Switzerland - Rhone Valley and Matterhorn
This multitemporal image shows the Swiss Valais with the
Rhone Valley and part of the southern Alps with the Matterhorn. The elegantly shaped
Gorner Glacier close to Zermatt is visible at the bottom centre, and the beautifully
shaped crests of the Matterhorn would stand out west of it. Sections of the glaciers show
up in yellow because of surface changes during the 3-day observation period, for example
freezing or thawing.
The Swiss Valais with the Rhone valley and part of the
southern Alps with the Matterhorn
Provided by
Mountainous areas are imaged in a very particular way by a
SAR. The instrument actually measures the range from the satellite to each point on the
image, as well as the strength of the backscattered signal. Radar echos from mountain
crests arrive at the sensor before those from the nearby valley bottoms, since the crests
are closer to the satellite. As a result, slopes facing the radar illumination are
shortened and, in extreme cases, inverted. This "layover area" is black because
the image is displayed as a negative. Special processing (terrain-corrected geocoding) can
restitute the shape of the mountains.
- Multitemporal, artificially coloured image
- Acquired at Fucino on 30 July 1991 and 2 August 1991
- Area covered 62.5 km x 62.5 km.
Keywords: ESA European
Space Agency - Agence spatiale europeenne,
observation de la terre, earth observation,
satellite remote sensing,
teledetection, geophysique, altimetrie, radar,
chimique atmospherique, geophysics, altimetry, radar,
atmospheric chemistry
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