Active Microwave Remote Sensing Victor Odipo 1.

. Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) in Vegetation Monitoring A) Introduction to Microwave Remote Sensing Radar is an active RS detector. It measures mainly the emitted portion of the EMR, mainly Radio and Microwave (between 0.8 to about 132 cm) approximately from 1mm to 1m - a sensor broadcasts a pattern of EMR to illuminate the earths surface, then receives the scattered portion back to the instrument. Radar emits its own energy and measures the backscatter from the emitted radiation by the object being observed- the use is under few or no constraints with respect to the availability of solar radiation as energy source. The Ranging capability of RADAR is achieved by measuring the time delay between the time the signal is sent by the sensor to the surface (terrain) and the time its echo is received back by the sensor. The delay in signal is used to accurately measure the distance from the antenna to the ground features. The active sensor is able to detect wave frequency and polarization shifts. Since the sensor is the source of energy, its easy to compare the characteristics of the energy sent by the sensor and the energy scattered back by the object on the earths surface to the sensor. Hence the properties of the object are known in detail. Because the sensor transmits signals of known wavelength, its possible to compare received signals to the transmitted signals. Because the speed of EME is a known constant, the measure of time translates directly to a measure of distance from the antenna. Microwave energy travels in a straight path from the sensor to a measure of distance from the antenna. However, with Side Looking Airborne RADAR (SLAR), the microwave energy travels in a straight path from the aircraft to the ground a path that defines the slant range distance, as if one were to stretch a length of string from the aircraft to a specific point on the ground as a measure of distance. Ground range format, preferred by image analysts, gives distances in their correct relative positions on the earths surface. Since RADARs collect all their information in the slant range domain, radar images inherently contain geometric artifacts, even though the image display may ostensibly appear to match a ground range representation. Radar Layover- top of tall object is closer to the antenna than its base, similar to relief displacement; and Radar foreshortening causes images of a certain terrain features to appear or have steeper slopes than they do in nature on near range side, and to have shallower slopes than they do in nature on the far range side of the feature - are some of the errors associated with SLARs (the slant range view of the earth surface features).

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Phased Array L-Band SAR (PALSAR) and Side Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR), are some examples of RADAR Microwave RS are not sensitive to most atmospheric interference, such as clouds and to some extent water vapour and dust particles Components of active microwave sensors (imaging radars) include 1) a transmitter which transmits repetitive energy pulses of microwave energy to the earths surface, 2) a receiver

which accepts the reflected signals as recorded by the antenna, filters and amplifies it as required, 3) the antenna array which transmits narrow beams of microwave energy, and 4) a recorder which records or displays the signal as an image. Provides information about feature geometry and bulk dielectric properties Vegetation and ground penetration, hence applicable in mapping vegetation structural attributes such as height, basal area, biomass and volume Vegetation change monitoring such as deforestation, degradation, and reforestation Vegetation disturbance monitoring such as fire, logging, insect infestation, etc Photosynthetic process monitoring such as the length of vegetation growth period The primary scatters in a tree canopy are the elements such as the leaves, stems, branches, with a size in the order of the wavelength or larger and an orientation similar to that of the incoming signal polarization the longer the wavelength, the greater the sensitivity to the vertical structure of the vegetation Elements smaller than the wavelength produce little backscatter but can attenuate the signals

B) Radar Wavelengths Imaging radars have small wavelength ranges with broad intervals. They majorly utilize C-, Kand X-bands and the L- bands for satellite observations. For the real aperture radars the spatial resolution improves with shortening of wavelength with respect to the antenna length. The signal penetration to the soil is a factor of the soil moisture content penetration is high at longer wavelength in moist soils. Generally longer wavelengths of microwave radiation relative to the visible radiation increases insensitive of the radar sensors to atmospheric signal attenuation.

C) Radar Signal Penetration Radar signals has the ability to penetrate solid features; vegetation cover and soil surface Penetration is generally affected by skin depth the depth to which the signal strength is reduced to 1/e of its surface magnitude or about 37%. In the absence of moisture the skin depth increases with increase in wavelength. Hence arid areas provide optimum conditions for high penetration observations using long wave radar systems. For the systems operating near X- and K- bands, the signal is generally scattered from the first surface it strikes, in most cases the vegetation (foliage). This effect seems to be visible also in the L-band, capable of much higher degree of penetration - the signal scattered from the foliage surface of densely vegetated regions of Indonesia was noticed by Sabins (1983).

D) Radar signal Polarization Radar polarization refers to the orientation of EME emitted and received back by the radar antenna. Radar systems can transmit and receive both Horizontally (H) and Vertically (V) polarized energy as it is scattered from the ground (or by surface features). Imaging radar usually transmits and receives H polarized echo to and from terrain respectively. However, some radar are designed to transmit H polarized signals but to separately receive the H and V polarized reflections from the landscape. Such systems produce two images of the same landscape. One image is formed by transmission of H polarized signal and the reception of a H polarized return signal, referred to as HH image or like-polarized mode. The second image is formed by transmission of H polarized signal and the reception of a V polarized return signal, referred to as HV image or cross-polarized mode. Interpretation through comparing the HH and HV images makes it easier to deduce features and areas/ regions on the landscape which tend to depolarize the signals. Such areas will reflect the incident H polarized signal back to the antenna as V polarized energy; they change the polarization of the incident microwave energy. Such areas can be identified as bright regions on the HV image and as dark or dark grey regions on the corresponding HH image. Their appearance on the HV image is much brighter due to depolarization effects; polarization of energy that would have contributed to brightness of HH image has been changed, so it creates instead a bright area on the HV image. Comparison of the two therefore permits detection of those areas that are good depolarizers.

Causes of polarization are related to the physical and electrical properties of the ground surface. A rough surface (with respect to signal wavelength) may depolarize the signals. Another cause of depolarization is volume scattering from an inhomogeneous medium such scatter may occur if the radar signal is capable of penetrating beneath the soil surface (e.g. desert areas with sparse vegetation and with soils dry enough for significant penetration to occur) where it might encounter subsurface homogeneities such as buried rocks or indurate horizons. E) Radar Look Direction and Angle

Look Direction This is the direction at which radar signals strike the surface (features on the surface) Look directions perpendicular to topographic alignment maximizes radar image shadow, whereas look directions perpendicular to topographic orientation results in minimum radar shadows In areas of low topographic relief, radar shadow enhances micro-topography by revealing the fundamental structure of the regional terrain. Radar shadow depends on the local relief and feature orientation relative to the flight path. Features in near range (other factors equal) will have smaller shadows while those at far range edge of the image will cast larger shadows. In areas of high relief, the shadow masks larger areas from observation

Look Angle This is the depression angle of the radar The look angle varies from relatively steep at the near range side of the image to relatively shallow at the far range side The geometry of the radar image ensures resolution of the image must vary with the look angle; steep depression angles give rise to smaller radar signal illumination as opposed to shallow depression angles. Steep depression angles give rise to high signal sensitivity to ground moisture The slant angle geometry ensures that all landscapes are viewed by radar at oblique angles. The obliqueness and degree at which we view sides varies with look angle.

References: a) James B. Campbell and Randolf H. Wynne (2011): Introduction to Remote Sensing. 5 th Edition (Pp 204 -). Guilford Press. London b) Sabins, F. F. 1983. Geologic Interpretation of Space Shuttle Radar Images of Indonesia. AAPG c) Bulletin, Vol. 67, pp. 20762099. d) 216