TanDEM-X global forest/non-forest map generation

Abstract

The interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mission TanDEM-X has opened a new era in spaceborne radar remote sensing. Since the end of 2010, the two SAR satellites TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X have been flying in a controlled close orbit formation, acting as a large single-pass SAR interferometer. The acquired high-quality interferometric SAR data is not only the primary source to generate a global Earth's Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with unprecedented accuracy, but also represents a starting point for scientific applications. At a global scale, by means of the interferometric coherence and the derived volume correlation factor, it is possible to identify forested areas or regions characterized by the presence of snow and ice. In this paper, the approach followed to generate a first global TanDEM-X forest/non-forest map is presented and discussed.