Technical examinations for estimating rice planted area using high resolution X Band SAR satellite

Abstract

To conduct the technical examinations for estimating rice planted area using high resolution X band SAR satellite imagery data, we obtained COSMO-SkyMed imageries (SPOTLIGHT-2 mode) and carried out field survey at the flat area in Japan. As the results, following points were clarified. 1) Critical height of rice plant for specular reflection: Under the condition of X-HH at low incidence angle, back scatter was slightly observed on the imagery of 25 cm height (above water surface) of rice plant. 2) Practical usage of composite imagery for image interpretation under different incidence angles: The imageries under different incidence angle (23.7 and 56.1 degree) were composed to examine the misregistration. The composed image can be used for actual image interpretation, since the degree of misregistration is limited. Through the examinations, it was clarified that the important knowledge as a decision standard for acquisition period and conditions to estimate rice planted area using X band SAR satellite in the flat area.