Title :
Synthetic aperture radar imaging of urban surfaces: a case study
Author :
Dousset, Bénédicte
Author_Institution :
Inst. of Geophys. & Planetology, Hawaii Univ., Honolulu, HI, USA
Abstract :
A set of SAR images of the Los Angeles basin was analyzed to assess their potential to derive soil moisture, an important component of the surface energy balance in urban areas. Large variations of backscatter intensities were observed for different land uses and different SAR images. Low intensities were found over smooth pavement and asphalt. High intensities were found over industrial and commercial areas, with a marked illumination azimuth dependence for the latter; and maximum intensities were found when the flight direction was parallel to building alignments. A similar anisotropy occurred over residential areas, albeit at lower intensities. These contaminations mask the backscatter variations resulting from other processes, and may limit the estimation of soil moisture to undeveloped blocks and parks, unless a correction is applied
Keywords :
backscatter; geophysical techniques; hydrological techniques; moisture measurement; radar cross-sections; radar imaging; remote sensing by radar; soil; synthetic aperture radar; California; Los Angeles basin; SAR image; SAR imaging; USA; United States; asphalt; azimuth dependence; backscatter intensity; commercial area; geophysical measurement technique; hydrology; land surface; radar remote sensing; radar scattering; road; smooth pavement; soil moisture; synthetic aperture radar; terrain mapping; urban area; urban surface; water content; Anisotropic magnetoresistance; Asphalt; Azimuth; Backscatter; Contamination; Image analysis; Lighting; Radar polarimetry; Soil moisture; Urban areas;
Conference_Titel :
Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 1995. IGARSS '95. 'Quantitative Remote Sensing for Science and Applications', International
Conference_Location :
Firenze
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-2567-2
DOI :
10.1109/IGARSS.1995.524117