Dual-frequency SAR backscatter dynamics of a salt flat in northwestern Argentina

BARBER, MATÍAS ERNESTO; MORANDEIRA, NATALIA SOLEDAD; MARTÍNEZ, V; LATTUS, J

Tokyo

Encuentro; FY2023 The Joint PI Meeting of JAXA Earth Observation Missions; 2023

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

Baseline information for a deeper understanding of crust dynamics is collected through a five-year multitemporal data set (2018-2022) with a dense time series of Sentinel 1 (C-band), ALOS 2/PALSAR 2, and SAOCOM 1 (L-band). The aim of this study is to analyse the behaviour of SAR backscattered power over a highland salt flat using multitemporal analyses with SentineL 1 (5.405 GHz, 5.55 cm), ALOS 2/PALSAR 2 (1.236 GHz, 24.3 cm), and SAOCOM 1 (1.275 GHz, 23.5 cm). Microwave response of four major crust types is linked to their surface features: roughness and dominant composition (halite crystals or earthy crusts), and to the rainfall events in summer. Disregarding any scattering mechanism other than surface scattering, C-band co-polarized σ0 has a strong dependence on surface roughness whereas cross-polarized σ0 is driven by the presence of large-scale pores. At L-band, opposite trends compared against C-band indicate sensitivity to large-scale surface features and/or deep ones.[Página web del Encuentro y programa: https://pco-prime.com/pi_joint_ws2023/ ; expositora Morandeira Natalia, proyecto ER3A2N067 PI Barber]