The use of high-resolution Radarsat-2 and Terrasar-X imagery to monitor dry-fallen intertidal flats

High-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data of dry-fallen intertidal flats in the German Wadden Sea have been analyzed with respect to the imaging of sediments, macrophytes, and mussels. A large number of high-resolution TerraSAR-X and Radarsat-2 images of five test areas along the German North Sea coast were acquired in 2012 and 2013 and form the basis for the present investigation. Depending on the type of sediment, but also on the water level and on environmental conditions (wind speed) exposed sediments may show up on SAR imagery as areas of enhanced, or reduced, radar backscattering. The (multi-temporal) analysis of series of such images allows for the detection of mussel beds, and our results show evidence that also single-acquisition, multi-polarization SAR imagery can be used for that purpose.