Applications of AIRSAR data acquired during PACRIM-II in Taiwan

The Taiwan sites, organized by the Center for Space and Remote Sensing Research of National Central University, were planned as four sites: West Taiwan, South Taiwan, 921 quake, and Ken Ting. The West Taiwan site and South Taiwan site were selected for the study of land cover, ship detection, and coastal mapping using 40 MHz POLSAR and 80 MHz HiSAR, respectively. There are various types of agricultural crops and vegetation in the West Taiwan site. The HiSAR data of the South Taiwan site acquisition was centred on Kao, Hsiung Harbor for the study of ship detection. The other two sites, the 921 quake site and the Ken Ting site were selected for generating a digital elevation model using XTI1 ping pong TOPSAR mode and XTI2 ping pong TOPSAR mode, respectively. The terrain was strongly deformed by the 921 great quake (Chi-Chi quake) in Sep. 21, 1999. The purpose of the 921 quake site is to generate digital elevation model of disaster area of 921 quake and to study the land deformation by comparing with historical data and GPS survey. Finally, the Ken Ting site was planned in part as verification site for SRTM and PACRIM I. The ground truths over these sites were also collected by a field trip from Sep. 26 to Sep. 28, 2000 with the aid of unmanned remote helicopter sensing. There are a total of five sets of ground truth: 1) Hsin-Chu, an important wetland area located in north-west Taiwan. 2) Coastal lines of West Taiwan. 3) Kao-Hsiung Harbor, in which types and locations of ships entering and leaving the harbor were recorded by means of coastal radar. 4) Tai-Chung Harbor, where the land covers inside, and outside of the harbor were recorded by photography. 5) Au-Ku Farm Field, which is an agricultural field and is cultivated with sugar cane and rice. The cultivating area is arranged regularly and shaped as a rectangle. The land cover of each cultivation area was recorded. The fishpond outside the field was photographed by a remote helicopter. Besides, overpass remote sensing sensor data from SPOT and Radarsat were also acquired during the campaign. This paper outlines the applications of POLSAR and TOPSAR data in the area of coastal monitoring, land subsidence and deformation, and terrain cover classification. It is hoped that these demonstration will lead to future operational use of SAR data in these study areas