The generation of SAR layover and shadow maps from digital elevation models

As almost fully automated techniques as well as expert systems obtain more and more importance in the geocoding of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, the solution to the problem of the identification of homologue points between the SAR image and reference system moves into the fields of pattern recognition and feature matching. Shadow regions, which appear as dark regions in the SAR image, are independent from the backscattering of the imaged terrain. Due to the multiplicity of signals, layover regions appear brighter than the surrounding regions. Hence, the phenomena of layover and shadow are stressed in the present paper. The reasons for their occurrence are studied through the digital elevation model representing the Earth´s surface. An algorithm to define layover and shadow regions directly in the geometry of the digital elevation model is presented. The results are given in a so-called layover and shadow map