Analysis of Satellite synthetic aperture radar images for environmental assessment and land-use mapping of Kuwait

Remotely sensed satellite images offer unmatched data sets for ecosystem analysis, evaluation and monitoring of Kuwait`s environment. The data can provide valuable information on how different parts of the ecosystem react to climatic and other environmental changes at a frequency, resolution, and scale that is not possible using any other methods. Several studies and projects have utilized optical remote sensing data for Kuwait, but to date, no applications of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data have been reported. Radar can provide information that is related to the topography, surface roughness, and moisture conditions of the target area.

Additionally, the long wavelengths used by radar permit a limited ability to penetrate beneath dry surface materials such as sand, to sense the underlying conditions.

Therefore, the information available from microwave/radar remote sensing is different from but complimentary to that available from visible and infrared wavelengths.

The principal objective of this proposal is to use existing orbital radar image data to assess the desert environment and land-use mapping of Kuwait. Special emphasis will be on the use of multiband radar imagery for mapping terrain classes, land-use patterns and sand dune types; for monitoring the resilience of the desert environment and the oil lakes and affected areas after the 1991 Arabian Gulf War; and for integrating SAR and optical data sets. Change detection studies will be used to map annual changes between the SAR imagery. The proposed study is planned be a collaborative effort between scientists at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, MicroSense Corporation, USA, and the Radiation Laboratory of the University of Michigan, USA. The duration of the project will be 24 months with an estimated budget of KD 113,040