SAR imaging conditions of topography-induced current front in a tidal channel

The Lingding channel appears as a quasi-linear dark-bright feature in a TerraSARX synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image acquired in the area of Pearl River Estuary (PRE), China on October 25, 2010. The tidal current in this area is almost parallel to the major axis of the Lingding channel. In this paper, researches on the SAR remote sensing imaging conditions of channel topography have been carried out based on the analysis of SAR imaging mechanism. A 3-D simulation imaging model of SAR shallow water topography for the PRE consisting of a 3-D hydrodynamic model and a radar simulation model has been used. Simulations on SAR remote sensing imaging of channel topography have been carried out under different radar parameters and sea conditions, then the best conditions for SAR imaging of the PRE shallow water topography are given.