Seasonal water level changes in tropical forests in New Guinea detected from JERS-1 SAR images

A method for detecting and visualizing narrow open-water rivers using very strong scatterers was applied to a series of JERS-1 SAR images of tropical forests in New Guinea. These images were observed in November and December, 1995 and February and March, 1996. The results indicate that the narrow river water levels on the Pacific side of the major mountain range stayed relatively constant during this period, while the water levels on the Australian side were low in November, highest during February and March and slightly lower in December