GIS and Remote Sensing

Statement of the Problem: Farmers who want to use precision farming technology need a navigation system and an on-board computer to apply fertilizers or other supplies, site specific. Moreover, they need a reliable source of actual and frequent geodata as reference for their management decision. In crop insurance schemes, the claims process is laborious and hence cost intensive. Repeatable results in loss estimation are hard to achieve. Remote sensing technology can help to identify areas within the plots with different gradual change before and after the event. This data can guide the loss adjuster to the relevant spots and later aggregate the loss ratio per area. For claims handling, it is crucial to have a reliable data supply to analyze the change caused by an event. Appropriate Technology: Spaceborne SAR (synthetic aperture radar) data penetrates clouds and guarantees reliable data supply throughout the year. The repetition rate is worldwide 12 days/Europe six days. Sentinel-1 SAR data has a ground resolution of 20x20 m, which is suitable for cropland monitoring. Significance: Sentinel-1 data delivers a C-band radar backscatter in two polarizations. The signal changes according to structure of the surface and humidity in the soil and plants. The two signals have to be transformed into a scale that indicates fresh biomass as proxy for decision making. Moreover, other information like phenological stage of cropland, growth dynamic or crop-type differentiation are valuable information for certain use cases and can be derived from SAR data. Conclusion: Sentinel-1 SAR data can be transformed into map products for specific business processes in the field of precision farming and crop insurance. The same technology can be useful for crop monitoring in the field of disaster management and early warning systems.