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Remote Sensing
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Airborne SAR: Data Processing, Calibration and Applications
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Airborne SAR: Data Processing, Calibration and Applications

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Remote Sensing Image Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2020) | Viewed by 17977

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Andreas Reigber

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Microwaves and Radar Institute, SAR Technology Department, German Aerospace Center (DLR), 82234 Wessling, Germany
Interests: airborne SAR sensors; radar remote sensing; diffraction tomography; inverse problems; EM imaging; multi-channel SAR processing; signal and image processing
Ms. Yunling Lou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 300-149, Pasadena, CA, USA
Interests: airborne SAR sensors; multi-channel SAR processing; onboard processing for autonomous observations and rapid response applications
Dr. Hélène Oriot

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ONERA, Chemin de la Hunière, BP 80100, 91123 Palaiseau, CEDEX, France
Interests: airborne SAR sensor; SAR processing; Interferometry; ATI; GMTI; very high resolution SAR images

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last two decades, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) became an indispensable source of information in Earth observation. New spaceborne SAR sensors, providing new innovative imaging modes and much enhanced image quality and resolution are becoming more and more available. A major driver for this development has been and still is the airborne SAR technology. Airborne SAR is commonly ahead of the abilities of spaceborne sensors by several years, in order to provide a test-bed for new imaging techniques and data processing approaches, as well as for implementing and validating new remote sensing applications. Additionally, airborne SAR is a valuable tool of itself, used in various scientific studies and with its own particular fields of application.

Processing and calibration of airborne SAR data is a challenge. This is due to the unstable motion of the sensor platform, but also due to experimental cutting-edge hardware, new imaging techniques opening new questions, as well as particular conditions during flight campaign execution. Various new applications of airborne SAR have been established in the last years, often requiring precise data calibration and sophisticated data post-processing.

This Special Issue aims to highlight the recent advances in processing and calibration of airborne SAR data, as well as to point out new fields of application of airborne SAR. Topics include, but are not limited to:

  • New airborne SAR sensor technology
  • New imaging modes of airborne SAR
  • Airborne SAR data calibration
  • Processing and post-processing of airborne SAR
  • Applications of airborne SAR and their validation

Prof. Dr. Andreas Reigber
Ms. Yunling Lou
Dr. Hélène Oriot
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Radar remote sensing
  • Airborne SAR
  • SAR sensor technology
  • Imaging modes
  • Multi-channel SAR
  • Data processing
  • Motion compensation
  • Data calibration
  • Radar system performance
  • SAR applications

