Site scale wetness classification of tundra regions with C-band SAR satellite data

• Main Authors: Widhalm, Barbara, Bartsch, Annett, Siewert, Matthias Benjamin, Hugelius, Gustaf, Elberling, Bo, Leibman, Marina, Dvornikov, Yury, Khomutov, Artem
• Other Authors: Ouwehand , L.
• Format: Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: European Space Agency 2016
• Subjects: Arctic; Asar; permafrost; Tundra
• Online Access: https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/site-scale-wetness-classification-of-tundra-regions-with-cband-sar-satellite-data(6283687f-87be-4439-b883-57e3d7be0555).html; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84988499134&partnerID=8YFLogxK

A representative and consistent wetland map for the circumpolar region is required for a range of applications including modelling of permafrost properties as well as upscaling of carbon pools and fluxes. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data has been shown to be suitable for wetland mapping, especially C-band ASAR GM data (1-km resolution). A circumpolar wetness classification map has been introduced previously [1]. With heterogeneity being a major challenge in the Arctic, higher spatial resolution products than GM are essential. In this study we therefore investigate the potential of this approach at site scale using ENVISAT ASAR WS data (∼120 m resolution). These higher resolution ASAR WS maps have been produced for study sites representing different settings throughout the Arctic and compared to high resolution land cover maps and field survey data. It can be shown that a medium resolution C-band SAR based wetness level map can be derived for tundra regions where no scattering due to tree trunks hampers the applied methodology.