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Radar, Synthetic Aperture

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Encyclopedia of Remote Sensing

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

  • 548 Accesses

Synonyms

Active sensor; DInSAR; InSAR; Radar interferometry; Radar polarimetry; Range radar; SAR

Definition

A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) consists of two logical functions: radar and processor. The radar is an active imaging sensor that looks to the side as it moves along its trajectory and collects reflections from transmissions pulse by pulse, storing these data in memory. An individual reflecting object contributes reflections so long as it remains illuminated by the radar’s antenna pattern. The processorcoherently integrates these data using an algorithm that emulates the action of an antenna whose along-track aperture length equals the length of the data record from an individual backscatterer. The data record encompasses the signals that would have been received by a very long real antenna aperture, which is the source of the term “synthetic (or synthesized) aperture.” The along-track (or, equivalently, the cross-range or azimuth) resolution that results is comparable to...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd, 20723, Laurel, MD, USA

    Keith Raney

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  1. Keith Raney
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Correspondence to Keith Raney .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

    Eni G. Njoku

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Raney, K. (2014). Radar, Synthetic Aperture. In: Njoku, E.G. (eds) Encyclopedia of Remote Sensing. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36699-9_137

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