RADARSAT-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar Images Research Articles

Automatic detection and tracking polar lows from synthetic aperture radar and radiometer observations

ABSTRACT Polar lows are small, high-latitude, intense maritime cyclones and frequently have severe impacts on the ocean such as strong winds, high waves and heavy rainfall. They are difficult to observe and forecast due to their short lifetime (<48 hours), small horizontal scales (200 ~ 1000 km), and the sparse synoptic observing network that exists in the subarctic and Arctic oceans. Previous studies have identified and monitored polar lows by visual analysis of visible and thermal infrared imagery from satellites. However, this manual inspection method is subjective, time-consuming and inevitably involves errors in polar low detections. In this study, we present an automatic objective procedure which we demonstrate by detecting polar lows using spaceborne active synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and passive microwave radiometer observations. Based on the marker-controlled watershed segmentation method and the morphological image thinning algorithm, the centre locations of polar lows are determined using RADARSAT-2 and Sentinel-1A high-resolution SAR images and total atmospheric water vapour content fields from radiometers (AMSR2, SSM/I, GMI, and WindSat). Furthermore, the trajectories of polar lows are constructed, using detected centres from multi-temporal SAR and radiometer observations. Polar low detections are confirmed by high surface wind speeds from SAR, scatterometer, and radiometer data, the presence of cloud vortex signatures visible in MODIS, AVHRR, and VIIRS thermal infrared imagery, as well as the difference between the sea surface temperature and the air temperature at 500 hPa. These results show that the proposed methods have potential to automatically detect and track polar lows from multisensor data. We also estimate the characteristic parameters of detected polar lows. The diameters, translation speeds, and distances travelled are 189 km and 225 km, 8 m/s and 4.9 m/s, and 318 km and 263 km, respectively.

Numerical Simulation of SAR Image for Sea Surface

Based on the simulated signal, a numerical simulation method of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging for time-varying sea surfaces is proposed, which is helpful to study the SAR imaging mechanism of time-varying sea surfaces so as to better extract ocean wave parameters from SAR images. Not only are the modulation of ocean waves, speckle noise, and temporal decorrelation of the small-scale waves considered, but the velocity bunching (VB) effect caused by the motion of large-scale waves is also effectively added to the simulation of the SAR echo signal. To verify the reliability of the simulation method, the simulated SAR images using the parameters of the RADARSAT-2 SAR, the corresponding wind wave information measured by an in-situ buoy, and the reanalysis wave spectra have been compared with the actual RADARSAT-2 SAR images. The comparisons demonstrate that the characteristics of simulated SAR images, such as the intensity distribution and the image spectra, are consistent with those of actual RADARSAT-2 SAR images. Based on the numerical simulation method proposed by us, SAR images of ocean waves for different marine environments and radar platform parameters are simulated. The imaging results indicate that the texture feature of the wind waves would be severely damaged due to the VB effect, while the texture of swells in the simulated SAR images may not be damaged or even becomes clearer. From the simulated SAR image spectrum, it can be found that the azimuth wavenumber is cut off when the VB effect is considered in the simulation process, and the azimuth cut-off wavelength increases with the range-to-velocity ratio.

IDUDL: Incremental Double Unsupervised Deep Learning Model for Marine Aquaculture SAR Images Segmentation

Marine aquaculture is an important natural resource exploration that requires rational planning to avoid environmental damage. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images are essential in remote sensing to monitor the marine ecological environment. Unsupervised methods provide an adequate solution to avoid the cost of training sample collection. However, unsupervised methods often struggle to discover effective semantic information and incrementally utilize newly acquired data. To address these challenges, this article presents an incremental double unsupervised deep learning (IDUDL) model, which is specially designed to characterize unlabeled marine aquaculture and achieve the results semantically. Based on the idea of alternately generating and updating pseudo-labels, the proposed IDUDL model defines the double neural networks comprised of the feature extraction network (FEN) and the fully convolutional semantic segmentation network (FCSSN). A patch estimation (PE) is proposed to generate pseudo-labels with aquaculture semantic information based on the features extracted by the FEN network. Then, the aquaculture extraction results are obtained by the FCSSN with generated pseudo-labels. After that, the pseudo-labels and extraction results are updated in turns until the pseudo-labels are stable. In addition, due to the unique structure of double neural networks, newly acquired marine aquaculture SAR images can also be added to the pre-trained FCSSN and followed pseudo-labels updated based on the FEN and PE part, which can achieve new data incremental learning without retrained the whole IDUDL model. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach based on two different ways of the marine aquaculture including raft and cage types, which consist of GaoFen-3 (GF-3) and RADARSAT-2 SAR images from the Dalian and Ningde areas, respectively. The incremental experiments are also designed to verify the generalization of the IDUDL model for new obtained marine aquaculture SAR images. The code of this work will be available at https://github. com/fjc1575/Marine-Aquaculture/tree/main/IDUDL for the sake of reproducibility.

