• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.108-116
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• 2006

Purpose : High-resolution spiral-scan imaging is performed at 3 Tesla MRI system. Since the gradient waveforms for the spiral-scan imaging have lower slopes than those for the Echo Planar Imaging (EPI), they can be implemented with the gradient systems having lower slew rates. The spiral-scan imaging also involves less eddy currents due to the smooth gradient waveforms. The spiral-scan imaging method does not suffer from high specific absorption rate (SAR), which is one of the main obstacles in high field imaging for rf echo-based fast imaging methods such as fast spin echo techniques. Thus, the spiral-scan imaging has a great potential for the high-speed imaging in high magnetic fields. In this paper, we presented various high-resolution images obtained by the spiral-scan methods at 3T MRI system for various applications. Materials and Methods : High-resolution spiral-scan imaging technique is implemented at 3T whole body MRI system. An efficient and fast higher-order shimming technique is developed to reduce the inhomogeneity, and the single-shot and interleaved spiral-scan imaging methods are developed. Spin-echo and gradient-echo based spiral-scan imaging methods are implemented, and image contrast and signal-tonoise ratio are controlled by the echo time, repetition time, and the rf flip angles. Results : Spiral-scan images having various resolutions are obtained at 3T MRI system. Since the absolute magnitude of the inhomogeneity is increasing in higher magnetic fields, higher order shimming to reduce the inhomogeneity becomes more important. A fast shimming technique in which axial, sagittal, and coronal sectional inhomogeneity maps are obtained in one scan is developed, and the shimming method based on the analysis of spherical harmonics of the inhomogeneity map is applied. For phantom and invivo head imaging, image matrix size of about $100{\times}100$ is obtained by a single-shot spiral-scan imaging, and a matrix size of $256{\times}256$ is obtained by the interleaved spiral-scan imaging with the number of interleaves of from 6 to 12. Conclusion : High field imaging becomes increasingly important due to the improved signal-to-noise ratio, larger spectral separation, and the higher BOLD-based contrast. The increasing SAR is, however, a limiting factor in high field imaging. Since the spiral-scan imaging has a very low SAR, and lower hardware requirements for the implementation of the technique compared to EPI, it is suitable for a rapid imaging in high fields. In this paper, the spiral-scan imaging with various resolutions from $100{\times}100$ to $256{\times}256$ by controlling the number of interleaves are developed for the high-speed imaging in high magnetic fields.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.141-151
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• 2019

In this study, we propose a performance analysis of a quadrature-polarimetric(quad-pol) synthetic aperture radar(SAR) system for wide-swath operation mode and compare it with a single-pol system based on the operation mode. To achieve a shorter revisit time for an SAR satellite, we must observe a wide area, and two SAR operation modes exist for this purpose, which are called ScanSAR and SweepSAR. In general, a quad-pol SAR system can obtain a greater variety of information about a target than a single-pol system. Because this system affects system performance parameters, analyzing these effects is required. Based on a performance analysis of the wide-swath quad-pol SAR system, the system parameters and appropriate operation mode can be selected to satisfy the performance requirements.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.1343-1345
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• 2003

An internal wave observation experiment by SAR in South China Sea is described. Two scenes of Radarsat ScanSAR images were acquired. Internal solitary waves are found in all the two images. It is concluded that these internal waves are generated in Bashi channel. Relationship between internal wave generation and tide is studied based on analyzing of tidal data of Legaspi in Philippine. Using ocean environmental data of this sea area internal waves’ amplitude and wave speed are detected by SAR images.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.5_1
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• pp.447-460
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• 2022

It is well known that satellite synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) has been widely used for the observation of surface displacement owing to earthquakes, volcanoes, and subsidence very precisely. In wetlands where vegetation exists on the surface of the water, it is possible to create a water level change map with high spatial resolution over a wide area using the InSAR technique. Currently, a number of imaging radar satellites are in operation, and most of them support a ScanSAR mode observation to gather information over a large area at once. The Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta (CGSM) wetland, located in northern Colombia, is a vast wetland developed along the Caribbean coast. The CGSM wetlands face serious environmental threats from human activities such as reclamation for agricultural uses and residential purposes as well as natural causes such as sea level rise owing to climate change. Various restoration and protection plans have been conducted to conserve these invaluable environments in recognition of the ecological importance of the CGSM wetlands. Monitoring of water level changes in wetland is very important resources to understand the hydrologic characteristics and the in-situ water level gauge stations are usually utilized to measure the water level. Although it can provide very good temporal resolution of water level information, it is limited to fully understand flow pattern owing to its very coarse spatial resolution. In this study, we evaluate the L-band ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 ScanSAR mode to observe the water level change over the wide wetland area using the radar interferometric technique. In order to assess the quality of the interferometric product in the aspect of spatial resolution and coherence, we also utilized ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 stripmap high-resolution mode observations.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 1999.11a
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• pp.148-153
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• 1999

