First ASAR - Artemis image, Tanzania 12 March 2003

This ASAR WSM image is the first transmitted via the satellite Artemis. The acquisition, 414 km x 393 km (range x azimuth), shows an area centred over the southwest of Tanzania. In the bottom half section of the image, parts of lakes are clearly visible. Lakes Rukwa (left) and Malawi (bottom) lie in the Great Rift Valley, a tremendous geological fault system extending from the Middle East to Mozambique, crossing Tanzania from the northeast to the southwest. The Ruaha National Park, located on the far north side of the Lake Malawi, is one of Tanzania's least accessible parks, remaining almost totally untouched and preserving a unique wildlife.

On the southern side of Ruaha National Park are the Usangu Flats, a vast zone of alluvial wetlands. The variations in the grey tones in the wetlands indicate a change in soil moisture.

As seen over the lakes, water is like a mirror for the radar signal, reflecting away from the antenna the energy backscattered. As a result, wet areas generate dark grey tones within the image.

Technical Information:
Instrument: Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR)
Mode: WSM
Acquisition date: 12 March 2003
Orbit number: 5385Orbit
direction: Descending
Polarisation: VV
Resolution: 150 metres