ALOS-2/PALSAR-2 Long-term Pantropical Observation – A Paradigm Shift in Global Forest Monitoring

Conference: EUSAR 2022 - 14th European Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar
07/25/2022 - 07/27/2022 at Leipzig, Germany

Proceedings: EUSAR 2022

Pages: 5Language: englishTyp: PDF

Authors:
Koyama, Christian N.; Tadono, Takeo (JAXA, Sengen 2-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan)
Shimada, Masanobu; Watanabe, Manabu (Tokyo Denki University, Ishizaka, Hatoyama, Saitama, Japan)

Abstract:
The reliability of SAR forest monitoring applications in the tropics is largely hampered by misinterpreted spatial-temporal backscatter fluctuations. To help overcome these problems in preparation for the golden age of L-band SAR, this paper presents a timely overview of the revolutionary contributions by the world’s first L-band long-term forest monitoring mission. 7.5 years in orbit, ALOS-2 has acquired unprecedented time-series data for the entire equatorial belt. Exploiting over 500 TB of massive multi-temporal PALSAR-2 ScanSAR images, we demonstrate the paramount potential of L-band time-series to account and correct for all uncertainties driven by seasonality, rainfall, and flooding.