Atmospheric Effects on InSAR measurements in southern China and Australia : a comparative study

Satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) signals are often seriously contaminated by atmospheric delays. The state of the atmosphere, especially the atmospheric water vapor, varies significantly both in space and with time. It is necessary to understand the characteristics of the atmospheric variations in order to devise appropriate means for the mitigation of the effects.||We use interferograms generated from some ERS tandem pairs covering Hong Kong, Shanghai of southern China and New South Wales of Australia to study the characteristics of the atmospheric effects in these areas. The anisotropy and Gaussianity of the atmospheric effects are first examined with the method of Radon transform and Hinich test and then compared in terms of different regions and climate patterns. The spectral features of the atmospheric effects are then analyzed with the method of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and power spectrum. The implication of the results on practical Interferometric SAR (InSAR) measurements, especially on the modeling and correction of the atmospheric effects are examined.