Radar Remote Sensing in the 90's: Multifrequency and Interferometry Applications

Abstract

This paper gives an overview of the radar remote sensing activities during 1990-99 at the DLR Institute of Radio-Frequency Technology. In the 90's, several milestones in the field of microwave remote sensing have been accomplished (launch of the operational SAR satellites ERS-1 and -2, JERS-1, and Radarsat; first polarimetric and multifrequency Space Shuttle mission SIR-C/X-SAR) and are beeing planned for the next two years (launch of ENVISAT, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission). The development of analysis methods in various geo-scientific disciplines has been successfully applied to produce geophysical products such as soil moisture, snow water volume or biomass maps. The probably most exciting new tehcnique is SAR interferometry, leading to digital elevation models, information about surface structural changes and even tree height estimations from space).