Abstract
Radar interferometry gained a lot of interest in very few years in the 1990s. Its main product: the interferogram, is a map of the difference of the phases of two radar images acquired on the same site with a time elapsed between the takes that can range from zero to several years. The phase maps are ambiguous, like contour lines that would not carry any number. They need to be “unwrapped” (i.e. assigned a number) which is generally done by continuity. Several SAR system concepts have been dedicated to interferometry. The Cartwheel concept aims at maximizing the interferometric return of a conventional satellite by adding a cheap constellation of receive-only micro-satellites in a special, and very efficient, orbital configuration, which disturbs the least, or not at all, the Transmitter. Here we describe the system from its design to some specificities of the processing of the products, some of them offering unique new capabilities. Finally, we suggest some more advanced uses of the design.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Massonnet D, Rossi M, Carmona C, Adragna F, Peltzer G, Feigl K, Rabaute T (1993) The displacement field of the Landers earthquake mapped by radar interferometry. Nature 364:138–142
Goldstein R, Engelhardt H, Kamb B, Frohlich RM (1993) Satellite radar interferometry for monitoring ice sheet motion: application to an Antarctic ice stream. Science 262:1525–1530
Massonnet D, Feigl KL (1998) Radar interferometry and its applications to changes in the earth’s surface. Rev Geophys 36(4):441–500
Farr TG, Kobrick M (2000) Shuttle radar topography mission produces a wealth of data. Am Geophys Union EOS 81:583–585
Massonnet D (2001) Capabilities and limitations of the interferometric cartwheel. IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens 39:506–520
Massonnet D, Souyris JC (2008) Imaging with synthetic aperture radar. EPFL Taylor and Francis, Boca Raton
Goldstein R, Zebker H (1987) Interferometric radar measurements of ocean surface currents. Nature 328:707–709
Ghiglia D, Pritt MD (1998) Two-dimensional phase unwrapping: theory, algorithms and software. John Wiley, New York
Massonnet D, Vadon H, Rossi M (1996) Reduction of the need for phase unwrapping in radar interferometry. IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens 34(2):489–497
Cloude S, Papathanassiou K (1998) Polarimetric SAR interferometry. IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens 36:1551–1565
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Massonnet, D. (2013). Cartwheel. In: D'Errico, M. (eds) Distributed Space Missions for Earth System Monitoring. Space Technology Library, vol 31. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4541-8_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4541-8_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-4540-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-4541-8
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)