• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.209-220
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• 2002

We carried out studies on SAR image intensity and interferometric phase over oyster sea farms. Strong backscattering was observed in amplitude images, and that was considered as a radar signal double bouncing from horizontal bars. These sea farming structures are not visible in satellite optical images except IKONOS image, so that it demonstrates the value of radar remote sensing as an effective tool in support of sea farm detection. The intensity of the image is sensitive to system parameters including wavelength, polarization, and look direction, but does not correlate to tide height. We found that the strongest backscattering can be obtained by L-band HH-polarization with a look direction perpendicular to the horizontal bar. We also succeeded in generating 21 coherent JERS-1 SAR interferometric pairs over the oyster farms. The general trend of the fringe rate of the interferometric phases appeared to be governed by altitude of ambiguity. The general trend was modeled by an inverse function and removed to have a residual phase. The residual phase showed a linear relation with the tide height. The results demonstrate for the first time that SAR can possibly be used to estimate sea level. However, the r.m.s. error of a regression line is 11.7 cm, and that is so far too large to make reliable assessments of sea level in practical applications. Further studies is required to improve the accuracy specifically using multi-polarization SAR data.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.979-986
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• 2010

This paper presents an algorithm for retrieving precise radar cross sections(RCS) of various trihedral corner reflectors (TCR) which are external calibrators of synthetic aperture radar(SAR) systems. The theoretical RCSs of the TCRs are computed based on the physical optics(PO), geometrical optics(GO), and physical theory of diffraction(PTD) techniques; that is, the RCS computation includes the single reflections(PO), double reflections(GO-PO), triple reflections(GO-GO-PO), and edge diffractions(PTD) from the TCR. At first, we acquire an SAR image of the area that five TCRs installed in, and then extract the RCS of the TCRs. The RCSs of the TCRs are extracted accurately from the SAR image by adding up the power spill, which is generated due to the radar IRF(Impulse Response Function), using a square window. We compare the extracted RCSs with the theoretical RCSs and analyze the difference between the theoretical and experimental RCSs of the TCR for various window sizes and various backscattering coefficient levels of the adjacent area. Finally, we propose the minimum size of the integration area and the maximum level of the backscattering coefficients for the adjacent area.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.3E
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• pp.104-110
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• 2007

As the exploration of the seabed is extended ever further, automated recognition and classification of sonar images become increasingly important. However, most of the methods ignore the directional information and its effect on the image textures produced. To deal with this problem, we apply 2D Gabor filters to extract the features of sonar images. The filters are designed with constrained parameters to reduce the complexity and to improve the calculation efficiency. Meanwhile, at each orientation, the optimal Gabor filter parameters will be selected with the help of bandwidth parameters based on the Fisher criterion. This method can overcome some disadvantages of the traditional approaches of extracting texture features, and improve the recognition rate effectively.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.3E
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• pp.77-83
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• 2008

In the process of the sonar image textures produced, the orientation and scale factors are very significant. However, most of the related methods ignore the directional information and scale invariance or just pay attention to one of them. To overcome this problem, we apply Gabor wavelet to extract the features of sonar images, which combine the advantages of both the Gabor filter and traditional wavelet function. The mother wavelet is designed with constrained parameters and the optimal parameters will be selected at each orientation, with the help of bandwidth parameters based on the Fisher criterion. The Gabor wavelet can have the properties of both multi-scale and multi-orientation. Based on our experiment, this method is more appropriate than traditional wavelet or single Gabor filter as it provides the better discrimination of the textures and improves the recognition rate effectively. Meanwhile, comparing with other fusion methods, it can reduce the complexity and improve the calculation efficiency.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.435-440
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• 2002

The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between polarimetric radar backscatters and stand characteristics over the mountainous forest area. L- and P-band full polarimetric airborne SAR data obtained in September 2000 were processed to compare with forest stand maps and ground collected stand variables. After the geometric registration of SAR image, mean radar backscatters were extracted for those ground plots where the stand parameters, such as tree height, DBH, and basal area, were measured during and after the SAR data acquisition. Preliminary analysis was focused on the topographic influence of radar backscattering under the homogeneous forest stand condition. Topographic effects, assessed by the local incidence angles, were different obvious in L-band data while it was not clear with P-band data.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.1084-1086
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• 2003

