Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR): Applications

Overview

Syllabus

Courses

• 1 review

  4 weeks, 4-6 hours a week, 4-6 hours a week

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  Remote sensing observations from airborne and spaceborne platforms have become an essential tool in disaster management. They provide an immediate and large-area overview of evolving disaster situations, revealing important hazard information to disaster response personnel.

  This course will introduce you to Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), a remote sensing technology that can see the earth surface even during darkness and through rain, clouds, or smoke. As a participant in this course, you will gain an intuitive understanding of the information contained in SAR earth observations and learn to use a range of analysis techniques and algorithms to apply SAR data to disaster mapping and management. Specific topics will include:

  • The mathematical and physical principles of SAR remote sensing
  • How to access and visualize SAR data
  • Interpretation of SAR imagery in the context of disaster monitoring
  • Interferometric SAR (InSAR) concepts
  • Flood mapping and SAR change detection for hazard analysis
  • InSAR-based analysis of volcanoes and landslides
  • The learned concepts will be put into action in simulated disaster response exercises, in which class participants will analyze SAR data sets to create hazard information for several real-life disaster events from the recent past.

  Learners registered for the verified track will additionally get the opportunity for hands-on lab exercises using Jupyter Notebooks. The verified track will also include peer discussions and a verified certificate upon successful completion.

  This course is produced by the Alaska Satellite Facility at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which has been selected as the NASA data hub for the upcoming NISAR mission.

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  4 weeks, 4-6 hours a week, 4-6 hours a week

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  Remote sensing observations from airborne and spaceborne platforms have become an essential tool in earth observation and earth sciences. They provide an immediate and large-area overview of the evolving earth environment, revealing important information on the state of ecosystems, unfolding natural hazards, enabling change detection of geodynamic phenomena such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and the cryosphere.

  This course will introduce you to Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), a remote sensing technology that can see the earth surface even during darkness and through weather conditions such as rain, clouds, or smoke. As a participant in this course, you will gain an intuitive understanding of the information contained in SAR observations. You will learn about the concepts and applications of interferometric SAR and experience how SAR data acquired at different polarizations can reveal a wealth of information about the earth environment. Each SAR analysis concept will be illustrated with relevant applications. Specific topics include:

  • The mathematical and physical principles of SAR remote sensing
  • How to access and visualize SAR data
  • Interpretation of SAR images at different wavelengths and polarizations
  • Interferometric SAR (InSAR) concepts
  • The principles of Polarimetric SAR (PolSAR)
  • A summary of applications of InSAR and PolSAR in geoscience, hazard mapping, and ecosystem monitoring

  Learners on the verified track will put their learned knowledge into action in data analysis and data processing exercises, in which class participants will analyze SAR data sets, generate and interpret interferometric SAR data, and explore the importance of polarization in earth observation. Learners who select the verified track will also have access to online computational labs and tutorials using Jupyter notebooks that will allow deeper exploration and practice.

  This course is produced by the Alaska Satellite Facility at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which has been selected as the NASA data hub for the upcoming NISAR mission.

• 0 reviews

  4 weeks, 4-6 hours a week, 4-6 hours a week

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  Remote sensing observations have become an essential tool in observing the state and evolution of the earth’s ecosystems. They are a unique means within earth sciences to gain an immediate and regional- to continental-scale view of the earth environment, allowing for the monitoring and change detection of entire biomes over time.

  This course will introduce you to Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), a remote sensing technology that can see the earth surface even during darkness and through rain, clouds, or smoke. As a participant in this course, you will learn how the weather-independence of SAR combined with its ability to penetrate into vegetation canopies make SAR an excellent information source to characterize vegetation structure, measure above-ground biomass, and analyze the change of vegetation long term and throughout the seasons. Each SAR ecosystem application will be illustrated with relevant data sets and hands-on exercises. Specific topics include:

  • The concepts and principles of SAR and polarimetric SAR
  • How to access and visualize SAR data and SAR imagery
  • Interpretation of SAR images at different wavelengths and polarizations in the context of ecosystems monitoring
  • The use of SAR techniques in monitoring forest degradation
  • Techniques for estimating forest biomass through SAR earth observation
  • The application of SAR to the monitoring of agriculture extent
  • The learned concepts will be put into action in using SAR time series data sets from spaceborne SAR missions over agriculture sites and forested regions undergoing degradation. Learners registered for the verified track will additionally get the opportunity for hands-on lab exercises and tutorials using Jupyter Notebooks. The verified track will also include peer discussions and a verified certificate upon successful completion.

  This course is produced by the Alaska Satellite Facility at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which has been selected as the NASA data hub for the upcoming NISAR mission.

Taught by

Franz Meyer

Tags

• united states