Case studies demonstrating the hydrological applications of C-band multipolarized and polarimetric SAR

Mapping and monitoring water quantity and quality is an important activity for resource management. Many applications such as agriculture, flood forecasting, urban development, and wetland conservation require routine monitoring of hydrological parameters. As hydrological resources are dynamic, timely information is essential for the accuracy required in these applications. The increased repeat time and larger spatial coverage of remote sensing tools give water resource managers up-to-date information over their areas of interest. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has been successfully utilized to monitor hydrological parameters because of its sensitivity to moisture. Polarimetric SAR systems provide many dimensions of information as polarization images can be synthesized from the phase information. The Canada Centre for Remote Sensing has been involved with numerous research projects aimed at developing SAR techniques for monitoring hydrological resources. Four main hydrological features are discussed: soil moisture, snow, wetlands, and flooding.