Geologic mapping in Greenland with polarimetric SAR

Author

Dall, Jørgen ; Madsen, Søren Nørvang ; Brooks, Charles Kent ; Nielsen, Troels

Author_Institution

Electromagn. Inst., Tech. Univ. Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark

Volume

3

fYear

34881

fDate

10-14 Jul1995

Firstpage

2206

Abstract

The application of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for geologic mapping in Greenland is investigated by the Danish Center for Remote Sensing (DCRS) in co-operation with the Danish Lithosphere Centre (DLC). In 1994 a pilot project was conducted in East Greenland. The Danish airborne SAR, EMISAR, acquired fully polarimetric C-band data which, upon processing and calibration, was interpreted jointly by DCRS and DLC. Several geologic phenomena are readily identified in the SAR imagery, while different lithologies seem to be indistinguishable because they have similar geomorphologies. The geologic mapping is complicated by an extreme topography leading to massive shadowing, foreshortening and layover. An artifact characterised by high cross-polarisation is observed behind many sharp mountain ridges. A multi-reflection hypothesis has been investigated without finding the ultimate proof

Keywords

Earth crust; cartography; geology; geophysical techniques; radar polarimetry; remote sensing by radar; synthetic aperture radar; C-band; Danish Center for Remote Sensing; Danish Lithosphere Centre; EMISAR; Greenland; airborne SAR; cross-polarisation; crust; foreshortening; geologic mapping; geology; geophysical measurement technique; land surface; layover; microwave; multi-reflection hypothesis; polarimetric SAR; radar imaging; radar polarimetry; radar remote sensing; shadowing; synthetic aperture radar; terrain mapping; topography; Aerodynamics; Calibration; Data acquisition; Geology; Geoscience; Levee; Remote sensing; Surfaces; Synthetic aperture radar; Testing;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 1995. IGARSS '95. 'Quantitative Remote Sensing for Science and Applications', International

Conference_Location

Firenze

Print_ISBN

0-7803-2567-2

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IGARSS.1995.524149

Filename

524149