BIOMASS P-band Interferometry: Temporal Stability Study and Comparison with Airborne SAR Experiments in Gabon.

Abstract

ESA’s BIOMASS mission offers a unique opportunity to estimate aboveground forest biomass and to monitor forest dynamics on an almost global scale by means of interferometric and tomographic techniques. The long wavelength (P-band) combined with the three-day repeat-pass cycle enable high-quality interferograms. At the same time, the variable non-zero spatial baseline makes the P-band interferometric coherence intrinsically sensitive to the volumetric distribution of scatterers even in dense tropical forests, and, therefore, sensitive to forest height and structure. However, the interferometric coherence is also subject to temporal decorrelation. In this context, a new AfriSAR-3 airborne campaign, conducted in Gabon in November 2025 at the end of the BIOMASS in-orbit commissioning phase (IOC), aims to cross-validate the level of temporal decorrelation in the BIOMASS interferograms. This study conducts an in-depth analysis of the estimated temporal decorrelation levels using fully polarimetric and interferometric/tomographic airborne datasets and compare the results with those obtained from BIOMASS.