An overview of the Synthetic Aperture Radar toolset

Available with Image Analyst license.

The Synthetic Aperture Radar toolset contains tools that correct, process, and enable analysis of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data.

License:

The tools in the Synthetic Aperture Radar toolset require the Image Analyst extension. The exception is the Create Color Composite tool, which requires only an ArcGIS AllSource Desktop Basic license.

Tools in the Synthetic Aperture Radar toolset

Tool	Description
Apply Coregistration	Resamples the secondary single look complex (SLC) data to the reference SLC grid using a digital elevation model (DEM) and orbit state vector metadata.
Apply Geometric Terrain Correction	Orthorectifies the input synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data using a range-Doppler backgeocoding algorithm.
Apply Orbit Correction	Updates the orbital information in the Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data using a more accurate orbit state vector (OSV) file.
Apply Radiometric Calibration	Converts the input synthetic aperture radar (SAR) reflectivity into physical units of normalized backscatter by normalizing the reflectivity using a reference plane.
Apply Radiometric Terrain Flattening	Corrects the input synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data for radiometric distortions due to topography.
Compute Coherence	Computes the similarity between the reference and secondary input complex radar data.
Convert SAR Units	Converts the scaling of the input synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data between amplitude and intensity, between linear and decibels (dB), and between complex and intensity.
Deburst	Merges the multiple bursts from the input Sentinel-1 Single Look Complex (SLC) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and outputs a single, seamless subswath raster.
Despeckle	Corrects the input synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data for speckle, which is a result of coherent illumination that resembles a grainy or salt and pepper effect.
Download Orbit File	Downloads the updated orbit files for Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data.
Multilook	Averages the input synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data by looks in range and azimuth to approximate square pixels, mitigates speckle, and reduces SAR tool processing time.
Remove Thermal Noise	Corrects backscatter disturbances caused by thermal noise in the input synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, resulting in a more seamless image.

The SAR Analysis toolset

The SAR Analysis toolset contains tools that perform analysis on SAR data.

Tools in the SAR Analysis toolset

Tool	Description
Compute SAR Indices	Computes various SAR indices for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, such as Radar Vegetation Index (RVI), Radar Forest Degradation Index (RFDI), and Canopy Structure Index (CSI).
Create Color Composite	Creates a three-band raster dataset from a multiband raster dataset.
Detect Bright Ocean Objects	Detects potential bright human-made objects—such as ships, oil rigs, and windmills—while masking out the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data outside the region of interest.
Detect Dark Ocean Areas	Identifies potential dark pixels belonging to oil spills or algae, and clusters these pixels, while masking out the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data outside the region of interest.
Extract Water	Finds water bodies using input synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and a DEM.