Figures - Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar : Current Status and Future Directions

This section contains links to all the figures in the report to the National Research Council. WARNING : Some of these figures are LARGE (larger than 1 Megabyte). It may take awhile to load some of them.

Also, the complete figure captions are included in the image. The following image captions may be condensed.

• 1--Executive Summary (no figures)
• 2--Ecology
• Table 2-1 : Some recent examples of land cover classification approaches and findings using radar imagery.
• Table 2-2 : Optimal SAR parameters for land surface application.
• Table 2-3 : Potential or demonstrated capabilities of Spaceborne SAR's for ecology.
• Figure 2-1 : Schematic diagram of major scattering terms in microwave modeling of forest canopies.
• Figure 2-2 : Use of theoretical models to understand radar scattering from vegetated surfaces.
• Figure 2-3 : Use of theoretical models to understand radar scattering from vegetated surfaces.
• Figure 2-4a : Image of crop classification derived from multi-temporal ERS-1 SAR imagery collected over Flevoland, The Netherlands.
• Figure 2-4b : Maps of the flooding and land cover from data obtained by SRL-1.
• Figure 2-4c : Images showing classification of natural vegetation/land cover and biomass estimation derived from SIR-C/X-SAR data from Nothern Michigan forests.
• Figure 2-4d : Images showing classification of natural vegetation/landcover based on AIRSAR data of Bonanza Creek, Alaska; and vegetation map.
• Figure 2-5 : Airborne and SIR-C L-band VV SAR imagery collected over Duke Forest, North Carolina.
• Figure 2-6 : Dependence of L and C band SAR backscatter on aboveground biomass.
• Figure 2-7 : Predicted versus actual basal area, height and biomass using semi-empirical approach.
• Figure 2-8 : Methane emissions and ERS-1 SAR backscatter related to the position of the local water table for herbaceous sites at Barrow, Alaska, mean +- standard error.
• Figure 2-9 : Seasonal variation in ERS-1 SAR backscatter for wetlands and non-wetlands for data collected over Barrow, Alaska.
• Figure 2-10 : North and South transects across Alaska acquired by ERS-1 SAR during 1991 commissioning phase.
• Figure 2-11 : ERS-1 SAR images collected in 1992 to 1994 over a fire-disturbed Spruce forest near Tok, Alaska.
• Figure 2-12 : Relationship between ERS-1 SAR radar cross section and volumetric soil moisture from test sites in the 1990 Tok forest fire site.
• 3--Hydrology
• Figure 3-1 : L-band HH image and two soil moisture maps of Chickasha, Oklahoma derived from SIR-C data for April 12, 1994 and April 15, 1994.
• Figure 3-2 : Radar estimated soil moisture versus measured soil moisture for the different active microwave data sets where both radar data and in-situ soil moisture measurements were available.
• Figure 3-3a : SIR-C C-band image of Mammoth Mountain, California taken on April 11, 1994 and snow wetness map derived from the data.
• Figure 3-3b : Comparison of ground measurements with SAR-derived snow wetness.
• 4--Marine Science and Applications
• Table 4-1 : Future SAR configurations for Ocean and Ice.
• Figure 4-1 : SIRC/XSAR ocean surface wave vectors and wave vector spectrum derived from the on-board real-time processor.
• Figure 4-2 : Images of the California Current acquired on September 8, 1989 by the AIRSAR aboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft.
• Figure 4-3 : Velocity components inferred from AIRSAR measurements off Cape Hatteras near the Gulf Stream.
• Figure 4-4a : Seasat L-band SAR image of the ocean near Nantucket Island, showing bathymetric signatures, upwelling, and internal waves.
• Figure 4-4b : Skylab image of the same region as 4-4a made several years before, showing white shoal regions that match the bathymetry and SAR backscatter variations very accurately.
• Figure 4-5 : ERS-1 C-band image of solitary waves generated by tidal flow against the continental shelf, with bathymetry shown in red.
• Figure 4-6a : Image of the ocean West of Ireland made by the Soviet Spacecraft Almaz-L with its S-band HH SAR on July 5, 1991 showing a region of tidally induced updwelling and internal wave generation at the edge of the continental shelf.
• Figure 4-6b : AIRSAR images at P, L, and C band VV of the area made within the stripe of figure 4-6a.
• Figure 4-7 : ERS-1 C band image of a large vessel in the Skagerrak off Sweden made on August 5, 1991, and showing an internal wave wake over 40 km long.
• Figure 4-8 : ERS-1 C-band VV image of the Straits of Messina between Italy and Sicily made during the late night.