Is Radar Phase Information Useful for Sea Ice Detection in the Marginal Ice Zone?

With continuing sea ice reductions in the Arctic, dynamic physical and ecological processes have more active roles compared to the ice-locked, isolated Arctic Ocean of previous decades. To better understand these changes, observations of high-resolution sea ice conditions are needed. Remote sensing is a useful tool for observations in the harsh Arctic environment. For unsupervised ice detection, we demonstrate the promising value of radar phase difference from polarimetric radar measurements in this study, based on full polarimetric complex RADARSAT-2 SAR images in the marginal ice zone. It is demonstrated that the phase difference from co-polarized and cross-polarized synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images show promising capability for high resolution sea ice discrimination from open water. In particular, the phase difference shows superior potential for the detection of frazil ice compared to the traditional methodology based on the radar intensity ratio. The relationship between phase difference and radar incidence angle is also analyzed, as well as the potential influence of high sea state. The new methodology provides an additional tool for ice detection. In order to make the best use of this tool, directions for further studies are discussed for operational ice detection and possible ice classification.

Monitoring of tropical cyclone structures in ten years of RADARSAT-2 SAR images

The cross-polarized synthetic aperture radar (SAR) onboard the RADARSAT-2 satellite has the capability to simultaneously observe the tropical cyclone (TC) structure and ocean surface winds with high spatial resolution of ~1 km and large swath images of ~450 × 450 km. We propose a methodology to extract TC centers, radius of maximum winds, intensities and the azimuthal wave-number one asymmetric surface wind structures from 75 RADARSAT-2 cross-polarized SAR images over the period from 2008 to 2017. We present a quantitative investigation on both the symmetric mean flow and the asymmetries of azimuthal wave-number one in the surface wind fields retrieved from these SAR images. The results demonstrate that the radius of maximum wind decreases as maximum wind increases, which is consistent with the TC dynamic models for axisymmetric convective heating, and that TCs are more asymmetric when they are weak, and close to symmetric when they are strong.

Mid-season Crop Classification Using Dual-, Compact-, and Full-Polarization in Preparation for the Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM)

Despite recent research on the potential of dual- (DP) and full-polarimetry (FP) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data for crop mapping, the capability of compact polarimetry (CP) SAR data has not yet been thoroughly investigated. This is of particular concern, given the availability of such data from RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) shortly. Previous studies have illustrated potential for accurate crop mapping using DP and FP SAR features, yet what contribution each feature makes to the model accuracy is not well investigated. Accordingly, this study examined the potential of the early- to mid-season (i.e., May to July) RADARSAT-2 SAR images for crop mapping in an agricultural region in Manitoba, Canada. Various classification scenarios were defined based on the extracted features from FP SAR data, as well as simulated DP and CP SAR data at two different noise floors. Both overall and individual class accuracies were compared for multi-temporal, multi-polarization SAR data using the pixel- and object-based random forest (RF) classification schemes. The late July C-band SAR observation was the most useful data for crop mapping, but the accuracy of single-date image classification was insufficient. Polarimetric decomposition features extracted from CP and FP SAR data produced relatively equal or slightly better classification accuracies compared to the SAR backscattering intensity features. The RF variable importance analysis revealed features that were sensitive to depolarization due to the volume scattering are the most important FP and CP SAR data. Synergistic use of all features resulted in a marginal improvement in overall classification accuracies, given that several extracted features were highly correlated. A reduction of highly correlated features based on integrating the Spearman correlation coefficient and the RF variable importance analyses boosted the accuracy of crop classification. In particular, overall accuracies of 88.23%, 82.12%, and 77.35% were achieved using the optimized features of FP, CP, and DP SAR data, respectively, using the object-based RF algorithm.

