Speakers
Dr
Andrea Minchella
(Satellite Applications Catapult)Mr
Dan Wicks
(Satellite Applications Catapult)
Description
For the purpose of agricultural monitoring, the study of vegetation phenology by means of remote sensing has been largely addressed by the analysis of temporal variations in vegetation indices acquired by optical sensors. To date, the use of radar sensors has been explored in the literature but is less developed for operational agricultural monitoring activities. Many theoretical and experimental studies have demonstrated the sensitivity of microwave backscattering to vegetation, which can be linked to parameters such as biomass and crop type. However, due to the costs associated with data and the infrequency of data acquisition, there is huge failure to commercially exploit this technology for agricultural applications. ESA’s Sentinel 1 mission offers the ideal platform to support application development, with focus on reliability, operational stability, global coverage, quick data delivery and of course zero cost. Work has been conducted to explore the potential of Sentinel 1 data for the retrieval of information on the phenology of cereal and oilseed crops. Specific activities have included analysis of SAR backscatter coefficients and the exploitation of polarimetry and interferometry techniques, correlating these observables to extensive ground truth data collected from 24 fields in South-West England. A total of 36 images across different tracks were considered from April to September and all processing was carried out using the open-source ESA Sentinel-1 and PolSARpro toolboxes. Analysis of the spatial variation in the SAR derived observables has demonstrated positive relationships with significant growth stages that farmers rely on identifying for accurate chemical application.
Primary authors
Dr
Andrea Minchella
(Satellite Applications Catapult)
Mr
Dan Wicks
(Satellite Applications Catapult)
