Sensor support for synthetic aperture radar sensors

ArcGIS Pro supports synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors and raster datasets with the SAR Source Type. Supported sensor data is treated as a raster layer with radar properties and capabilities. The level of support depends on the sensor.

When SAR data is loaded into ArcGIS Pro, the supported sensor data is rendered using the number of polarizations available. If the sensor data has a single polarization, the data is treated as a single-band raster layer. By default, it is displayed as a single-band raster using the Stretched symbology and Standard Deviation stretch type.

Single polarization
The default rendering for single polarized SAR data is shown.

If the sensor data is dual polarized (either VV, VH or HH, HV), the data is treated as a two-band raster layer and is rendered using RGB symbology. By default, this is displayed as Red = band 1, Green = band 2, and Blue = band 2.

Dual polarization
The default rendering for dual polarized SAR data is shown.

If the sensor data is quad polarized (includes VV, VH, HH, and HV), the data is treated as a four-band raster and is rendered using RGB symbology. By default, this is displayed as Red = band 1, Green = band 2, and Blue = band 3.

Quad polarization
The default rendering for quad polarized SAR data is shown.

When only displaying a single polarization using the Stretched symbology, you can choose one of the following stretch types that is specifically for enhancing SAR visualization:

  • Square Root—A linear stretch is applied on the square root values of the pixels.
  • Logarithm—A linear stretch is applied on the 10log10 values of the pixels.

Note:

Once the dataset has been processed by a tool outside the Synthetic Aperture Radar toolset, it is no longer considered a radar layer since the radar metadata is no longer available.

The tables below list the geoprocessing tools and raster functions that are available for the various SAR sensors. The ability to process the data using specific polarizations is only available through the geoprocessing tools. The first table shows the tools and functions for GRD data. The second table shows the tools and functions for complex data.

Note:

RADARSAT SGX data is similar in functionality to SGF, SCN, SCW, SCF, and SCS data.

SAR tools and functions for GRD

Geoprocessing toolLicenseSentinel-1 GRDICEYE GRDRCM GRDRADARSAT-2 SGXCapella GECCapella GEO

Generate Radiometric Terrain Corrected Data

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYesYes

Download Orbit File

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

Yes

Apply Orbit Correction

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

Yes

Remove Thermal Noise

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYes

Apply Radiometric Calibration

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYesYes

Apply Radiometric Terrain Flattening

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYesYes

Despeckle

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYesYes

Apply Geometric Terrain Correction

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYes

Convert SAR Units

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYesYes

Multilook

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYesYes

Create Color Composite

Desktop BasicYesYesYes

Compute SAR Indices

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYes

Detect Bright Ocean Areas

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYesYes

Detect Dark Ocean Objects

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYesYes

Extract Water

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYesYes
Raster functionLicenseSentinel-1 GRDICEYE GRDRCM GRDRADARSAT-2 SGXCapella GECCapella GEO

Sentinel-1 Thermal Noise Removal

Desktop BasicYes

Sentinel-1 Radiometric Calibration

Desktop BasicYes

Thermal Noise Removal

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYes

Radar Calibration

Desktop BasicYesYesYesYesYesYes

Speckle

Desktop BasicYesYesYesYesYesYes

Terrain Flatten

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

Yes

Unit Conversion

Desktop BasicYesYesYesYesYesYes

Complex

Desktop Basic

SAR Indices

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYes

Create Color Composite

Desktop BasicYesYesYes

SAR tools and functions for complex data

Geoprocessing toolLicenseSentinel-1 SLCICEYE SICDRCM SLCRADARSAT-2 SLCCapella SICD

Generate Radiometric Terrain Corrected Data

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYes

Download Orbit File

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

Yes

Apply Orbit Correction

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

Yes

Remove Thermal Noise

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYes

Apply Coregistration

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYes

Apply Radiometric Calibration

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYes

Apply Radiometric Terrain Flattening

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYes

Compute Coherence

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYes

Deburst

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

Yes

Despeckle

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYes

Apply Geometric Terrain Correction

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYes

Convert SAR Units

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYes

Multilook

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYes

Create Color Composite

Desktop BasicYesYesYes

Compute SAR Indices

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYes

Detect Bright Ocean Areas

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYes

Detect Dark Ocean Objects

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYes

Extract Water

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYesYesYes
Raster functionLicenseSentinel-1 SLCICEYE SICDRCM SLCRADARSAT-2 SLCCapella SICD

Sentinel-1 Thermal Noise Removal

Desktop BasicYes

Sentinel-1 Radiometric Calibration

Desktop BasicYes

Thermal Noise Removal

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYes

Radar Calibration

Desktop BasicYesYesYesYesYes

Speckle

Desktop BasicYesYesYesYesYes

Terrain Flatten

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

Unit Conversion

Desktop BasicYesYesYesYesYes

Complex

Desktop BasicYesYesYesYesYes

SAR Indices

ArcGIS Image Analyst extension

YesYesYes

Create Color Composite

Desktop BasicYesYesYes

Related topics