Baikdu-san was a very active volcano during the Cenozoic era and is believed to be formed in late Cenozoic era. Recently it was also reported that there was a major eruption in or around 1002 A.D. and there are evidences which indicate that it is still an active volcano and a potential volcanic hazard. Remote sensing techniques have been widely used to monitor various natural hazards, including volcanic hazards. However, during an active volcanic eruption, volcanic ash can basically cover the sky and often blocks the solar radiation preventing any use of optical sensors. Synthetic aperture radar(SAR) is an ideal tool to monitor the volcanic activities and lava flows, because the wavelength of the microwave signal is considerably longer that the average volcanic ash particle size. In this study we have utilized several sets of SAR data to evaluate the utility of the space-borne SAR system. The data sets include JERS-1(L-band) SAR, and RADARSAT(C-band) data which included both standard mode and the ScanSAR mode data sets. We also utilized several sets of auxiliary data such as local geological maps and JERS-1 OPS data. The routine preprocessing and image processing steps were applied to these data sets before any attempts of classifying and mapping surface geological features. Although we computed sigma nought ($\sigma$$^{0}$) values far the standard mode RADARSAT data, the utility of sigma nought image was minimal in this study. Application of various types of classification algorithms to identify and map several stages of volcanic flows was not very successful. Although this research is still in progress, the following preliminary conclusions could be made: (1) sigma nought (RADARSAT standard mode data) and DN (JERS-1 SAR and RADARSAT ScanSAR data) have limited usefulness for distinguishing early basalt lava flows from late trachyte flows or later trachyte flows from the old basement granitic rocks around Baikdu-san volcano, (2) surface geological structure features such as several faults and volcanic lava flow channels can easily be identified and mapped, and (3) routine application of unsupervised classification methods cannot be used for mapping any types of surface lava flow patterns.

• Journal of Satellite, Information and Communications
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.74-79
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• 2014

Conventional ScanSAR mode has been adopted in Envisat or Radarsat and played an important role to acquire wide swath SAR images for environmental surveillance. However, it suffers from the undesirable scalloping effect caused by non-homogeneity of antenna pattern while the image resolution is sacrificed. In recent years, TOPS mode has been suggested and put into use to overcome the disadvantages of the conventional scanning mode. Although TOPS mode is able to produce wide-swath SAR image in a short time interval, it demands highly complicated system design knowledge. In this paper, we present the operation principle of TOPS mode and a full SAR simulation is performed to generate TOPS SAR raw data. Azimuth antenna pattern is modified during TOPS mode operation and it is shown that the undesired scalloping effect is suppressed in the generated SAR image.

• Journal of electromagnetic engineering and science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.199-205
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• 2018

In this study, an imaging mode of the modified SweepSAR is proposed with performance analysis for a high-resolution and wide swath coverage. To reduce the overall antenna size required for the solution of the azimuth ambiguity problem, different pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) are utilized for different transmitters, respectively. For each imaging mode, system performance parameters are used for simulation, analysis, wide swath prediction, and comparison between conventional ScanSAR mode and SweepSAR mode based on scanon-receive (SCORE). The system parameters of AASR, RASR, and NESZ will be estimated and suggested on the imaging mode by using appropriate reflector antenna with the effectiveness of a modified SweepSAR employing dual channels.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.308-313
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• 2013

In this paper, we measured specific absorption rate (SAR) using characteristic variables such as flip angle, repetition time (TR) and echo time (TE) at magnetic resonance imaging. The subject was applied to same scan technique from body weight 10 kg to 90 kg, were measured for the average SAR and the peak SAR values according to the change of parameter. SAR with different body weight levels was not seen a significant change at TE but it increased in the larger flip angle and the shorter TR. SAR value was within the limits of human head acceptable standard and SNR in segmental body weights was not proportional to the increase of body weights. In conclusion, this study can be helpful for diagnosis by using appropriate parameters which obtained the various contrast and SNR.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• v.2
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• pp.985-988
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• 2006

Oil spills cause huge material damage. Oil and oil products spills may occur at any stage of the offshore oil production and transportation cycle. Therefore taking into account the current trends of oil production, the task of creating a system for shelf and tank fleet monitoring becomes very crucial today. This document describes the technology being implemented to improve oil spill monitoring and surveillance, to ensure SAR data fast acquisition and processing and to develop geographic information systems in support of spill response decision making. The results of technology implementation are also presented below.

• Proceedings of the International Union of Geodesy And Geophysics Korea Journal of Geophysical Research Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.14-14
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• 2003

SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) is an imaging radar which can scan and image Earth System targets without solar illumination. Most Earth observation Shh systems operate in X-, C-, S-, L-, and P-band frequencies, where the shortest wavelength is approximately 1.5 cm. This means that most opaque objects in the SAR signal path become transparent and SAR systems can image the planetary surface targets without sunlight and through rain, snow and/or even volcanic ash clouds. Most conventional SAR systems in operation, including the Canada's RADARSAT-1, operate in one frequency and in one polarization. This has resulted in black and with images, with which we are familiar now. However, with the launching of ENVTSAT on March 1 2002, the ASAR system onboard the ENVISAT can image Earth's surface targets with selected polarimetric signals, HH+VV, HH+VH, and VV+HV. In 2004, Canadian Space Agency will launch RADARSAT-II, which is C-band, fully polarimetric HH+VV+VH+HV. Almost same time, the NASDA of Japan will launch ALOS (Advanced land Observation Satellite) which will carry L-band PALSAR system, which is again fully polarimetric. This means that we will have at least three fully polarimetric space-borne SAR system fur civilian operation in less than one year. Are we then ready for this new all weather Earth Observation technology\ulcorner Actual imaging process of a fully polarimetric SAR system is not easy to explain. But, most Earth system scientists, including geologists, are familiar with polarization microscopes and other polarization effects in nature. The spatial resolution of the new generation of SAR systems have also been steadily increased, almost to the limit of highest optical resolution. In this talk some new applications how they are used for Earth system observation purpose.