Generation of high precision DEMs of the Wadden Sea with airborne interferometric SAR

This paper describes how high-precision digital elevation models (DEMs) are obtained over the Wadden Sea using the AeS-1 airborne interferometric radar. The Wadden Sea is an intertidal zone along the coast having height variations less than 5 m over 30 km and is free of vegetation. The resulting DEM has a grid spacing of 2.5 m and an absolute height accuracy of 5 cm root mean square (rms), as verified by theodolite measurements. This paper describes the radar system, the processing techniques, the test area, the results, and the verification procedure.