Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is an active remote sensing technique that sends electromagnetic waves to Earth and receives the reflected backscatter, which can be used to detect features and changes in the environment.
Optical satellites with passive sensors use the sun as a light source; this often makes it difficult to capture imagery in the dark or when there's high cloud coverage. However, SAR satellites with active sensors offer 24/7 earth observation. This is because the waves can penetrate through darkness, clouds, smoke, and rain, meaning data can be collected in places that were previously a challenge to image such as at the poles—which is dark during specific months of the year—or in tropical regions with high moisture and cloud coverage. With this capability, you can perform analyses, delivering solutions to real-world problems, such as floods, wildfires, deforestation, and oil spills, regardless of weather or time.
ArcGIS Pro offers geoprocessing tools to process SAR data and ensure that it is accurate and properly located as well as tools to help you analyze the processed data.
Explore the following resources to learn more about processing and analyzing SAR data in ArcGIS. (Not sure where to start? Look for the star by Esri's most helpful resources.)
Note:
In ArcGIS Pro 3.0+, SAR processing and analysis tools are available with the Image Analyst license. The Synthetic Aperture Radar toolset in the Image Analyst toolbox contains geoprocessing tools that can be used to create analysis ready imagery from Level 1 data for supported SAR sensors. In addition, ArcGIS Pro offers many geoprocessing tools and raster functions to analyze SAR data.
Imagery Workflows resources
Review the community-supported tools and best practices for working with and automating imagery and remote sensing workflows:
- Use the Sentinel-1 RTC analysis-ready dynamic imagery layer from the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World in your SAR analysis workflows. This imagery can be used for a wide range of land and maritime applications, from deforestation monitoring to oil spill mapping.
ArcGIS help
Review the following links on reference materials for ArcGIS products:
- Read an introduction about SAR to learn how to get started with SAR data in ArcGIS Pro.*
- Review what raster products are supported and the available geoprocessing tools and raster functions for various supported SAR sensors.
- Learn how to interpret SAR data for flood mapping.
- Learn more about SAR processing in ArcGIS Pro* and then review the following sensor-specific processing workflows:
ArcGIS blogs, articles, story maps, and technical papers
Review the following supplemental guidance about concepts, software functionality, and workflows:
- Read this blog article, Introduction to Synthetic Aperture Radar, to find answers to these questions: What is SAR? How does SAR work? What can SAR be used for? How is SAR beneficial? And more.*
- Learn from this story about SAR Satellite Data and how to add it to your map in ArcGIS Pro.
- Discover What's new in the ArcGIS Image Analyst extension (ArcGIS Pro 3.0) introducing SAR geoprocessing tools.
- Learn about flood inundation mapping using Radar & AI using ArcGIS Pro tools and pretrained deep learning models from the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World.
- Read a blog article to take your analysis to the next level with SAR, and learn about processing data using raster products and functions, as well as information about pretrained deep learning models.
- Read this story that shows how the SAR Ship Detection pretrained deep learning model was used to detect ships in various international waterways.
Training and tutorials
Review the following guided lessons and tutorials based on real-world problems and key ArcGIS skills:
- Learn how to get started with SAR satellite imagery in a guided learning path format.
- Take a series of tutorials and learn about SAR fundamental concepts, explore SAR satellite imagery from all over the world, and process SAR data to perform image analysis on real life examples.
- Use SAR satellite imagery to explore analysis-ready SAR imagery from various satellites and learn about several of its applications.
- Process Sentinel-1 SAR data
- Learn about Esri's ready-to-use pretrained deep learning models, then try them yourself:
Developer resources
Review the following resources and support for automating and customizing workflows:
- Use an ArcGIS notebook to automate the processing of Sentinel-1 GRD data with Python.
- Use a scripting tool to batch process Sentinel-1, ICEYE, and RCM GRD data.
Technical support
Review the following troubleshooting resources from Esri's tech support team:
- Find answers to frequently asked questions about SAR in ArcGIS Pro.
Esri Community
Use the online imagery community to connect, collaborate, and share experiences:
- Visit the ArcGIS Image Analyst Esri community to connect, collaborate, and share experiences about processing and analyzing SAR data.