The 2-year R&D GEOSAT project is founded by Eni with the aim of supporting the development of an innovative methodology for mapping lithology through Syntetic Aperture Radar flown on-board an aircraft.
This RS tool provides sensitivity to relative permittivity and surface roughness, therefore gathering information on the electromagnetic and morphological features of the targets. Moreover, depending on the frequency, electromagnetic waves may be able to penetrate dense vegetation layers down to the ground, even in presence of dense forest.
The data collected so far as part of the GEOSAT project consist over 60 airborne polarimetric SAR images acquired over the Italian Dolomites. The SAR sensor has been built and operated by MetaSensing. Data analysis is being carried out by the Politecnico di Milano. The frequency of operation has been selected as 1310MHz (L-Band). Such a choice allows the use of compact hardware equipment while granting good penetration capabilities. The use of P band (500MHz frequency) will be investigated during the 1-year extension of the project.