Synthetic Aperture Radar: Hazards

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has launched a MOOC about Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) remote sensing for disaster monitoring. SAR is a remote sensing technology that can see the ground even during darkness and through rain, clouds, or smoke. Participants of the course will gain an intuitive understanding of the information contained in SAR observations and learn to use a range of analysis techniques to apply SAR data to disaster mapping and management. Specific topics will include:

• The mathematical and physical principles of SAR remote sensing
• How to access and visualize SAR data
• Interpretation of SAR images in the context of disaster monitoring
• Interferometric SAR (InSAR) concepts
• Flood mapping and SAR change detection for hazard analysis
• InSAR-based analysis of volcanoes and landslides

The learned concepts will be put into practice in simulated disaster response exercises, in which participants will analyze SAR data sets to create hazard information for several real-life disaster events from the recent past.

The MOOC, which can be accessed for free on the edx platform, is designed to be completed in six weeks with an efforts of around 4-6 hours per week.