Observation of phenological changes by using dual polarization SAR data

Abstract

Remote sensing is actively used in observation of the nature. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems are capable of obtaining physical based data under day/night and clear/cloudy sky situations. With sensitivity over the physical changes, they have importance in monitoring of agricultural areas. Paddy rice has been a widely used crop in the World, which requires wetland areas. In Turkey, it is mainly irrigated in Edirne and Samsun. With its importance in World's agricultural economy, researches regarding the precision farming of rice increased significantly, which includes remote sensing methods. Here, the effect of phenological changes during growth of rice over dual-pol SAR (phase + amplitude) data are discussed. Fields that are located in Ipsala (Edirne) are chosen as test-site. Ground measurements are conducted during May-September 2013. SAR data that are used to explain the physical changes, are obtained in horizontal-horizontal and vertical-vertical polarization configurations from TerraSAR-X (TSX) and TanDEM-X (TDX) satellites in 2012 and 2013.