Evaluation of Radarsat-2 quad-pol SAR time-series images for monitoring groundwater irrigation

ABSTRACTGroundwater assists farmers to irrigate crops for fulfilling the crop-water requirement. Indian agriculture system is characterized by three cropping seasons known as Kharif (monsoon), Rabi (post-monsoon) and summer (pre-monsoon). In tropical countries like India, monitoring cropping practices using optical remote sensing during Kharif and Rabi seasons is constraint due to the cloud cover, which can be well addressed by microwave remote sensing. In the proposed research, the strength of C-band polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) time series images were evaluated to classify groundwater irrigated croplands for the Kharif and Rabi cropping seasons of the year 2013. The present study was performed in the Berambadi experimental watershed of Kabini river basin, southern peninsular India. A total of fifteen polarimetric variables were estimated includes four backscattering coefficients (HH, HV, VH, VV) and eleven polarimetric indices for all Radarsat-2 SAR images. The cumulative temporal sum (seasonal and dual-season) of these parameters was supervised classified using Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier with intensive ground observation samples. Classification results using the best equation (highest accuracy and kappa) shows that the Kharif, Rabi and irrigated double croplands are respectively 9.58 km2 (20.6%), 16.14 km2 (34.7%) and 6.22 km2 (13.4%) with a kappa coefficient respectively 0.84, 0.74 and 0.94.

A new method for extracting ship motion parameters in Radarsat-2 SAR imagery

ABSTRACT Traditionally, moving ship detection by Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image is primarily based on the ship wake feature. However, many ship wakes cannot be imaged by SAR owing to changes in imaging conditions, such as the SAR band, polarisation, incident angle, and sea state. In this study, we discovered a unique phenomenon called ‘azimuth tail’ from Radarsat-2 SAR images. Following research and analysis, we determined that the azimuth tail is not manifested as a visible disturbance on sea surface waves. Instead, it is an observation enabled by certain SAR imaging principles. Consequently, we propose a new method for extracting information on moving vessels after a preliminary analysis of the principle of the azimuth tail. The results of experimental analysis of the correctness of the method indicate that the error of the vessel’s velocity from its azimuth tail is less than 20%, and the azimuth tail can be applied to the detection of moving vessels in oceans using Radarsat-2 SAR imagery.

Detecting, mapping and analysing of flood water propagation using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data and GIS: A case study from the Kendrapara District of Orissa State of India

Due to the penetration capacity of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data through clouds and hazy atmospheric circumstances like fog, smog, light rain, mist etc., it has ability to continuous observation of flood events for producing accurate, rapid and cost effective flood mapping. A study using time series RADARSAT SAR images in flood water detection, monitoring of spatial extent and propagation of flood inundation were described and analysed in this paper. The SAR images were first calibrated, geometrically corrected and filtered. Afterward, threshold method was applied to extract the inundated areas from the SAR images. In threshold method, density slicing technique was used to separate the open water and non-water (land) areas from the images. Later, to delineate the actual flooded area, permanent water bodies (e.g. river, lake, ponds etc.) were subtracted from the open water. Flood maps were super-imposed and analysed to find out the nature of spatial extent, duration of flood and to show how flooding spread through time. This study illustrates that the SAR data along with GIS can be used effectively for flood water mapping, monitoring and analysing the propagation of flood water in a flood prone area. Therefore, the findings of this study will help to take initiative to reduce the flood hazard impact and increase the flexibility in the process of flood management.

Effects of changing environmental conditions on synthetic aperture radar backscattering coefficient, scattering mechanisms, and class separability in a forest area

Environmental conditions have considerable effects on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. Therefore, assessing these effects is important for obtaining accurate and reliable results. In this study, three series of RADARSAT-2 SAR images were evaluated. In each of these series, the sensor configuration was fixed, but the environmental conditions differed. The effects of variable environmental conditions were also investigated on co- and cross-polarized backscattering coefficients, Freeman–Durden scattering contributions, and the pedestal height in different classes of a forest area in Ottawa, Ontario. It was observed that the backscattering coefficient of wet snow was up to 2 dB more than that of dry snow. The absence of snow also caused a decrease of up to 3 dB in the surface scattering of ground and up to 5 dB in that of trees. In addition, the backscatter coefficients of ground vegetation, hardwood species, and softwood species were more similar at temperatures below 0°C than those at temperatures above 0°C. Moreover, the pedestal height was generally greater at temperatures above 0°C than at temperatures below 0°C. Finally, the highest class separability was observed when the temperature was at or above 0°C and there was no snow on the ground or trees.

