The UAVSAR L-band radar is housed in a pod flown on the NASA G-3 platform, shown here in flight over Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Parameter Value

FrequencyL-Band 1217.5 to 1297.5 MHz

(23.8 cm wavelength)

Resolution 1.7 m Slant Range, 1.0 m Azimuth

PolarizationQuad-Polarization (HH, HV, VH,

VV)

Repeat Track Accuracy

± 5 meters

Transmit Power > 3.1 kW

Radiometric Calibration

1.2 dB absolute, 0.5 dB relative

Noise Floor -47 dB average

o2 days, 20 flight hourso~5500 km of flight lines with 22 km swath width oimaged an area of 120,000 km2

UAVSAR Gulf Oil Spill Campaign22-23 June 2010 Deployment

L-Band High Resolution Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar

Aerial photography of spill site (top) and in area (right) [6/23/2010]

Jones and Holt - JPL

UAVSAR Gulf Oil Spill Campaign OverviewScience Goals

Develop and validate algorithms for improved discrimination of oil slicks on water and collect data that will enable us to better determine oil properties from polarimetric radar backscatter returns.

Study the use of radar for determining the extent of oil penetration into sensitive coastal ecological zones, in particular, to map the spread of oil from the coastline into coastal wetlands.

Use the radar data to determine the extent and nature of the damage to different coastal ecosystems and to track ecosystem recovery.

Combine optical and radar data for better detection and impact assessment (UAVSAR & AVIRIS).

Study Oil Spill Detection and the Impact of Oil Inundation in Wetland Ecosystems Using High Resolution Polarimetric L-band Radar

Jones and Holt - JPL

Science Goal IOil Detection and Characterization

Averaged Intensity Images

MAIN SLICK

Clear Ocean

+ rig site

140° Heading320° Heading

Polarimetric Returns vs. Incidence Angle

scene overlapcommon point

B. Minchew, C. E. Jones, B. Holt (Caltech/JPL), “Polarimetric L-band SAR Signatures of Oil from the Deepwater Horizon Spill” submitted IEEE Trans. Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2011.

• Scattering properties dependent on HV polarization (right bottom panel) are

more sensitive to oil–water separation and

varying oil properties, compared to HH and

VV polarizations.

•All polarization combinations

(HH, VV, HV)(right panels) discriminatewater and oil

140° Heading

Oil 4

Oil 5Oil 6

UAVSAR results indicate a method to discriminate varying oil properties under all-weather conditions.

5 km

Jones and Holt - JPL

Goal of Study:Use full-polarization complex scattering matrix information to detect oil on waterways, and marsh vegetation, including sub-canopy oiling of vegetation stalks and soil.

Classification Methods Studied:•Entropy/Anisotropy/Alpha Polarimetric Decomposition (Cloude-Pottier [CP])•Freeman-Durden Decomposition [FD]•Unsupervised Wishart Classification with CP or FD classes.

Science Goal IIMapping Oil Extent in Coastal Wetlands

Elijah Ramsey, A. Rangoonwala, Y. Suzuoki (USGS, National Wetlands Research Center), C. E. Jones (Caltech/JPL), “Oil Detection in a Coastal Marsh with Polarimetric SAR”, manuscript in preparation.

Photos taken 6/23/2010, courtesy of Bruce Davis (DHS)

Study area included 3 UAVSAR flight lines from June 2010 and one repeat line from June 2009. Underflight ground data provided by DHS & NASA/Stennis . Jones and Holt - JPL

Science Goal IIMapping Oil Extent in Coastal Wetlands

Elijah Ramsey, A. Rangoonwala, Y. Suzuoki (USGS, National Wetlands Research Center), C. E. Jones (Caltech/JPL), “Oil Detection in a Coastal Marsh with Polarimetric SAR”, manuscript in preparation.

Barataria Bay, Louisiana:

Studies of this area show that UAVSAR can detect oil on vegetation in coastal

marshlands.

Oil on water shows as dark areas in the radar image.

Jones and Holt - JPL

Oiled vegetation along shoreline shows up brighter in the cross-

polarization (HV) returns.

POLS

AR false

col

or c

ompo

site

(HH=r

ed, H

V=gre

en, V

V=blu

e)

UAVSAR, 1.7 m resolution (HH-red, HV=green)

ApplicationMonitoring Containment Booms for Rapid ResponseC. E. Jones (Caltech/JPL), B. A. Davis (DHS) “High Resolution Radar for Response and Recovery: Monitoring

Containment Booms in Barataria Bay,” PE&RS, February 2011.

Jones and Holt - JPL