The following interpretation results are divided into sub- chapters by country. The coverage area over which images were acquired by the mobile receiving station of Gabon is shown in Figure 3. The visibility circles of Maspalomas and Johannesburg are also indicated. Figure 4 on the next page shows the locations of the scenes that were interpreted.
Figure 3: Coverage of ERS-SAR over Central Africa
Figure 4: Location of interpreted images
For the work discussed here a small number (12) of data sets was interpreted. Generally two images have been used for each application, to demonstrate the capabilities of radar. Using more images over a certain area not only increases the possibility of detecting more objects, but also makes it possible to identify changes in the object, e.g. where a forested surface becomes an agriculture surface.
Data for this current project was only available for one acquisition period, bet we e n July and October 1994.
The strong potential of ERS SAR for multitemporal applications has already been demonstrated by different research and application teams for other regions of the world (more information on this item can be found through the bibliography in the Annex).
The results of image interpretation for certain applications may have been duplicated in some cases through the choice of a country-related approach. On the other hand, this duplication strongly highlights the use of the data for all Central African countries.
Finally, it should be remembered that the image interpretation presented here has been performed without any field verification. Some features might not have been fully understood therefore, and the reader is kindly requested to excuse any such, hopefully minor errors.
SP-1199