The aim of this study is to assess the integrated use of different features extracted from spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data and optical data for land cover classification. Special attention is given to the discriminatory characteristics of the features derived from the multisource data sets. For the evaluation of the features , the statistical maximum likelihood decision rule and neural network classification are used and the results are compared. The performance of each method was evaluated by measuring the overall accuracy. In all cases, the performance of the first method was better than the performance of the latter one. Overall, the research indicated that multisource data sets containing different information about backscattering and reflecting properties of the selected classes of objects can significantly improve the classification of land cover types.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.243-253
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• 2009

For the last 14 years, space-borne satellite SAR system such as RADARSAT-1, ERS-2, and ENVISAT ASAR have provided a continuous observation over the ocean. However, the data acquired from those systems were limited to C-band frequency until the advent of the first spacebome German X-band SAR system TerraSAR-X in 2007. Korea is also planning to launch the nation's first X-band SAR satellite (KOMPSAT-5) in 2010. It is timely and necessary to develop X-band models for estimating geophysical parameters from these X-band SAR systems. In this study, X-band wind retrieval model was investigated and developed based on numerical ocean scattering model (radar backscattering model and hydrodynamic interaction model). Although these models have not yet been tested and validated for broad ranges of wind conditions, the estimated wind speeds from TerraSAR-X data show generally good agreement with in-situ measurements.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.215-222
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• 2011

In order to obtain high resolution images, a focusing ultrasonic transducer operated in very high frequency (VHF) range was fabricated and its characteristics were evaluated. A 9-${\mu}m$ thick PVDF film with only one metalized surface for electric ground was adhered to a CCP (Copper-clad polyimide) film by using epoxy. It was pressed by a metal ball to form a concave surface and its rear side was filled with the epoxy. The radius of curvature and the f-number of the fabricated transducer are 7.5 mm and 1.7, respectively. The pulse-echo measurement results from a target located at the focal point showed that the frequency bandwidth was 35.0 MHz and the insertion loss near the peak frequency of approximately 40 MHz was about 60 dB. Those values agreed well with the simulation results by the KLM equivalent circuit analysis including the effect of the epoxy bonding layer. When the image of thin copper lines by the 35 MHz transducer of the UBM (Ultrasonic Backscattering Microscope) system was compared with the image by the transducer fabricated in this study, the fabricated transducer was observed that the axial resolution was improved although the lateral resolution was degraded.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.375-381
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• 2009

In this paper, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) clutter images are simulated based on the extensive analyses for radar backscatter characteristics of various earth surfaces, and the simulated images are compared with measured SAR images. At first, the surface parameters including soil moisture content and surface roughness parameters and other parameters for vegetation canopies are measured for various surfaces. The backscattering coefficients for the surfaces are computed using theoretical and empirical models for surface scattering and the radiative transfer for vegetation-canopy scattering. Then, the digital elevation map (DEM) and land cover map (LCM) are used for the SAR image generation. The SAR impulse response (correlation function) is also employed to simulated reliable SAR images. Finally, the appropriate speckle and texture parameters for various earth surfaces are used for generating the SAR clutter images.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 1998.09a
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• pp.128-133
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• 1998

To assess the flood damages and to provide necessary information for preventing future catastrophe, it is necessary to appraise the inundated area with more accurate and rapid manner. This study attempts to evaluate the potential of satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data for mapping of flood inundated area in southern part of Korea. JERS L-band SAR data obtained during the summer of 1997 were used to delineate the inundated areas. In addition, Landsat TM data were also used for analyzing the land cover condition before the flooding. Once the two data sets were co-registered, each data was separately classified. The water surface areas extracted from the SAR data and the land cover map generated using the TM data were overlaid to determine the flood inundated areas. Although manual interpretation of water surfaces from the SAR image seems rather simple, the computer classification of water body requires clear understanding of radar backscattering behavior on the earth's surfaces. It was found that some surface features, such as rice fields, runaway, and tidal flat, have very similar radar backscatter to water surface. Even though satellite SAR data have a great advantage over optical remote sensor data for obtaining imagery on time and would provide valuable information to analyze flood, it should be cautious to separate the exact areas of flood inundation from the similar features.