Ecological Services
In a joint international effort led by Dr. Brian Brisco, Natural Resources Canada, Center for Mapping and Earth Observation, this project is investigating the potential of compact polarimetry to map and monitor flooded vegetation and soil moisture. Future Synthetic Aperature Radar (SAR) satellites, like the Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM), will include a compact polarimetry (CP) mode, where one polarization is transmitted circularly and two orthogonal polarizations are received, and the relative phase is maintained. The advantage of compact polarimetry is that it offers wider swath coverage compared to quad-polarimetric systems and has improved target characterization compared to single and dual-polarized systems. The CP mode, together with the frequent revisit capability of the RCM, will allow researchers and biologists to map and monitor a variety of wetland landscapes more efficiently after its launch in 2018.
Software created by the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation was used to simulate compact polarimetry from Radarsat-2 C–band imagery acquired over Whitewater, Manitoba, in the spring and summer of 2010, 2012, and 2013 with supplemental submeter optical satellite imagery also aquired for field verification.
Remote Sensing Missions and Data
A comparison of interannual wetland change detection using simulated compact polarimetry.