Amazing SAR Imaging Effects – Explained by SAR Simulation

Abstract:
Direct returns in SAR images can be rather easily interpreted, while specular returns often lead to very interesting effects, since they are not only caused by the scene geometry but are also processed during image formation. In this paper, several striking signatures encountered in real SAR images are introduced. For each of these a detailed explanation of the underlying causes is given using the SAR simulator CohRaS(r) (Coherent Raytracing SAR simulator) developed at Fraunhofer IOSB. The successful simulation of these effects using the extended narrow-beam simulator CohRaS(r) also shows that the narrow-beam concept is valid for the simulation of SAR images.