MIPS: a new airborne Multiband Interferometric and Polarimetric SAR system for the Italian territory monitoring

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems represent nowadays standard tools for the high resolution Earth observation in all weather conditions [1].

Indeed, thanks to well established techniques based on SAR data, such as SAR interferometry (InSAR), Differential InSAR (DInSAR) and SAR polarimetry (PolSAR), it is possible to generate added-value products, as for instance Digital Elevation Models, ground deformation maps and time series, soil moisture maps, and exploit these systems for the remote monitoring of both natural and anthropic phenomena [2] - [5].

In addition, recent advancements in radar, navigation and aeronautical technologies allow us to benefit of lightweight and compact SAR sensors that can be mounted onboard highly flexible aerial platforms [6] - [7]. These aspects offer the opportunity to design novel observation configurations and to explore innovative estimation strategies based, for instance, on data provided by multi-frequency, multi-polarization, multi-antenna or even multi-platform SAR systems.

This work is aimed at showing the imaging capabilities of the new Italian airborne SAR system named MIPS (Multiband Interferometric and Polarimetric SAR).

The system is based on the Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) technology and is able to operate at both L- and X- band. In particular, the L-band sensor is able to acquire fully-polarized radar data, while the X-band sensor exhibits single-pass interferometric SAR capabilities.

A detailed description of both the MIPS system and its imaging capabilities will be provided at the conference time, with a special emphasis given to the activities carried out within the ASI-funded DInSAR-3M project.

 

References

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[2] Bamler, R., Hartl, P., 1998. Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry. Inverse problems, 14(4), R1.

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[4] Lee, J., Pottier, E., 2009. Polarimetric Radar Imaging: From Basics to Applications. CRC Press, New York.

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[6] S. Perna, G. Alberti, P. Berardino, L. Bruzzone. D. Califano, I. Catapano, L. Ciofaniello, E. Donini, C. Esposito, C. Facchinetti, R. Formaro, G. Gennarelli, C. Gerekos, R. Lanari, F. Longo, G. Ludeno, M. Mariotti d’Alessandro, A. Natale, C. Noviello, G. Palmese. C. Papa, G. Pica, F. Rocca, G. Salzillo, F. Soldovieri, S. Tebaldini, S. Thakur, “The ASI Integrated Sounder-SAR System Operating in the UHF-VHF Bands: First Results of the 2018 Helicopter-Borne Morocco Desert Campaign”, Remote Sensing, 2019, 11(16), 1845.

[7] C. Esposito, A. Natale, G. Palmese, P. Berardino, R. Lanari, S. Perna, “On the Capabilities of the Italian Airborne FMCW AXIS InSAR System”, Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 539.