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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26 pages, 11156 KiB  
Article
Dual-Frequency Airborne SAR for Large Scale Mapping of Tidal Flats
by Muriel Pinheiro, Joel Amao-Oliva, Rolf Scheiber, Marc Jaeger, Ralf Horn, Martin Keller, Jens Fischer and Andreas Reigber
Remote Sens. 2020, 12(11), 1827; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12111827 - 5 Jun 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2511
Abstract
Digital elevation models of tidal flats are a most valuable data source for the water management of coastal areas and need frequent updates to account for changes in sedimentation, erosion and identification of damages in building infrastructure. This paper presents the conceptual design, [...] Read more.
Digital elevation models of tidal flats are a most valuable data source for the water management of coastal areas and need frequent updates to account for changes in sedimentation, erosion and identification of damages in building infrastructure. This paper presents the conceptual design, the processing methodology and first results of an airborne SAR campaign conducted in July 2019 at the German North Sea coast, showing the potential for accurate monitoring of height changes at decimeter level in mudflat areas, as well as indication of vegetation cover and water flooded areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Airborne SAR: Data Processing, Calibration and Applications)
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20 pages, 6155 KiB  
Article
The High-Resolution Digital-Beamforming Airborne SAR System DBFSAR
by Andreas Reigber, Eric Schreiber, Kurt Trappschuh, Sebastian Pasch, Gerhard Müller, Daniel Kirchner, Daniel Geßwein, Stefan Schewe, Anton Nottensteiner, Markus Limbach, Alicja Schreiber, Tobias Rommel, Ralf Horn, Marc Jäger, Rolf Scheiber, Stefan V. Baumgartner, Sushil Kumar Joshi, André Barros Cardoso da Silva and Alberto Moreira
Remote Sens. 2020, 12(11), 1710; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12111710 - 27 May 2020
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 5001
Abstract
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an established remote sensing technique that can robustly provide high-resolution imagery of the Earth’s surface. However, current space-borne SAR systems are limited, as a matter of principle, in achieving high azimuth resolution and a large swath width at [...] Read more.
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an established remote sensing technique that can robustly provide high-resolution imagery of the Earth’s surface. However, current space-borne SAR systems are limited, as a matter of principle, in achieving high azimuth resolution and a large swath width at the same time. Digital beamforming (DBF) has been identified as a key technology for resolving this limitation and provides various other advantages, such as an improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or the adaptive suppression of radio interference (RFI). Airborne SAR sensors with digital beamforming capabilities are essential tools to research and validate this important technology for later implementation on a satellite. Currently, the Microwaves and Radar Institute of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is developing a new advanced high-resolution airborne SAR system with digital beamforming capabilities, the so-called DBFSAR, which is planned to supplement its operational F-SAR system in near future. It is operating at X-band and features 12 simultaneous receive and 4 sequential transmit channels with 1.8 GHz bandwidth each, flexible DBF antenna setups and is equipped with a high-precision navigation and positioning unit. This paper aims to present the DBFSAR sensor development, including its radar front-end, its digital back-end, the foreseen DBF antenna configuration and the intended calibration strategy. To analyse the status, performance, and calibration quality of the DBFSAR system, this paper also includes some first in-flight results in interferometric and multi-channel marine configurations. They demonstrate the excellent performance of the DBFSAR system during its first flight campaigns. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Airborne SAR: Data Processing, Calibration and Applications)
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18 pages, 2761 KiB  
Article
DEM Generation With a Scale Factor Using Multi-Aspect SAR Imagery Applying Radargrammetry
by Shanshan Feng, Yun Lin, Yanping Wang, Yanhui Yang, Wenjie Shen, Fei Teng and Wen Hong
Remote Sens. 2020, 12(3), 556; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12030556 - 7 Feb 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3682
Abstract
Digital elevation model (DEM) generation using multi-aspect synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery applying radargrammetry has become a hotspot. The traditional radargrammetric method is to solve the rigorous radar projection equations to obtain the three dimensional coordinates of targets. In this paper, we propose [...] Read more.
Digital elevation model (DEM) generation using multi-aspect synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery applying radargrammetry has become a hotspot. The traditional radargrammetric method is to solve the rigorous radar projection equations to obtain the three dimensional coordinates of targets. In this paper, we propose a new DEM generation method based on the offset between multi-aspect images formed on ground plane. The ground object will be projected to different positions from different viewing aspect angles if the height of object is not equal to the height of imaging plane. The linear relationship between the offset of imaging positions and height of the object is derived and scale factor is obtained finally. Height information can be retrieved from offset of imaging positions directly through the DEM extraction model presented in this paper. Thus the solution to nonlinear equations point by point can be avoided. Real C band airborne circular SAR images is used to verify the proposed approach. When extracted DEM applied in multi-aspect imaging process, superimposition of multi-aspect images will no longer be defocusing and can achieve finer observation of the scanned scene. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Airborne SAR: Data Processing, Calibration and Applications)
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28 pages, 30060 KiB  
Article
Robust, Model-Based External Calibration of Multi-Channel Airborne SAR Sensors Using Range Compressed Raw Data
by Marc Jäger, Rolf Scheiber and Andreas Reigber
Remote Sens. 2019, 11(22), 2674; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11222674 - 15 Nov 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2423
Abstract
The paper describes a method for the accurate calibration of multi-channel SAR instruments, such as those required to support SAR polarimetry, single-pass interferometry and digital beam-forming (DBF), on the basis of dedicated SAR acquisitions containing reference targets with known properties. Unlike conventional approaches, [...] Read more.
The paper describes a method for the accurate calibration of multi-channel SAR instruments, such as those required to support SAR polarimetry, single-pass interferometry and digital beam-forming (DBF), on the basis of dedicated SAR acquisitions containing reference targets with known properties. Unlike conventional approaches, the method is based entirely on the analysis of range-compressed raw data. It leverages the pulse-by-pulse analysis of amplitude, phase and delay variations observed within the range histories of reference targets to fully characterize and correct propagation direction dependent calibration issues such as those related to antenna pointing or antenna phase center positions. The fact that the approach does not require SAR image focusing in azimuth is especially relevant in the context of DBF, where individual channels need to be calibrated but are, by themselves, under-sampled. The calibration techniques presented are illustrated and validated using multi-channel polarimetric and single-pass interferometric SAR data acquired by DLR’s airborne F-SAR and DBFSAR instruments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Airborne SAR: Data Processing, Calibration and Applications)
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Other

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12 pages, 3480 KiB  
Letter
Suppressing False Alarm in VideoSAR viaGradient-Weighted Edge Information
by Zihan Li, Anxi Yu, Zhen Dong, Zhihua He and Tianzhu Yi
Remote Sens. 2019, 11(22), 2677; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11222677 - 15 Nov 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2393
Abstract
VideoSAR (Video Synthetic Aperture Radar) technology provides an important mean for real-time and continuous earth observation, whereas the ever-changing scattering characteristics may destroy the accuracy of target motion perception and bring in massive false alarms subsequently. False alarms emerge easily in the edge [...] Read more.
VideoSAR (Video Synthetic Aperture Radar) technology provides an important mean for real-time and continuous earth observation, whereas the ever-changing scattering characteristics may destroy the accuracy of target motion perception and bring in massive false alarms subsequently. False alarms emerge easily in the edge region for its sharper variations of the scattering characteristics. Utilizing the gradient difference between the target shadow edge and other edge regions in the image, this letter proposes a VideoSAR false alarm reduction method based on gradient-weighted edge information. By considering the reasonable gradient and area of the overlapping edge region between changing region and background, this method could reduce the amount of false alarms ( P f a = 18 . 4 % ) and retain the correct shadow of moving target ( P d = 74 . 8 % ). Experiments on a real footage verify the excellent effect of the proposed method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Airborne SAR: Data Processing, Calibration and Applications)
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