Description of settlement patterns using VHR SAR data of the German TanDEM-X mission

The German earth observation mission TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement) is collecting a total of two global coverages of very high resolution (VHR) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) X-band data with a spatial resolution of around three meters in the years 2011 and 2012. This paper outlines the capabilities of this data set in terms of supporting the analysis and monitoring of global human settlement patterns. The basic methodology for a fully-operational detection and delineation of built-up areas from VHR SAR data is presented along with a description of the resulting urban footprint (UF) masks and the operational processing environment for the UF production. The preliminary results of the global UF generation indicate the high potential of the TanDEM-X mission (TDM) with respect to the mapping of urbanization patterns as a basis for the analysis of urban sprawl, peri-urbanization or population estimation.