Estimation of rice grain yield from dual-polarization Radarsat-2 SAR data by integrating a rice canopy scattering model and a genetic algorithm

Fast and accurate estimation of rice yield plays a role in forecasting rice productivity for ensuring regional or national food security. Microwave synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data has been proved to have a great potential for rice monitoring and parameters retrieval. In this study, a rice canopy scattering model (RCSM) was revised and then was applied to simulate the backscatter of rice canopy. The combination of RCSM and genetic algorithm (GA) was proposed for retrieving two important rice parameters relating to grain yield, ear length and ear number density, from a C-band, dual-polarization (HH and HV) Radarsat-2 SAR data. The stability of retrieved results of GA inversion was also evaluated by changing various parameter configurations.Results show that RCSM can effectively simulate backscattering coefficients of rice canopy at HH and HV mode with an error of <1 dB. Reasonable selection of GA’s parameters is essential for stability and efficiency of rice parameter retrieval. Two rice parameters are retrieved by the proposed RCSM-GA technology with better accuracy. The rice ear length are estimated with error of <1.5 cm, and ear number density with error of <23 #/m². Rice grain yields are effectively estimated and mapped by the retrieved ear length and number density via a simple yield regression equation. This study further illustrates the capability of C-band Radarsat-2 SAR data on retrieval of rice ear parameters and the practicability of radar remote sensing technology for operational yield estimation.     

Forecast of wheat yield throughout the agricultural season using optical and radar satellite images

The aim of this study is to estimate the capabilities of forecasting the yield of wheat using an artificial neural network combined with multi-temporal satellite data acquired at high spatial resolution throughout the agricultural season in the optical and/or microwave domains. Reflectance (acquired by Formosat-2, and Spot 4–5 in the green, red, and near infrared wavelength) and multi-configuration backscattering coefficients (acquired by TerraSAR-X and Radarsat-2 in the X- and C-bands, at co- (abbreviated HH and VV) and cross-polarization states (abbreviated HV and VH)) constitute the input variable of the artificial neural networks, which are trained and validated on the successively acquired images, providing yield forecast in near real-time conditions. The study is based on data collected over 32 fields of wheat distributed over a study area located in southwestern France, near Toulouse. Among the tested sensor configurations, several satellite data appear useful for the yield forecasting throughout the agricultural season (showing coefficient of determination (R²) larger than 0.60 and a root mean square error (RMSE) lower than 9.1 quintals by hectare (q ha⁻¹)): C_VH, C_HV, or the combined used of X_HH and C_HH, C_HH and C_HV, or green reflectance and C_HH. Nevertheless, the best accurate forecast (R² = 0.76 and RMSE = 7.0 q ha⁻¹) is obtained longtime before the harvest (on day 98, during the elongation of stems) using the combination of co- and cross-polarized backscattering coefficients acquired in the C-band (C_VV and C_VH). These results highlight the high interest of using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data instead of optical ones to early forecast the yield before the harvest of wheat.     

Radar speckle reduction and derived texture measures for land cover/use classification: a case study

This study examined the appropriateness of radar speckle reduction for deriving texture measures for land cover/use classifications. Radarsat-2 C-band quad-polarised data were obtained for Washington, DC, USA. Polarisation signatures were extracted for multiple image components, classified with a maximum-likelihood decision rule and thematic accuracies determined. Initial classifications using original and despeckled scenes showed despeckled radar to have better overall thematic accuracies. However, when variance texture measures were extracted for several window sizes from the original and despeckled imagery and classified, the accuracy for the radar data was decreased when despeckled prior to texture extraction. The highest classification accuracy obtained for the extracted variance texture measure from the original radar was 72%, which was reduced to 69% when this measure was extracted from a 5 × 5 despeckled image. These results suggest that it may be better to use despeckled radar as original data and extract texture measures from the original imagery.     

