, SAR geometry and SNR improvement, image analysis, inversion and signal processing for geoscience, surface scattering, rain measurements, sensor calibration, wind measurements, terrestrial ecology, agriculture, geometric registration, subsurface sediment geology, radar modulation mechanisms, radar ocean scattering, SAR calibration, airborne radar systems, water vapor retrieval, forest ecosystem dynamics, land analysis, multisensor data fusion. Also considered are: geologic RS, RS sensor optical measurements, RS of snow, temperature retrieval, vegetation structure, global change, artificial intelligence, SAR processing techniques, geologic RS field experiment, stochastic modeling, topography and Digital Elevation model, SAR ocean waves, spaceborne lidar and optical, sea ice field measurements, millimeter waves, advanced spectroscopy, spatial analysis and data compression, SAR polarimetry techniques. Also discussed are: plant canopy modeling, optical RS techniques, optical and IR oceanography, soil moisture, sea ice back scattering, lightning cloud measurements, spatial textural analysis, SAR systems and techniques, active microwave sensing, lidar and optical, radar scatterometry, RS of estuaries, vegetation modeling, RS systems, EOS/SAR Alaska, applications for developing countries, SAR speckle and texture.

Multiple Input - Multiple Output (MIMO) SAR

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This effort will research and implement advanced Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) techniques which have the potential to improve...

SAR image classification based on CNN in real and simulation datasets

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Lijiang; Liu, Ming; Liu, Xiaohua; Dong, Liquan; Hui, Mei; Zhao, Yuejin

2018-04-01

Convolution neural network (CNN) has made great success in image classification tasks. Even in the field of synthetic aperture radar automatic target recognition (SAR-ATR), state-of-art results has been obtained by learning deep representation of features on the MSTAR benchmark. However, the raw data of MSTAR have shortcomings in training a SAR-ATR model because of high similarity in background among the SAR images of each kind. This indicates that the CNN would learn the hierarchies of features of backgrounds as well as the targets. To validate the influence of the background, some other SAR images datasets have been made which contains the simulation SAR images of 10 manufactured targets such as tank and fighter aircraft, and the backgrounds of simulation SAR images are sampled from the whole original MSTAR data. The simulation datasets contain the dataset that the backgrounds of each kind images correspond to the one kind of backgrounds of MSTAR targets or clutters and the dataset that each image shares the random background of whole MSTAR targets or clutters. In addition, mixed datasets of MSTAR and simulation datasets had been made to use in the experiments. The CNN architecture proposed in this paper are trained on all datasets mentioned above. The experimental results shows that the architecture can get high performances on all datasets even the backgrounds of the images are miscellaneous, which indicates the architecture can learn a good representation of the targets even though the drastic changes on background.

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