Abstract: Due to the absence of studies related to the digital processing of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images in the semi-arid region of Brazil, the aim of this study was to test different filters for reducing speckle noise in SAR images, serving as a reference for choosing the most suitable filter for different studies in this vegetation. The filters: Gamma Map, Lee Sigma, Median, Frost and Refined Lee in different window sizes were tested on the VV, VH and VH/VV polarizations in the Sentinel-1A images, verifying the responses under the influence of the dry and post-rainy period in the Caatinga vegetation. In the state of Sergipe, Brazil, 30 samples of Caatinga fragments obtained from Sentinel-1A images for the dry and post-rainy season were selected. For all images evaluated, the values of the averages of the equivalent number of looks (ENL) were compared by the Tukey test at 5% significance. The Gamma filter showed the highest amount of means (22) with the highest ENL values, followed by Median (5). The generation of ENL results and their comparison, considering all variables used, was essential to serve as a basis for choosing the filtering method in studies that use data from Sentinel-1A in the Caatinga region.

Abstract This study evaluated feasibility statistically and analyzed, during the freezing period, the relationship between brightness temperature (Tb) data of the 37V polarisation and the GR3719 (Gradient Ratio 37V and 19V) obtained by Special Sensor Microwave/Imager from F11 and F13 satellites with sea ice thickness (SIT) data obtained in the Weddell Sea through Antarctic Sea Ice Processes and Climate program. The multiple linear regression (MLR) was applied at 1,520 points, with 70% of these points being randomly separated to generate the MLR and 30% to carry out the validation. To perform the temporal mapping, the MLR was applied only to pixels with sea ice concentration (SIC) ≥ 90%, obtained through the fraction image calculated from the spectral linear mixing model (SLMM) using the Tb in the channels and polarizations 19H, 19V and 37V. The results of the SLMM validation process for estimating the SIC were σ = 10.5%, RMSE = 11.0%, and bias = -2.8%, and the SIT based on the MLR, the results were R² = 0.57, RMSE = 0.268 m, and bias = 0.103 m. In the SIT mapping, we highlight the trend of thickness reduction on the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula during the period 1992–2009.