基于GA-WNN的极化SAR海洋溢油检测方法研究

海洋溢油对海洋生态和人类生活带来严重的影响。由于合成孔径雷达(Synthetic Aperture Radar,SAR)具有全天时全天候的工作能力,在海洋溢油检测中发挥重要作用。目前,极化SAR是SAR探测技术的先进手段。本文利用6个极化特征进行溢油检测,通过对比分析这些特征对不同溢油的检测能力,得出单一极化特征在溢油检测中存在不足。通过J-M特征优选方法,提取出溢油检测识别度较高的特征影像,并利用遗传算法优化的小波神经网络(Genetic Algorithm-Wavelet Neural Network,GA-WNN)进行溢油检测。利用2套Radarsat-2全极化数据进行了方法验证,结果表明,该方法优于其他检测方法,溢油检测精度分别达到90.31%和95.42%。     

The application of radar topographic data to mapping of a mega-paleodrainage in the Eastern Sahara

The recently available Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data, with 90 m horizontal resolution, are used to delineate the entire Tushka mega-watershed. It is calculated that the watershed covers an area of 150 000 km² and composed of four subwatersheds. This study indicates that the Tushka basin is a closed hydrological system independent of the Nile hydro-system, the Qena Valley system, and the Chad basin as well. More importantly, the study demonstrates that this basin drains northeasterly toward the westernmost of the recently flooded lakes in the Tushka depression, west of Lake Nasser. The hydrological activities within the basin resulted in the formation of the largest paleo-lake deposit in Egypt at Bir-Tarfawi. The vast sand sheets that cover the Tushka basin accentuate the theory of El-Baz [1982. Genesis of the Great Sand Sea, Western Desert of Egypt. International Association of Sediment, 11th International Conference, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, p. 68], which relates sand accumulations within basins in today's deserts to previous fluvial activities. The present study illustrates the capability of the SRTM in penetrating desert sand surfaces and mapping the ancient drainage networks, which remarkably correlate with subsurface channels detected in Radarsat-1 images.     

基于Radarsat-2 SAR数据反演定西裸露地表土壤水分

利用Radarsat-2 SAR数据和定西地区野外土钻法及WET仪器观测的土壤水分数据,分析了同极化后向散射系数与不同土层深度土壤水分之间的关系,采用交叉极化(VV/VH)组合模型反演土壤水分并进行对比验证。结果表明:水平、垂直同极化后向散射系数均与10~20 cm土壤含水量相关性最好,相关系数R均为0.74;受地表粗糙度和土壤质地等影响,同极化后向散射系数与0~10 cm土壤水分相关性均较低。交叉极化组合模型的反演值与10~20 cm实测土壤水分相关性较高,R值达0.75,而与0~10 cm和20~30 cm实测值的相关性较低(R值分别为0.47和0.52),但均通过α=0.05的显著性检验;WET仪器实测0~6 cm土壤水分经校正后与反演值的相关系数为0.46(通过α=0.01的显著性检验),校正后的结果有效提高了WET仪器测量精度。交叉极化组合模型可用于裸露地表土壤水分的反演,更适用于提取10~20 cm土壤含水量信息。     

基于少量控制点的Radarsat-2影像快速几何纠正技术研究

Radarsat-2卫星依据其搭载的GPS接收机可实现3倍中误差小于60m的精确实时定轨。由此本文提出依据其影像元数据信息实现快速几何纠正的方法,该方法利用少量的几个控制点来消除Radarsat-2影像与待纠正参考系间的系统误差,从而实现Radarsat-2影像的快速几何纠正。本文并依据SAR斜距成像原理的纠正公式和实地采集的GPS数据,验证了元数据中所提供RPF模型的内部精度和外部符合精度。通过实验验证了本快速纠正技术可以获得中误差小于2个像素的平面几何纠正精度。     