• Figure 4-9 : Simultaneous images of the ocean surface from a Russian Toros real aperture radar operating at 15 GHz near 60 degree incidence angle.
• Figure 4-10 : Winder sea ice data displays showing estimates of thickness from SAR polarimetry.
• 5--Ice Sheets and Glaciers
• Figure 5-1 : Schematic cross-section of snowpack
• Figure 5-2 : Sea-level history from Barbados and Galveston Bay
• Figure 5-3 : Greenland SAR mosaic
• Figure 5-4 : Side looking perspective of snow facies in Western Greenland.
• Figure 5-5 : Two views of a portion of Greenland ice sheet showing contrast in radar backscatter between wet and frozen conditions.
• Figure 5-6 : SIR-C image of the South Patagonia Icefield.
• Figure 5-7 : Icebergs in Jakobshavns Fiord.
• Figure 5-8 : SAR image of Western Greenland showing crevasses, lakes, streams, flow lines, moraines, and ice edge.
• Figure 5-9 : Surface velocity field of Jakobshavns Glacier.
• Figure 5-10 : Interferogram fo Bagley Icefield, Alaska, and tributaries during surge of Bering Glacier.
• Figure 5-11 : Interferogram of 50km x 50 km area in Northeast Greenland with surface topography and velocity components separated.
• Figure 5-12 : Surface topography of Western Greenland derived from satellite radar altimetry and SAR interferometry.
• 6--Solid Earth Sciences and Topography
• Figure 6-1a : Summary of the availability of topographic data at various horizontal and vertical accuracies, as will be measured by various future spacecraft and conventional topographic data bases.
• Figure 6-1b : Summary of the spatial and vertical accuracy of topographic data that are required for various solid Earth science investigations.
• Figure 6-2 : Long Valley region of East-central California acquired by SIR-C/X-SAR interferometer.
• Figure 6-3 : Vertical deformation at Long Valley California as recorded by a permanent GPS station.
• Figure 6-4 : This map was prepared from TOPSAR airborne interferometry data obtained over the basaltic shield volcano Fernandina in the W. Galapagos Islands.
• Figure 6-5 : A comparison of radar phase data collected over Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, between SRL-1 and SRL-2 missions indicates some of the problems in using this technique in tropical settings.
• Figure 6-6 : Comparison of the phase data collected over Pu'u O'o eruption site of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii on Days 7 to 10 of the SRL-12 mission.
• Figure 6-7 : Comparison of surface changes detected by SRL-2 interferometry over the Pu'u O'o lava flow field, Kilauea, Hawaii, between Oct 7-10, 1994.
• Figure 6-8 : This SIR-C image shows the region aroudn the site of the lost city of Ubar in Southern Oman, on the Arabian Peninsula.
• Figure 6-9 : These images of Trail Canyon alluvial fan, Death Valley, California show the capability of polarimetric multifrequency radar to discriminate lithologies based on quantitative surface roughness.
• Figure 6-10 : Photograph of the 9 meter mast deployed at Death Valley, California that was used to collect wind speed and temperature data within the surface boundary layer.
• Figure 6-11 : Radar backscatter observations of the SRL-1 super site at Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley, have been used to calculate aerodynamic roughness.
• Figure 6-12a : Major geodetic datum blocks.
• Figure 6-12b : Availability of topographic data at various scales in both contour map and digital form.
• 7--SAR System Technology
• Table 7-1 : Summary of approximate mass of civilian spaceborne imaging radars.
• Figure 7-1 : NASA spaceborne SARs for the Earth observations system technology evolution
• Figure 7-2a : International spaceborne SARs for Earth observations.
• Figure 7-2b : System technology evolution for international SAR programs.
• Figure 7-3 : Global topography mapping mission concept.
• Figure 7-4 : Global SAR mapping mission, medium resolution global mapping with dual-frequency, polarimetry SAR
• Figure 7-5 : SIR-C/X-SAR being lowered into the cargo bay.
• Figure 7-6 : In-step inflatable antenna experiment
• Figure 7-7 : SIR-C L-band T/R module
• Figure 7-8 : Schematic diagram on low power RF subsytem with MMIC.
• Figure 7-9 : Peak transmit power for RF sources vs frequency
• Figure 7-10 : Example of Microwave Power Module and comparison of its characteristics with conventional TWTA.
• Table 7-2 : Projection of high technology SAR systems for global topography mapping missions in 2000.
• 8--References (no figures)
• Appendix
• Table B-1 : Comparison of SAR systems and frequencies used.
• Table B-2 : Microwave bands available for SAR.