Abstract
A highly accurate global topographic map of the Earth’s surface has been an elusive goal for at least three decades that will soon be achieved with the newly acquired Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) data. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in conjunction with the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the US developed SRTM to meet this critical mapping requirement. SRTM collected data for 99.97% of the Earth’s landmass between –57° and 60° latitude during an 11 day mission in February 2000. A modified version of the SIR-C radar that previously flew on the shuttle in 1994 augmented with a radar mounted on a 62 m boom was used to collect radar interferometric data at C (5.6 cm wavelength) and X (3 cm wavelength) bands. The C-band radar was operated in the SCANSAR mode in order to extend the swath width to 225 km, the minimal amount required to achieve contiguous coverage at the equator. By combining the data from both ascending and descending orbits a seamless mosaic of the Earth’s topography will be created. This talk will present a mission overview, how the data was collected and being processed, and show some examples of SRTM data and how it may be used.

Dr. ScottHensley
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Dr. Scott Hensley received his BS degrees in Mathematics and Physics from the University of California at Irvine and his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook where he specialized in the study of differential geometry. Subsequent to graduating, Dr. Hensley worked at Hughes Aircraft Company on a variety of radar systems, including the Magellan radar. In 1992, Dr. Hensley joined the staff of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he studies advanced radar techniques for geophysical applications. His research has involved using both stereo and interferometric data acquired by the Magellan spacecraft at Venus. Dr. Hensley has worked with ERS-1, JERS-1 and SIR-C data for differential interferometry studies of earthquakes and volcanoes. Current research also includes studying the amount of penetration into the vegetation canopy using simultaneous L and C band TOPSAR measurements and repeat pass airborne interferometry data collected at lower frequencies. He is the GeoSAR Project Manager and is currently leading the GeoSAR Processing and Algorithm Development Team for an airborne interferometric radar mapping instrument using X and P-bands for mapping true ground surface heights beneath the vegetation canopy. He is the technical lead of the SRTM Interferometric Processor Development Team that is a shuttle based interferometric radar used to map the Earth’s topography between ±60° latitude.

Contact (252) 335-3696 for more information.

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