PACRIM-II AIRSAR/MASTER experiment in Korean (an overview)

The advantages of the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) have been well known among remote sensing data users since the launching of SEASAT in 1978. However, one of the major limiting factors has been the limited spectral resolution with only a single frequency and single polarization data, even from the most sophisticated space-borne SAR systems today. The AIRSAR system, developed by NASA (JPL) in the late 1980s and became fully operation in 1990, has been a unique and valuable tool for the investigators interested in multiple frequency fully polarimetric SAR experiments. The PACRIM-I experiment in selected Pacific Rim countries in 1996 was a great success and the current PACRIM-II is the successor of PACRIM-I. In view of the new space-borne SAR systems: ENVISAT (ESA) ALOS (Japan) and RADARSAT-II (Canadian Space Agency) planned for launching in the 2002 and 2003 time frames, are all polarimetric SAR systems, and it is not only timely but also essential for any remote sensing community to develop polarimetric SAR application capabilities. The Korean participants in PACRIM-II include both the AIRSAR research teams and MASTER hyperspectral research team. The main objectives of the Korean participation in PACRIM-II include establishment of scientific and engineering knowledge base for the polarimetric SAR technology, training of qualified graduate students, and developments of new polarimetric SAR applications. Science and engineering disciplines participating in the Korean PACRIM-II experiment included agriculture, archeology, land use, forestry, geography, geology, geohydrology, coastal science, oceanography, environmental applications, natural disaster monitoring and disaster management