The overall concept isn’t exactly new. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology, which utilizes radar bands in the UHF/VHF frequencies from hand-held or vehicular-based equipment, is a well established technique. It’s the use of remote sensing platforms for subsurface mapping that is gaining ground (no pun intended!). Using satellite and airborne methods, it is possible to provide wide-area coverage of subsurface hydrology and structures for use in mineral exploration and development, infrastructure design, and archeological research.

So where is the science? In the early 1980s, the hyper-arid Bir Safsaf region in southwestern Egypt was mapped using Shutte Radar SIR-A and SIR-B to detect geologic structures covered by layers of sand. Discoveries from that research included fossil river systems. More recent studies have shown the ability of very low-frequency radar, such as P-band, to penetrate depths of 15 meters or more depending on soil composition, radar incidence angles, and soil moisture.

Fugro EarthData has confirmed these P-band findings using GeoSAR during a mission over the Mojave Desert near Edwards Air Force Base. Among other things, the results revealed a mostly submerged geological formation. Subsurface mapping is an area we’ll continue to research given its many implications related to water networks, national security, and heritage management. It’s also one more way that we can help clients maximize the value of their GeoSAR data—by unlocking what we call, “the Power of P”.

Want to continue the conversation? Leave a comment or send us an email at info@geosar.com.

– No deadline for a legally-binding agreement
– No greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for 2020
– No goal for reducing global emissions by 2050
– No deadline for global greenhouse emissions to reach their peak
– No mention of aviation and shipping (specific sectoral agreement)

But that’s not to say COP-15 was a failure. There was some progress on monitoring, reporting, and verification; REDD; financing; and technology transfer. Details on each of these topics follow.

Monitoring, reporting, and verification: China, India, and other developing nations are to publish their emissions curbing commitments in annexes to a new global agreement. They would then communicate progress to those goals according to internationally agreed upon standards.

REDD: On deforestation, there should be the “immediate establishment of a mechanism, including REDD-plus” to mobilize capital from developed countries for “reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation” and enhancing “removals of greenhouse gas emission by forests”.

Financing: Developed countries are to “support a goal of mobilizing jointly 100 billion dollars a year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries”. This funding will come from a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources of finance. There will also be 30 billion dollars made available over the 3-year period of 2010 to 2012, balanced between climate change adaptation and emissions mitigation. Further, a new UN Framework Convention on Climate Change mechanism called the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund will be established to support funded “projects, programs, and policies” on mitigation, REDD-plus, adaptation, capacity building, technology development and transfer.

Technology transfer: A new technology mechanism will also be established to further accelerate technology development and transfer under a country-by-country approach. (This is in contrast to the existing CDM which takes a project-based approach.)

So what does this mean for remote sensing? Without a binding agreement, it may still be too early to tell. But cautiously speaking, it appears we are headed down a path where REDD (or REDD-plus) will be properly funded, which means the remote sensing technologies we discussed last week will be used to help measure and monitor forest carbon.

This, along with the emphasis on technology transfer holds real promise. By increasing the number of users skilled in the science and application of geospatial data, climate change policy can impact countless other areas of a developing nation’s existence, from infrastructure planning to emergency response to economic development. Now that’s something to be optimistic about in the New Year.

It’s the monitoring piece where geospatial comes into play. As addressed in our last entry about the REDD initiative, several remote sensing methodologies can contribute to large-area forest carbon measurement and monitoring, each with unique benefits. This week we are taking a closer look, reviewing the top-three technologies and briefly exploring their strengths and weaknesses:

Optical imaging: Offering low-cost, repeat coverage acquisition over large project areas, satellite-based hyperspectral and multispectral imagery has shown some potential for biomass estimation. Systems with sophisticated scheduling enable around 70 percent cloud-free coverage in equatorial regions, thereby reducing weather obstacles. And while satellite is proving a good source for monitoring REDD sites in Brazil, it alone isn’t a good source for carbon measurement. For that, you need tree height data and optical imagery provides only canopy-level information.

LiDAR mapping: Foresters have long used LiDAR systems to measure forest canopy and vertical structures. As an active sensor, airborne LiDAR data can be acquired night or day, providing very dense and accurate datasets. The downside to this approach is the high cost of acquisition and processing over large areas. Satellite-based LiDAR systems may help control these costs with wide area coverage and automated processing capabilities. The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) is one such example. Some studies show promising results, though clouds are an issue, and so is a general lack of ground height data. So, again, LiDAR may be a technology best suited for monitoring practices.

IFSAR mapping: Low frequency, long bandwidth IFSAR is an all-weather technology that provides high foliage penetration for near bare-earth elevation data, even in dense forests. When combined with higher frequency, short bandwidth IFSAR (which provides elevations of top surfaces), it is possible to detect the heights of individual trees within a forest. That’s the beauty of GeoSAR; it offers both views of the forest simultaneously and can also be used to identify forest type. This data, combined with biomass information on individual tree species, enables efficient and accurate forest carbon content estimations.

But GeoSAR isn’t a silver bullet. Given the relative high cost of airborne acquisitions in comparison to satellite sensors, IFSAR isn’t an ideal monitoring solution. It’s role is to provide accurate baseline information from which REDD programs can be evaluated.

Fugro EarthData published an article about using dual-band IFSAR for carbon accounting in the July issue of PE&RS. It’s a good source of information about remote sensing and climate change monitoring. And, if you want to catch the latest on COP-15, here’s a live web cast of the proceedings.

Next week: COP-15 wrap-up and its implications for remote sensing. Check back then!