Interpretation of ERS-SAR images over urban surfaces

The results of a preliminary analysis of ERS synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images collected over the Los Angeles basin (CA) are reported. The observations were performed in order to explore the applicability of microwave remote sensing to the study of the energy balance at the urban surface. Large variations of backscatter intensities were observed in the SAR images. The imaging anisotropies observed mask the variations of backscatter due to other processes, illustrating the difficulties of extracting quantitative information from SAR images of urban surfaces.