From ALOS-2 to ALOS-4: Japan's pioneering L-band SARs for global vegetation monitoring, state-of-the-art and future perspectives

Christian N. Koyama; Masanobu Shimada; Masato Ohki; Takeo Tadono

doi:10.1117/12.2680110

19 October 2023 From ALOS-2 to ALOS-4: Japan's pioneering L-band SARs for global vegetation monitoring, state-of-the-art and future perspectives

Christian N. Koyama, Masanobu Shimada, Masato Ohki, Takeo Tadono

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12729, Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites XXVII; 127290H (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2680110
Event: SPIE Remote Sensing, 2023, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

Monitoring of land vegetation is one of the prime objectives for Earth Observation satellite missions. Due to the penetration capabilities of low-frequency radar signals through vegetation canopies, L-band SAR is widely considered as a valuable tool for advanced vegetation monitoring. Based on the physical backscattering properties of the above-ground vegetation strata, polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) imaging can provide detailed information on crucial plant parameters such as amounts of biomass, growth heights, water contents, crop types, etc. 9 years in orbit, ALOS-2 has pioneered as a veritable long-term L-band SAR land observation mission. ALOS-2/PALSAR-2 has acquired unprecedented L-band time-series data with seamless coverage of the entire vegetated land area. Based on the achievements of its predecessor, we discuss the potential of ALOS-4/PALSAR-3 for further breakthroughs in both agriculture and forest monitoring from meter scale to continental scale. Particularly, the cutting-edge capability to observe 200-km swaths in high-resolution Stripmap (SM) mode, achieved by Digital Beam Forming (DBF), will allow overcoming the limitations of ALOS-2’s widely used 50-m resolution ScanSAR modes. Better spatial resolution and image quality paired with higher revisit frequency is expected to improve the reliability of numerous applications ranging from land cover classifications to biomass and yield estimations.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Christian N. Koyama, Masanobu Shimada, Masato Ohki, and Takeo Tadono "From ALOS-2 to ALOS-4: Japan's pioneering L-band SARs for global vegetation monitoring, state-of-the-art and future perspectives", Proc. SPIE 12729, Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites XXVII, 127290H (19 October 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2680110

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