RADARSAT-2: Earth observation in action

Ice

The RADARSAT program was born out the need for effective monitoring of Canada's icy waters. Earth observation satellites have an advantage over aerial surveillance missions. Satellites operate day and night in all weather conditions. RADARSAT-2 helps with sea- and river-ice monitoring by using multiple polarization options to better detect ice edges, identify ice types, and study ice structure.

Marine surveillance

Global offshore activities like fishing and oil and gas operations have increased in recent decades. Canada provides radar data to help monitor oceans, including detecting ships, tracking oil spills, and measuring wind and waves. RADARSAT-2's Ultra-Fine beam mode (3 m resolution) improves ship detection and can even help classify vessels.

Disaster management

Radar satellites are crucial in a variety of disaster management scenarios. The coordination of international satellite resources for disaster response efforts is managed by the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters, of which Canada is a founding member and data contributor.

RADARSAT-2 data supports disaster response for events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, landslides, and wildfires. It can complement other sources – mainly RADARSAT Constellation Mission data – to provide near-real-time information, helping relief teams map damage, monitor ongoing impacts, and assess long-term consequences.

RADARSAT-2 data is well understood by partner agencies and its archive is well developed, explaining why it is still provided from time to time for disaster response.

Hydrology

Radar imagery is particularly useful for hydrology because synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can detect differences between water and land surfaces. RADARSAT-2 enhances these capabilities, allowing for more accurate measurement of soil moisture, monitoring and analysis of snow cover, and improved mapping and classification of wetlands.

RADARSAT-2's Ultra-Fine beam mode (3 m resolution) provides detailed images that help map coastlines, tidal areas, near-shore land, and shallow waters.

Mapping

RADARSAT-2 helps map Earth in detail, from surface movements to key features for environmental management and security. Its radar can capture images at different scales and angles, often providing timely data not available from other sources.

Geology

RADARSAT-2 supports geology by helping map onshore and offshore areas, detect oil seeps, and study terrain features like surface roughness. Its ultra-fine resolution and polarimetric capabilities allow more detailed mapping, better identification of structures, and improved understanding of geological formations.

Agriculture

Healthy crops rely on changing soil conditions throughout the growing season. RADARSAT-2 makes it easy to monitor large fields and track changes over time. Its dual- and quad-polarization modes capture multiple types of data in a single image, providing valuable information about crops without needing multiple passes.

Forestry

Satellite imagery provides efficient, wide-area coverage of forests. Canadian radar data, including RADARSAT-2, supports applications such as clear-cut mapping, detecting forest structure, mapping burns, and improving forest-type classification.

Climate change and biodiversity

RADARSAT-2's extensive archive and ongoing background mission acquisition makes it a powerful tool to monitor critical ecosystems around the globe. For example, the Canadian Space Agency's RADARSAT-2 Tropical Forests data access opportunity aims to make a unique, long-term archive of RADARSAT-2 data freely available to scientists and organizations around the world, without commercial intent. Its primary goal is to support the study of the impacts of human activity and climate change on tropical forests – ecosystems that are both critical and highly vulnerable.

Explore further

• RADARSAT data to serve Canadians
• Satellites serving Earth
• Satellites in our everyday lives