BOREAS AIRSAR CM: Radar Images of Boreal Forest Moisture

From August 1993 to July 1995, NASA JPL AIRSAR data was collected via DC-8 aircraft over the BOREAS study areas in the Northern (NSA) and Southern (SSA) Study Areas. The Level-3b data provides compressed Stokes matrix format imagery, representing radar backscatter for all polarization combinations (HH, HV, VH, VV). This dataset was used in conjunction with ground measurements to study the moisture regime of the boreal forest.

Use Cases

• Modeling soil and vegetation moisture in boreal forests based on multi-polarization radar backscatter.
• Calibrating satellite-based SAR measurements using aircraft-collected AIRSAR data.
• Studying temporal changes in boreal forest structure and hydrology over a two-year period.
• Developing algorithms to synthesize specific radar backscatter measurements from compressed Stokes matrix data.

Strengths

• Provides multi-frequency, fully polarimetric radar backscatter data, a detailed measurement type.
• Covers a specific two-year time range (1993-1995) for temporal analysis.
• Collected as part of the coordinated BOREAS campaign, linking airborne data with ground measurements.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: column names, row counts, and exact file sizes are unknown across all sources.
• Conflicting license information: one source specifies 'other-license-specified' while another lists 'None'.
• Data format is specialized binary (compressed Stokes matrix), requiring specific tools for processing and synthesis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Collection Method

Acquired by the NASA JPL AIRSAR system mounted on a DC-8 aircraft.

Time Range

1993-08-12 to 1995-07-31

Freshness

2026-03-13 12:23:04.655313

Geography

Portions of the BOREAS Southern (SSA) and Northern (NSA) Study Areas