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Development of Long-term Environmental Monitoring and Management Systems in the
Mekong River Basin Using RADARSAT Technology
Project Description:
This project builds upon an RUDP project "Using RADARSAT for Improving Fisheries Management
and Food Security in the Mekong River Watershed, Southeast Asia." In this project RADARSAT-2 was
analyzed for its contribution to fisheries habitat assessment. This project builds upon the and
results partnerships developed.
The objectives of this project are:
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To advance preparations for RADARSAT-2 multi-polarization capabilities by using the AIRSAR
data from MRCS as a suitable test bed for assessing and evaluation of cross-polarimetric and
polarimetry data;
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To take a proactive approach to prepare ourselves and our clients currently using RADARSAT-1
data for environmental monitoring and management of wetlands, fisheries habitat, flooding and
agriculture in the Mekong River Basin. We want to be able to maintain continuity of our
services to our clients and continuity of our capability to use RADARSAT-2 multi-pol data as
soon as they become available;
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The combined effort of analyzing experimental SAR polarimetry and C-band cross-pol data and
comparing the results with simultaneously acquired RADARSAT-1 data will provide us and our
clients in SE Asia a firm basis for evaluation of RADARSAT-2 potential in key applications in
tropical environments; and
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The SAR data acquisition, analysis and evaluation effort will concentrate not only on well-
established study areas along the Tonle Sap River in Cambodia, but also include selected sites
for RADARSAT data acquisition in other parts of the Mekong River basin (i.e., the Songkhram
River Basin in Thailand). This approach will broaden the regional-environmental scope of our
work within the mandated area of our client. For our client, the Mekong River Commission
Secretariat, the radar-based environmental monitoring effort represents a truly innovative way to
realize its mandate of up-to-date coverage and geo-spatial information retrieval over the entire
drainage basin, including parts of Thailand, China, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar and Viet
Nam.
RADARSAT-2 Capabilties:
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Multi-polarimetric capabilities
Expected Outcomes:
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Refine the delineation of flooded vegetation using the AIRSAR/RADARSAT-1 data combination.
Flooded forests provided a challenge in the previous project, since it was difficult to clarify the
extent of flooding in these key habitats
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Develop an anchor client for RADARSAT-2 data in the Mekong River Delta through the full
integration of RADARSAT imagery in current and future MRCS projects.
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Understanding of multi-pol potential for environmental applications in tropical regions
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To develop a long-term, sustainable monitoring program for environmental management of flooding, fisheries, wetlands, water management schemes and other land-use practices in the Songkhram River Basin
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