Infoterra's Partner Apogee Imaging International uses cloud-independent acquisitions to assess destructions

A TerraSAR-X ScanSAR image acquired on Feb 11th, 2009 was merged into a composite with a previous image obtained from the TerraSAR-X archive. Comparing the post-fire acquisition to the archive data from the 20th of April 2008 enabled Apogee to extract relevant information on the fire's impact: Changes can be seen in red.

An extract of the composite covers the town of Marysville, where a large part of the infrastructure has been affected by the fire. Wherever buildings have been destroyed due to the spread of debris and defoliation, the post-fire data registers a significant increase in radar backscatter magnitude compared to the archive data: distinct red areas within the township. The town of Buxton, however, has been spared by the disaster.

Optical satellite data acquired the same day proved to be significantly less meaningful, as large parts of the acquired area were covered in clouds.

For further details, please visit www.apogee.com.au