Radar Rectification of GIS Data for SAR Image Analysis in Mountain Areas

Abstract:
Geographic Information System, GIS, are dedicated to view and to process georeferenced images. For the data fusion of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images with other information sources, one usually uses processing software to orthorectify the SAR images in order to add them in a GIS. Nevertheless, this projection involves an important alteration of the information of SAR images. In this paper, we propose a simple and efficient method by inverting the process: the radar rectification of georeferenced data. Coding data from a GIS into the radar geometry, allows the use of different information sources to improve the analysis of SAR images and the result interpretation. This approach is applied to a high relief area in the Alps, where SAR images are used for glacier evolution monitoring. Results are illustrated over the Chamonix Mont-Blanc test site on spaceborne images (ERS and ENVISAT data) and airborne E-SAR images.