ACRES Radarsat Synthetic Aperture Radar Data

Note: This metadata describes the dataset in accordance with the ANZLIC (Australia New Zealand Land Information Council) Core Metadata Guidelines Version 2.

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Dataset citation

ANZLIC unique identifier: ANZCW0703005543

Title: ACRES Radarsat Synthetic Aperture Radar Data

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Custodian

Custodian: Geoscience Australia

Jurisdiction: Australia

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The RADARSAT satellite was developed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and was launched on 4 November 1995. It has a C-band, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor on board. The SAR is an active microwave sensor capable of imaging earth resource targets regardless of time of day, cloud, haze or smoke cover of an area. The instrument is classified "active" as it emits the energy necessary to image the earth's surface. In contrast, "passive" or "optical" sensors rely on the sun's reflected energy to image the earth. This sensor can operate in a variety of imaging modes to suit a range of applications. Depending on the beam mode, the SAR ground swath widith varies between 50 and 500 kilometres, and the pixel resolution varies between 10 and 100 metres. The sensor has HH polarisation.

ANZLIC search words:

PHOTOGRAPHY AND IMAGERY Maps
PHOTOGRAPHY AND IMAGERY Remote Sensing Maps
PHOTOGRAPHY AND IMAGERY Satellite Maps

Spatial domain:

locality map

Geographic extent name: AUSTRALIA INCLUDING EXTERNAL TERRITORIES - AUSAAT - Australia - Australia

Geographic extent polygon: 45 -9, 168 -9, 168 -90, 45 -90, 45 -9,

Note: The format for each Geographic extent name is: Name - Identifier - Category - Jurisdiction (as appropriate) See GEN Register

Geographic bounding box:: North bounding latitude: -9 °; South bounding latitude: -90 °; East bounding longitude: 168 °; West bounding longitude: 45 °

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Data currency

Beginning date: 1997-08-26

Ending date: Not Known

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Dataset status

Progress: In Progress

Maintenance and update frequency: Continual

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Access

Stored data format:: DIGITAL - Sat.image Satellite imagery

Available format type:: DIGITAL - Sat.image Satellite imagery

Access constraints:

The data are subject to Commonwealth of Australia Copyright. A licence agreement is required and a licence fee is also applicable.

Order Product

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Data quality

Lineage:

The RADARSAT data set is acquired by earth orbiting remote sensing satellites. These satellites carry two types of sensor systems known as "active" and "passive". The RADARSAT instrument is classified as "active" as it emits the energy necessary to image the earth's surface. The digital data acquired by the satellites are transmitted to ground stations and can be used to reconstitute an image of the Earth's surface not too dissimilar to an aerial photograph. Data are received through the ACRES antenna at the Data Acquisition Facility at Alice Springs enabling coverage of the Australian landmass. The recorded data are air-freighted daily to the Data Processing Facility in Canberra where it is catalogued and archived.

Data are provided as hard copy photographic data products, or as digital data products which can be viewed and manipulated on a variety of software systems. However, the data transmitted to Earth from an Earth observation satellite are in a form unsuitable for use by customers so ACRES processes this raw data in varying degrees to produce products suitable for use by clients. ACRES only processes the data after a client has placed an order for a specific product. This is due to the large quantities of data received from a satellite and the large range of product options available.

Positional accuracy:

Within 1km

Attribute accuracy:

Not Relevant

Logical Consistency:

As the data is acquired in seamless north-south paths (swaths) each path is internally consistent. However, paths are acquired on different dates and while paths can be joined to cover larger areas, changes in ground conditions between acquisition dates may be apparent in the resulting mosaic.

Completeness:

A background archive is programmed with specific images acquired on request.

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Contact information

Contact organisation: Geoscience Australia (GA)
Contact position: Director, Sales and Distribution, ISB
Mail address: GPO Box 378
Mail address:
Locality: Canberra
State: ACT
Country: Australia
Postcode: 2601
Telephone: +61 2 6249 9966
Facsimile: +61 2 6249 9960
Electronic mail address: sales@ga.gov.au

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Metadata information

Metadata date: 2009-03-31

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Additional metadata

Metadata reference XHTML: http://www.ga.gov.au/meta/ANZCW0703005543.html

Metadata reference XML: http://www.ga.gov.au/meta/ANZCW0703005543.xml

Size of dataset: Image sizes vary from 110Mb for Extended High Beam to 445Mb for Wide Beam.

Scale/resolution: RADARSAT have a nominal pixel resolution that varies between 10 and 100 metres, depending on the beam mode selected.

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