GA-SVM Algorithm for Improving Land-Cover Classification Using SAR and Optical Remote Sensing Data

Multisource remote sensing data have been widely used to improve land-cover classifications. The combination of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and optical imagery can detect different land-cover types, and the use of genetic algorithms (GAs) and support vector machines (SVMs) can lead to improved classifications. Moreover, SVM kernel parameters and feature selection affect the classification accuracy. Thus, a GA was implemented for feature selection and parameter optimization. In this letter, a GA-SVM algorithm was proposed as a method of classifying multifrequency RADARSAT-2 (RS2) SAR images and Thaichote (THEOS) multispectral images. The results of the GA-SVM algorithm were compared with those of the grid search algorithm, a traditional method of parameter searching. The results showed that the GA-SVM algorithm outperformed the grid search approach and provided higher classification accuracy using fewer input features. The images obtained by fusing RS2 data and THEOS data provided high classification accuracy at over 95%. The results showed improved classification accuracy and demonstrated the advantages of using the GA-SVM algorithm, which provided the best accuracy using fewer features.

Détection de Milieux Bâtis à l'Aide d'Images Radar à Synthèse d'Ouverture

COSMO-SkyMed and Radarsat-2 synthetic aperture radar images were used to derive a numerical variable that is related to the proportion of built features in cities and rural environments. The local asymmetry of the backscattering value distributions is quantified for representing the change occurring due to the relative amount of built-up. Correlation of the proposed asymmetry variable is consistently positive in relation to the proportion of built-up land cover described according to four categories. The correlation assessments indicate the successful use of COSMO-SkyMed images acquired from 18.3° and 38.6° incidence angles. A moderate correlation was obtained for the Radarsat-2–derived asymmetry images. The asymmetry variable is likely to help estimate the population of small communities. The analysis results are validated using a sampling of 25 ha unit areas. The case study is provided for regions in Italy and Eastern Canada as part of the projects ISA-2875 and SOARASI-5252.

Rain footprints on C-band synthetic aperture radar images of the ocean - Revisited

It is well known that rain leaves footprints on the sea surface that sometimes become visible on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. Rain cells can easily be detected on SAR images at all radar frequencies when they are associated with a downdraft pattern. But rain cells are not always associated with downdraft and rain can also occur in other forms, as stratified rain, rain bands, and squall lines. It turns out that radar signatures of rain at C-band are much more complex than at L- or X-band radar and that it is particularly difficult to identify unambiguously rain events on C-band SAR images acquired over the ocean. This is because C-band lies in the transition region where raindrops impinging onto the sea surface can increase (usually) or decrease the backscattered radar power and where volume scattering and attenuation by rain drops in the atmosphere are not always negligible (at very high rain rates). In order to get an insight into the physical mechanisms causing the C-band radar signatures of rain, we first revisit results obtained from historic laboratory and field experiments and multi-frequency/multi-polarization SAR data acquired during the SIR-C/X-SAR spaceshuttle mission in 1994. Then we analyze several C-band SAR images acquired by the European satellites Envisat and Sentinel-1A, and the Canadian satellite Radarsat-2 and compare them, whenever possible, with quasi-coincident and collocated weather radar images. The observational data show that, at low to medium rain rates, the main physical mechanism causing C-band radar signatures of rain is Bragg scattering at ring waves generated by the rain drops impinging onto the sea surface, which increase the radar backscatter. However, areas of increased radar backscatter are often accompanied by adjacent areas of decreased radar backscatter, which is due to attenuation of the Bragg waves by turbulence also generated by the impinging rain drops. Furthermore, we present a full-polarimetric Radarsat-2 SAR image of a rain cell together with a polarimetric decomposition analysis, which shows that the C-band radar signature of a rain cell is caused by surface scattering. The observation show that radar signatures of rain cells often contain segments, where the co-polarized as well the cross-polarized radar backscatter are strongly enhanced, which indicates non-Bragg scattering contributions to the scattering process. Furthermore, the polarimetric decomposition analysis shows that the C-band radar signature of a rain cell is dominated by surface scattering. Possible mechanisms, like scattering at splash products, are discussed. Whether the normalized radar cross section (NRCS) due to rain is increased or decreased depends on rain rate, wind speed, incidence angle, and history of the rain event. At low to moderate wind speeds (< 10 ms− 1) and low to medium high rain rates (< 50 mm h− 1), the NRCS is usually increased by up to 8 dB, and at high wind speeds (> 10 m s− 1) and low to high rain rates (but < 50 mm h− 1), the NRCS is usually decreased by up to 3 dB.

