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You are here: home | satellites | radarsat1 | early images series
RADARSAT-1

Early Images Series


The images listed along with selected enlargements below are available for viewing. Note that the images have been deliberately sub-sampled so that they are small enough for display on the web. Consequently, the amount of detail visible is drastically reduced from the original data sets. We recommend you use a display monitor with a resolution of at least 600 x 800 pixels with 256 colors to appreciate the remaining detail.

Perth, Australia
St. Lawrence River, Quebec, Canada
Maui, Hawaii
Osaka, Japan
Image of the Flood in Oregon, United States (February 13-14, 1996)
Image of the oil spill in Wales, United Kingdom

Perth, Australia

This RADARSAT image of the west coast of Australia extends approximately 100 kilometres south of Perth, capital Western Australia. The image clearly shows the two dominant landforms in this area, the coastal plains and the uplands of the Darling Range along the right side of the image.

The bright areas along the coast at the top of the image are from the city of Freemantle just south of Perth. A series of round lakes can be seen to the east and south of Freemantle. The two southernmost lakes are Thompson Lake (closest to the coast) and Lake Forrestdale. The causeway to Garden Island from Freemantle is clearly visible as are several jetties in the bay north of Freemantle. South of Freemantle, the cities of Rockingham and Mandurah can also be seen along the coast. The lower half of the image shows a coastline which is largely uninhabited, with low-lying coastal vegetation (grey tones) interspersed with areas of open water (dark tones).

Mode: Standard 7, descending pass
Acquisition Method: Tape
Acquisition Time: 21:23 GMT
Image Centre: South 32º32, East 115º43
Processing: Path image
Nominal Incidence Angle: 47 degrees
Pixel Spacing: 12.5 metres
Image Resolution: 25 metres

Perth, Australia Image Coverage:
Approximately 112 by 231 km 
Image Size: 122 Kb
Perth, Australia Sub-Image Coverage:
Approximately 10 by 10 km 
Sub-Image Size: 211 Kb

© 1995 Canadian Space Agency
Received by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS), and processed and distributed by RADARSAT International (now MDA Geospatial Services).

St. Lawrence River, Quebec, Canada

This portion of a ScanSAR image shows where the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the Gaspé Peninsula. It covers an area of about 140 by 159 km. The original ScanSAR scene was 300 km square.

The image shows the landforms on either side of the St. Lawrence. Thicker river ice is compressed along the north shore of the Gaspé Peninsula. In the water to the north, strips and patches of newly formed ice can be seen.

Saint-Lawrence River, Québec, Canada

Image Size: 129 Kb

Mode: ScanSAR Narrow A
Acquisition Method: Real time
Acquisition Date: January 21, 1996
Acquisition Time: 21:23 GMT
Processing: Path image
Nominal Incidence Angle: 20-40 degrees
Pixel Spacing: 25 metres
Image Resolution: 50 metres

© 1995 Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Image received by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS),
and processed and distributed by RADARSAT International (now MDA Geospatial Services).

DISCLAIMER: This data was obtained during the Commissioning Phase and may not be representative of data collected during the Operational Phase.

 

Maui, Hawaii

This first RADARSAT image of the Hawaiian Islands was acquired by the Canadian Space Agency to support the opening activities of the Pacific Disaster Center on Maui, Hawaii, February 21 to 23, 1996. This image was acquired on 10 February 1996, 06:08 hours, local Hawaii time, received by the Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing, and processed by RADARSAT International.

The Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) is a cooperative United States federal and State initiative, with a mandate to bring new resources to emergency management, which could be supported by RADARSAT's international partners: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA), and/or RADARSAT International (now MDA Geospatial Services).

The Maui image features the Haleakala Volcano near the center of island along with evidence of previous lava flows toward the ocean.

Two features can be seen to the south (beneath) of the island may be coral reefs, but this is unconfirmed.

On a subsequent pass, RADARSAT collected additional data in Fine Beam 5. Shown here is an enlargement of the Kahului Airport, in the northwest portion of the island.

  Maui Airport
Mode: Standard 7, descending pass Fine 5, descending pass
Acquisition Method: Tape Tape
Acquisition Date: February 10, 1996 February 17, 1996
Acquisition Time: 16:08 GMT 04:40 GMT
Processing: Path image Path image
Nominal Incidence Angle: 45-49 degrees 45-48 degrees
Pixel Spacing: 12.5 metres 6.25 metres
Image Resolution: 25 metres 8 metres
Number of Azimuth Looks: 4 1


Maui, Hawaii
Image Size: 224 Kb
Maui, Hawaii
Image Size: 314 Kb


Osaka, Japan

This Standard beam mode (S3) image was acquired using one of RADARSAT'S two on-board tape recorders in the vicinity of Osaka and Kobe, Japan. The water body (nearly black) is Osaka Bay with Kobe visible along the top shore and Osaka to the right. The two reclaimed islands visible near Kobe were severely damaged during the January 17, 1995 earthquake. There is a distinct contrast between the urban areas and the steeper mountainous terrain which appears as darker tones along the north (upper) shore of Osaka Bay. There are many ships in Osaka Bay.

Mode: Standard Mode 3
Acquisition Method: Tape
Image resolution: 25 metres


Osaka, Japon
Image Coverage:
Approximately 132 by 148 km
Image Size: 122 Kb

HARBOUR
HARBOUR
Sub-Image Coverage:
Approximately 10 by 10 km 
Sub-Image Size: 248 Kb
 
BRIDGE
BRIDGE
Sub-Image Coverage:
About 7 by 7 km
Sub-Image Size: 204 Kb
JETTY
JETTY
Sub-Image Coverage:
About 7 by 7 km
Sub-Image Size: 95 Kb


Oregon, United States

During Flooding

The first image (left) near Portland Oregon was taken February 13, just following the peak of the flood. It shows portions of the Columbia River and the nearby flooded areas.

Post Flooding

The second image (right ) was taken on February 14, of areas which appear to have been damaged by the flood waters.

  During Flood State Post Flood State
Mode: Standard 1, Descending Pass Standard 4, descending pass
Acquisition Method: Real time Real time
Acquisition Date: February 13, 1996 February 14, 1996
Acquisition Time: 14:31 GMT 14:04 GMT
Processing: Pathimage Path image
Nominal Incidence Angle: 20-27 degrees 34-40 degrees
Pixel Spacing: 12.5 metres 12.5 metres
Image Resolution: 25 metres 25 metres
Number of Azimuth Looks: 4 4


Oregon, United States
Image Size: 296 Kb
Oregon, United States
Sub-Image Size: 211 Kb

© 1995 Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Image received by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS), and processed and distributed by RADARSAT International (now MDA Geospatial Services).

DISCLAIMER: This data was obtained during the Commissioning Phase and may not be representative of data collected during the Operational Phase.



Wales, United Kingdom

This area shows the coast of Wales shortly after the oil tanker began leaking. The tanker has been moved to the port facilities at the river's mouth.

Wales, United Kingdom
Image Size:
Approximately 212 Kb

Mode: Standard 1, descending pass
Acquisition Method: Tape
Acquisition Date: February 22, 1996
Processing: Path image
Nominal Incidence Angle: 20-27 degrees
Pixel Spacing: 12.5 metres
Image Resolution: 25 metres
Number of Azimuth Looks: 4

© 1995 Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Image received by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS), and processed and distributed by RADARSAT International (now MDA Geospatial Services).

DISCLAIMER: This data was obtained during the Commissioning Phase and may not be representative of data collected during the Operational Phase.

 

Updated: 1999/02/25 Important Notices