Paper Info
Title
Investigating the Impact of Digital Elevation Models on Sentinel-1 Backscatter and Coherence Observations.
Abstract
Spaceborne remote sensing can track ecosystems changes thanks to continuous and systematic coverage at short revisit intervals. Active remote sensing from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors allows day and night imaging as they are not affected by cloud cover and solar illumination and can capture unique information about its targets. However, SAR observations are affected by the coupled effect of viewing geometry and terrain topography. The study aims to assess the impact of global digital elevation models (DEMs) on the normalization of Sentinel-1 backscattered intensity and interferometric coherence. For each DEM, we analyzed the difference between orbit tracks, the difference with results obtained with a high-resolution local DEM, and the impact on land cover classification. Tests were carried out at two sites located in mountainous regions in Romania and Spain using the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, 30 m), AW3D (ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite) World 3D, 30 m), TanDEM-X (12.5, 30, 90 m), and Spain national ALS (aerial laser scanning) based DEM (5 m resolution). The TanDEM-X DEM was the global DEM most suitable for topographic normalization, since it provided the smallest differences between orbital tracks, up to 3.5 dB smaller than with other DEMs for peak landform, and 1.4-1.9 dB for pit and valley landforms.
Year
DOI
Venue
2020
10.3390/rs12183016
REMOTE SENSING
Keywords
DocType
Volume
synthetic aperture radar (SAR),radiometric terrain normalization,digital elevation model (DEM),coherence,backscatter,Sentinel-1,LiDAR,land cover classification
Journal
12
Issue
Citations 
PageRank 
18
0
0.34
References 
Authors
0
5
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Ignacio Borlaf-Mena100.34
Maurizio Santoro225632.26
Ludovic Villard300.34
Ovidiu Badea400.68
Mihai A. Tanase5547.66