Gedi and Tandem-X Fusion for 3D Forest Structure Parameter Retrieval

Three dimensional forest structure parameters are important components for understanding of the global forest carbon storage and cycle, as well as climate changes. Polarimetric SAR Interferometry (Pol-InSAR) techniques and waveform lidar have been widely and successfully used for extracting 3D forest structure profiles by means of both SAR and lidar airborne systems, but individually. Fusing both spaceborne SAR and lidar data sets and developing new merging algorithms are critical to measure global forest biomass and to understand terrestrial carbon dynamics. We have used GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigator) simulation data from NASA's LVIS (Land, Vegetation, and ICE sensor) and spaceborne SAR data from DLR's TanDEM-X at HH polarization over NASA AfriSAR campaign test sites, Gabon.