基于SVR的旱区稀疏植被覆盖下土壤水分遥感反演

中国西北半干旱区降水稀少、蒸散强烈,土壤水分作为重要的生态因子,影响着土壤-大气界面的能量平衡。支持向量回归模型具有估算精度高、可处理非线性问题、泛化能力强等优点,近年来被应用于土壤水分反演研究中,但已有模型极少考虑地表粗糙度因素的影响,导致反演精度受到一定限制。因此,本文以内蒙古乌审旗为研究区,采用水云模型去除地表稀疏植被覆盖的影响,提取全极化Radarsat-2 SAR影像裸土后向散射系数（ {\sigma }_{\mathrm{soil}}^0 ）,并利用AIEM模型和Oh模型建立后向散射系数数据库,采用LUT法模拟地表有效粗糙度参数,构建基于支持向量回归的土壤水分反演模型,并系统地对比分析了不同极化方式的后向散射系数作为数据源的土壤水分反演结果。研究结果表明：不考虑粗糙度参数的单数据源作为模型参数时,同极化数据反演结果比交叉极化具有更高的反演精度;当模型参数为考虑粗糙度的多源数据时,不同极化数据的反演精度均有所提高,其中数据源为 {\sigma }_{\mathit{vv}}^0 和粗糙度参数时,反演结果最好（R ²=0.917,MAE=3.980%,RMSE=5.187%）。研究结果可为旱区稀疏植被覆盖地表土壤水分的遥感监测提供技术支持。     

Contribution of multispectral (optical and radar) satellite images to the classification of agricultural surfaces

The monitoring of different crops (cultivated plots) and types of surface (bare soils, etc.) is a crucial economic and environmental issue for the management of resources and human activity. In this context, the objective of this study is to evaluate the contribution of multispectral satellite imagery (optical and radar) to land use and land cover classification.Object-oriented supervised classifications, based on a Random Forest algorithm, and majority zoning post-processing are used. This study emerges from the experiment on multi-sensor crop monitoring (MCM'10, Baup et al., 2012) conducted in 2010 on a mixed farming area in the southwest of France, near Toulouse. This experiment enabled the regular and quasi-synchronous collection of multi-sensor satellite data and in situ observations, which are used in this study. 211 plots with contrasting characteristics (different slopes, soil types, aspects, farming practices, shapes and surface areas) were monitored to represent the variability of the study area. They can be grouped into four classes of land cover: 39 grassland areas, 100 plots of wheat, 13 plots of barley, 20 plots of rapeseed, and 2 classes of bare soil: 23 plots of small roughness and 16 plots of medium roughness. Satellite radar images in the X-, C- and L-bands (HH polarization) were acquired between 14 and 18 April 2010. Optical images delivered by Formosat-2 and corresponding field data were acquired on 14 April 2010.The results show that combining images acquired in the L-band (Alos) and the optical range (Formosat-2) improves the classification performance (overall accuracy = 0.85, kappa = 0.81) compared to the use of radar or optical data alone. The results obtained for the various types of land cover show performance levels and confusions related to the phenological stage of the species studied, with the geometry of the cover, the roughness states of the surfaces, etc. Performance is also related to the wavelength and penetration depth of the signal providing the images. Thus, the results show that the quality of the classification often increases with increasing wavelength of the images used.     

Synergistic use of RADARSAT-2 Ultra Fine and Fine Quad-Pol data to map oilsands infrastructure land: Object-based approach

The landscape of Alberta’s oilsands regions is undergoing extensive change due to the creation of infrastructure associated with the exploration for and extraction of this resource. Since most oil sands mining activities take place in remote forests or wetlands, one of the challenges is to collect up-to date and reliable information about the current state of land. Compared to optical sensors, SAR sensors have the advantage of being able to routinely collect imagery for timely monitoring by regulatory agencies. This paper explores the capability of high resolution RADARSAT-2 Ultra Fine and Fine Quad-Pol imagery for mapping oilsands infrastructure land using an object-based classification approach. Texture measurements extracted from Ultra Fine data are used to support an Ultra Fine based classification. Moreover, a radar vegetation index (RVI) calculated from PolSAR data is introduced for improved classification performance. The RVI is helpful in reducing confusion between infrastructure land and low vegetation covered surfaces. When Ultra Fine and PolSAR data are used in combination, the kappa value of well pads and processing facilities detection reached 0.87. In this study, we also found that core hole sites can be identified from early spring Ultra Fine data. With single-date image, kappa value of core hole sites ranged from 0.61 to 0.69.