Ship Detection in SAR Imagery via Variational Bayesian Inference

In this letter, we propose a novel ship detection method in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery via variational Bayesian inference. First, we establish the ship detection probabilistic model which decomposes the SAR image as the sum of a sparse component associated with ships and a sea clutter component. Then, we introduce hierarchical priors of the latent variables in the model and use variational Bayesian inference to estimate the posterior distributions of the latent variables. The proposed method is an automatic iterative process without any sliding window. Experimental results accomplished over synthetic data and a RADARSAT-2 SAR image demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve state-of-the-art ship detection performance.

Soil Salinity Characterization Using Polarimetric InSAR Coherence: Case Studies in Tunisia and Morocco

The phenomenon of soil salinization in semi-arid regions is getting amplified and accentuated by both anthropogenic practices and climate change. Land salinization mapping and monitoring using conventional strategies are insufficient and difficult. Our work aims to study the potential of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for mapping and monitoring of the spatio-temporal dynamics of soil salinity using interferometry. Our contribution in this paper consists of a statistical relationship that we establish between field salinity measurement and InSAR coherence based on an empirical analysis. For experimental validation, two sites were selected: 1) the region of Mahdia (central Tunisia) and 2) the plain of Tadla (central Morocco). Both sites underwent three ground campaigns simultaneously with three Radarsat-2 SAR image acquisitions. The results show that it is possible to estimate the temporal change in soil electrical conductivity (EC) from SAR images through the InSAR technique. It has been shown that the radar signal is more sensitive to soil salinity in HH polarization using a small incidence angle. However, for the HV polarization, a large angle of incidence is more suitable. This is, under considering the minimal influence of roughness and moisture surfaces, for a given InSAR coherence.

Marine target detection in quad-pol synthetic aperture radar imagery based on the relative phase of cross-polarized channels

A focus on marine target detection in noise corrupted fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is presented. The property of the relative phase between two cross-polar- ized channels reveals that the relative phases evaluated within sea surface area or noise corrupted area are widely spread phase angle region ½−π; π� due to decorrelation effect; however, the rel- ative phases are concentrated to zero and � π for real target and its first-order azimuth ambi- guities (FOAAs), respectively. Exploiting this physical behavior, the reciprocal of the mean square value of the relative phase (RMSRP) is defined as a new parameter for target detection, and the experiments based on fully polarimetric Radarsat-2 SAR images show that the strong noise and the FOAAs can be effectively suppressed in RMSRP image. Meanwhile, validity of the new parameter for target detection is also verified by two typical Radarsat-2 SAR images, in which targets' ambiguities and strong noise are present. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI. (DOI: 10.1117/1.JRS.9

Modeling and Mapping Soil Moisture of Plateau Pasture Using RADARSAT-2 Imagery

Accurate soil moisture retrieval of a large area in high resolution is significant for plateau pasture. The object of this paper is to investigate the estimation of volumetric soil moisture in vegetated areas of plateau pasture using fully polarimetric C-band RADARSAT-2 SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) images. Based on the water cloud model, Chen model, and Dubois model, we proposed two developed algorithms for soil moisture retrieval and validated their performance using experimental data. We eliminated the effect of vegetation cover by using the water cloud model and minimized the effect of soil surface roughness by solving the Dubois equations. Two experimental campaigns were conducted in the Qinghai Lake watershed, northeastern Tibetan Plateau in September 2012 and May 2013, respectively, with simultaneous satellite overpass. Compared with the developed Chen model, the predicted soil moisture given by the developed Dubois model agreed better with field measurements in terms of accuracy and stability. The RMSE, R2, and RPD value of the developed Dubois model were (5.4, 0.8, 1.6) and (3.05, 0.78, 1.74) for the two experiments, respectively. Validation results indicated that the developed Dubois model, needing a minimum of prior information, satisfied the requirement for soil moisture inversion in the study region.

