1. Tandem-L: A Mission Proposal for Monitoring
Dynamic Earth Processes
A. Moreira, G. Krieger, M. Younis, I. Hajnsek , K. Papathanassiou,
M. Eineder, P. Dekker, F. De Zan
German Aerospace Center (DLR)

2. Dynamic Processes on the Earth Surface
Deforestation, Degradation, Fires* (REDD)
Forest Biomasse Change*
Biodiversity
Earthquakes
Volcanic Activities
Land Slides
Sea Ice Extent*
Permafrost*
Glacier & Ice Cap Dynamics*
Soil Moisture*
Flooding
*) Essential Climate
Ocean Currents*
Variables

3. Carbon Balance and Vegetation
The terrestrial carbon is the greatest unknown in the carbon cycle
6.4 ± 0.4
3.2 ± 0.1
Sources
1.6 ± 1.1
Unknown
=Σ
Ocean terrestrial
sink sink
Carbon Fossil Land use
accumulation in fuels change
Sink
the atmosphere
2.2 ± 0.4
2.6 ± 1.7
Numbers in Billions of Tons – Carbon / Year (IPCC)

4. Forest and Carbon
Biomass and the spatial distribution of carbon
(50% of the biomass is Carbon)
Global biomass distribution
and its dynamic are widely
unknown!
Amazon basin
… the estimation ranges from
39 to 93 GtC

5. 3-D Structure Mode
Polarimetric SAR
Polarimetric Backscattering Interferometry
(Pol-InSAR)
3-D Forest Structure
Forest height and Biomass Tomography

6. Forest Height Estimation (3D Structure Mode)
Pol-InSAR Forest Height [m]
Forest Height (in Situ) [m]

7. Traunstein Test Site Forest type Temperate
Topography Moderate slopes
2003 Oct. Height 25 ~ 35m
Species N. Spruce, E. Beech, White Fir
Biomass 40 ~ 450 t/ha
50
40
30
20
10
HV Amplitude Image Pol-InSAR Forest Height Elevation Model
0m

8. Traunstein Test Site
2003 Oct. 2008 June
50
40
30
20
10
0m

9. Biomass Estimation from Combination
Height + Structure of Multiple
Single-Pass
Profile Decomposition Interferograms
(Series Expansion)
f (z) pass 1
Example (Testsite Bayerischer Wald) pass 2

10. Structure - Biomass Allometry H 3
B = 3.11  a P
i =0 j =1
j j
a1 a2 a3
Nationalpark Bayrischer Wald Ebersberger Forst Bürgerwald Traunstein
Three Legendre polynomials explain the 92% of the total biomass !!! VU 10 > Autor Name

11. Dynamic Processes on the Earth Surface
Deforestation, Degradation, Fires* (REDD)
Forest Biomasse Change*
Biodiversity
Earthquakes
Volcanic Activities
Land Slides
Sea Ice Extent*
Permafrost*
Glacier & Ice Cap Dynamics*
Soil Moisture*
Flooding
*) Essential Climate
Ocean Currents*
Variables

12. Deformation Mode   measurement of
Earthquakes deformations of mm – cm
Volcanoes

λ/2 ≈ 12 cm
Subsidence Land & Sea Ice
systematic multi-temporal
acquisitions (image stacks)

13. Cryosphere: Ice Motion and Topography of Glaciers
ICESAT GRACE
15 km track- > 200 km
distance at equator spatial resolution
CryoSAT-2 TanDEM-X
15 km x 250 m 1 year for global
spatial resolution coverage
Tandem-L
Tandem-L provides unique &
complementary information:
• 3D Ice flow
3 – 10 m resolution
weekly coverage • Ice Structure
• DEM
• weekly coverage, high resolution Courtesy: Ian Joughin

14. Hydrosphere: Soil Moisture
SMOS SMAP
50
40
30
35 km resolution 10-40 km resolution
20
10
Tandem-L
Tandem-L provides unique & 0
complementary information:
3 – 10 m resolution [vol.%]
weekly coverage • soil moisture
• water level changes
• river & ocean currents
• weekly coverage & high resolution

15. Mission Concept

16. Radar System Concepts
…at start of DLR/JPL collaboration
Planar Array with Digital Beamforming Reflector with Analog Beamforming

17. Digital Beamforming with Reflector Antennas
digital feed
array with
T/R modules

18. Digital Beamforming with Reflector Antennas
digital feed
array with
T/R modules

19. Digital Beamforming with Reflector Antennas


20. Tandem-L Science Products Resolution Revisit
Forest height
16 days -
Biosphere Above ground biomass 20 - 50 m
seasonal
Vertical forest structure
Plate tectonics
Geo-/ Volcanoes
5 - 100 m weekly
Lithosphere Landslides
Deformation
Glacier flow weekly
Soil moisture weekly
on
Cryo- & Water level change
50 - 500 m demand
Hydrosphere
Snow water equivalent seasonal
Ice structure Change seasonal
Ocean Currents weekly
Global Digital Terrain and surface model 20 - 50 m yearly

21. Dynamic Earth Monitoring and Climate Change
Tandem-L: A proposal for a radar mission for
environmental and climate change research