A review of SAR imagery exploitation methods in support of Defence and Security missions

Inhalt:
In recent decades, there has been an increasing number of Earth Observation satellites collecting daily information for various purposes. Amongst the numerous applications of remote sensing, the field of Defence and Security has been significantly developed by many international entities, fostered by the improvement of spatial resolutions. The European Union Satellite Centre (EU SatCen) has become a leading provider of Geospatial Intelligence products in support of the European Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), dealing continuously with all kind of satellite imagery including SAR data. Based on its experience, the SatCen has identified a range of exploitation techniques, tackling the perpetual challenge of creating relevant geospatial products for end users. This paper reviews these techniques, ranging from the limited use of a single image to the variety of products that can be created using a set of images. The different change detection techniques are gradually presented, from the combination of amplitude images to the use of SAR interferometry methods. In order to provide relevant and “readable” information for the SatCen’s customers, this document also introduces the use of inverse coherence.