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Conference Agenda

Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).

Daily Overview

Session

📌Poster Session and Networking Aperitivo 🍷
Location: Lower Lobby

Presentation 50

A Comparison of P- and C-band SAR Sensitivity for Ecosystem Mapping in the Brazilian Amazon

Yu Dong¹, Elizaveta Avoiani², Zahra Dabiri¹

1: Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Faculty of Digital and Analytical Sciences, Department of Artificial Intelligence and Human Interfaces, Salzburg, Austria; 2: Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Department of Forest Management and Applied Geoinformatics, Brno, Czechia

Understanding the spatial heterogeneity of Amazonian ecosystems requires radar observations that capture both canopy structure, forest understory, and hydrological characteristics. This study investigates the complementary sensitivities of P-band data from the ESA BIOMASS mission and C-band data from Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) across representative ecosystems of the Amazon Basin.

We employ BIOMASS SAR data in DGM (Detected Ground Multi-look) format, acquired on 2025-06-09, and two Sentinel-1 SAR datasets in GRD (Ground Range Detected) format, acquired on 2025-06-03 and 2025-06-15, which were co-registered and radiometrically calibrated, over an Amazonian region in Brazil. The selection of the study area was based on the availability of BIOMASS data. MAPBIOMAS land-cover data serve as the primary reference classification, providing detailed delineations of forest and non-forest areas. Within the area of interest, land-cover types include Forest Formation, Floodable Forest, Wetland, Grassland Formation, River, among others. Additionally, a peatland map of Brazil was utilised as complementary information to assess radar sensitivity to moisture and hydrological variations.

Backscatter intensity, polarisation ratios (e.g. VV/VH), and texture metrics are extracted from both datasets to characterise wavelength-dependent scattering properties for each land-cover type. Initial visual inspection indicates that BIOMASS P-band data clearly delineate river corridors and floodable areas that are only partially visible in Sentinel-1 C-band imagery, conforming to deeper canopy penetration and reduced attenuation at longer wavelengths. While C-band can provide information on forest canopy structure, P-band could be used for better differentiation of land cover types within the study area. These complementary sensitivities suggest that combined C- and P-band observations can better capture structural and hydrological gradients across tropical landscapes.

The study provides a quantitative assessment of multi-frequency radar responses across Amazonian ecosystems, highlighting wavelength-specific advantages for identifying and delineating various land-cover types, including forest boundaries, as well as for hydrological mapping. It advances the understanding of radar backscatter mechanisms in humid tropical environments and demonstrates how multi-frequency SAR synergy can enhance the characterisation of structural and environmental properties across the Amazon Basin.