Evaluation of Radarsat-sar Data for Detection of Terrain Features

The space borne multispectral optical sensor data have been routinely used for assessment and monitoring of natural resources and environment. One of the major problems associated with the optical data is the availability of cloud-free data during rainy season Cloud-penetration capability of microwave sensors data offers immense potential in the study of highly dynamic phenomenon like floods. We have taken up this study to evaluate the potential of Radarsat fine beam mode SAR data for detection of various terrain features; and to study the complementarity of this data with the optical sensors data from the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS-/C) Linear Imaging Self-scanning Sensor (L/SS-1//) and Panchromatic sensor (PAN) over parts of Haryana state, India. The approach essentially involves speckle suppression, digital image registration, extraction of common areas; intensity, hue and saturation (IHS) transformation for merging SAR data with the optical sensor data and subsequent evaluation of these data sets for detection of terrain features. The results indicate a good synergy of the SAR data with the optical sensor data in providing information on various terrain features. The methodology and results are discussed in detail.