Extrapolation of LiDAR for forest structure estimation using SAR, InSAR, and optical data

One of the most fundamental new technical challenges of a DESDynI spaceborne mission is the fusion of the several sensor modalities - LiDAR, SAR, InSAR, and Optical - in order to accurately estimate desired 3D Vegetation structures and biomass parameters at their point of intersection and to extrapolate them over continuous areas. The objective of this paper is to use both our simulation models and measured dataset to develop and validate fusion and extrapolation methods while simulating DESDynl-type missions. We use existing datasets to develop and validate our fusion and extrapolation approach, which involves using our four sensor simulators, including our fractal-based tree geometry generator, in tandem with our in-house parameter estimation software which performs fusion and retrieval functions. We then use existing field and radarlidar-VNIR data for the Boreas southern study area to validate our simulators in this region and construct a large set of boreal trees for use in our fusion and extrapolation processes.