High-Resolution Hurricane Vector Winds from C-Band Dual-Polarization SAR Observations

Abstract This study presents a new approach for retrieving hurricane surface wind vectors utilizing C-band dual-polarization (VV, VH) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations. The copolarized geophysical model function [C-band model 5.N (CMOD5.N)] and a new cross-polarized wind speed retrieval model for dual polarization [C-band cross-polarized ocean surface wind retrieval model for dual-polarization SAR (C-2POD)] are employed to construct a cost function. Minimization of the cost function allows optimum estimates for the wind speeds and directions. The wind direction ambiguities are removed using a parametric two-dimensional sea surface inflow angle model. To evaluate the accuracy of the proposed method, two RADARSAT-2 SAR images of Hurricanes Bill and Bertha are analyzed. The retrieved wind speeds and directions are compared with collocated Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) winds, showing good consistency. Results suggest that the proposed method has good potential to retrieve hurricane surface wind vectors from dual-polarization SAR observations.

Rice biomass retrieval from multitemporal ground-based scatterometer data and RADARSAT-2 images using neural networks

A neural network (NN) algorithm to invert biomass of rice plants using quad-polarization radar datasets of ground-based scatterometer and spaceborne RADARSAT-2 has been studied. The NN is trained with pairs of multipolarization radar backscattering and biomass data. The backscattering data are simulated from a Monte Carlo backscatter model that uses the outputs from a growth model of the rice plant. The growth model is developed from the plant data collected in growing cycles of several years. In addition to producing parameters needed by the backscatter model, the growth model outputs the biomass value of the plant. Multipolarization data collected by a ground-based scatterometer at eight stages during the 2012 growing cycle are input to the NN to invert biomass. Satisfactory results are obtained due to a small root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.477 kg/m 2 and a high correlation coefficient of 0.989 when the inverted and measured biomass values are compared. Finally, RADARSAT-2 synthetic aperture radar images acquired on four different dates during the 2012 growth period are analyzed to delineate rice paddies within the study area and to invert biomass using the NN. Inversion results from the delineated rice paddies are encouraging because the RMSE is 0.582 kg/m 2 and correlation coefficient is 0.983.

Tropical Cyclone Morphology from Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar

In 2008, the Canadian Space Agency sponsored the Radarsat Hurricane Applications Project (RHAP), for researching new developments in the application of Radarsat-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and innovative mapping approaches to better understand the dynamics of tropical cyclone genesis, morphology, and movement. Although tropical cyclones can be detected by many remote sensors, SAR can yield high-resolution (subkilometer) and low-level storm information that cannot be seen below the clouds by other sensors. In addition to the wind field and tropical cyclone eye information, structures associated with atmospheric processes can also be detected by SAR. We have acquired 161 Radarsat-1 SAR images through RHAP between 2001 and 2007. Among these, 73 images show clear tropical cyclone eye structure. In addition, we also acquired 10 images from the European Space Agency's Envisat SAR between 2004 and 2010. Both Atlantic hurricanes and Pacific typhoons are included. In this study, we analyze these 83 (73 Radarsat-1 and 10 Envisat) images with tropical cyclone eye information along with ancillary tropical cyclone intensity information from the archive to generate tropical cyclone morphology statistics. Histograms of wave-number asymmetry and intensity are presented. The statistics show that when the storm has higher intensity, the tropical cyclone eye tends to become more symmetric, and the area of the tropical cyclone eye, defined by the minimum wind area, tends to be smaller. Examples of finescale structures within the tropical cyclone (i.e., eye/eyewall mesovortices, arc clouds, double eyewalls, and abnormally high wind or rain within eyes) are presented and discussed.