Conference Agenda

This study investigates the potential of radar polarimetric data for geological mapping in the Gobi Desert region of Mongolia, focusing on the period before the availability of Biomass P-band data. To address this gap, we analyzed historical L-band polarimetric datasets from ALOS and SAOCOM satellites, as well as C-band alt-pol data from the Sentinel-1 constellation. Geological information—including rock types, contact zones, and tectonic features—was extracted through various polarimetric decomposition techniques. Our analysis centered on the area of a Polish scientific expedition conducted in 2025, integrating both field, ground-truth data and hyperspectral imagery from archived PRISMA and newly acquired ENMap sources. Various classification approaches such as Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM), Spectral Feature Fitting (SFF), Spectral Feature Analysis (SFA), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were employed to enhance interpretation. Data processing was performed in Python and Jupyter notebooks using SNAPISTA and SNAP software.

Preliminary results indicate that radar polarimetric data reveal previously undocumented geological features, offering significant insights into surface roughness, structure, and subsurface penetration compared to traditional optical sensors. These findings underscore the added value of radar data and highlight opportunities for further research. The anticipated integration of L-band SAR data from the Biomass satellite, which has not yet been explored from a geological perspective in this region, is expected to provide greater penetration capabilities and may represent a transformative advance for geological applications in arid environments.