Combination of different SAR modalities for geospatial intelligence applications in a harbor environment

Since the launch of Terrasar-X, Radarsat 2 and the Cosmo-Skymed constellation, spaceborne SAR data with a high spatial resolution have become more readily available, allowing to monitor areas with a high level of human activity independent of weather circumstances. The current paper investigates the use of such data for geospatial intelligence applications in an harbor environment. The applications of interest are change detection and activity monitoring. For the analysis a set of more than twenty datasets from the three above mentioned satellite systems, acquired over a period of 30 days over the sea harbor of Zeebrugge in Belgium is available. Most datasets are high-resolution spotlight mode, but some scansar and full-polarimetric data have also been acquired. In the current paper HiRes spotlight data from the Cosmo-Skymed constellation are used for change detection and activity monitoring in the port.