This study focuses on the information content of HH, VV, VH and HV polarized airborne SAR data to evaluate which of these polarizations is more appropriate to facilitate mapping of lineaments and detailed drainage of wadis. It is known that a good knowledge of surficial lineaments and drainage network can help to locate wells and surface water retention dams used for groundwater recharge. The study area is located near the village of Azraq in the semi-arid environment of Eastern Jordan. In Jordan, water availability is a very acute problem as the demand is increasing and reserves are decreasing. A large amount of the water has always been obtained from deep wells but now, the rate of pumping exceeds the rate of replenishment. Additionally, the salinity is getting to a level where it is unsuitable for consumption. The area receives an average of 50 mm of rain a year mostly between October and March. Natural vegetation is very scarce and survives only in the temporary river channels. Since vegetation is very scarce, the water is rapidly evacuated and recharge of the underground water table is minimal. The area has a flat topography with slight depression enabling drainage during the "rainy" season. We use a set of airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images of Eastern Jordan obtained from a survey flown in 1993, as part of the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing's GlobeSAR-1 project. All images were analyzed in order to enhance a maximum of hydrogeological information. Results show that the crossed polarizations images (HV or VH) and to a lesser extent, the HH like polarization images show a good contrast and enough details to permit hydrographic network mapping in the wadi (dry river beds) where a minimum of vegetation is available. The VV polarization is not as sensitive to vegetation

The origins of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission date back to the mid-1970s with the launch of GOES-3 and SEASAT. These missions were then followed in 1992 by the Topex-Poseidon satellite, then by Jason-1 (2001), OSTM/Jason-2 (2008), and Jason 3 (2016), a series of joint satellite missions between NASA and CNES with a goal to monitor global ocean circulation. The proposed new SWOT mission will provide 120-kmwide swath interferometric coverage with a 20-km-wide gap at the nadir. The SWOT measurements will consist of water surface elevations and water surface slopes covering nearly all of the earth's land surface at least once every 21 days. In 2010, NASA invited the Canadian Space Agency to contribute, and Canadian scientists welcomed the invitation to join the SWOT Science Definition Team and contribute to the experiments. The Canadian segment of the mission is known as the "SWOT-C" project. The SWOT satellite mission will provide unique opportunities in the Canadian context for water managers in both the public domain and in the private sector. This paper provides an overview of recent scientific progress by the SWOT-C Terrestrial Hydrology team, outlining current plans and progress towards applications and calibration post-launch.

RESUMEDepuis de nombreuses ennees, les images des domaines visible et infra rouge on ete utilisees avec succes pour la cartographie geologique en environnement aride. Le contenu en information de ces images depend grandement des cerecteristioues spectrales des objets observes. Le Radar aSynthese d'Ouverture (RSO), grace asa sensibilite ala rugosite et a la morphologie de surface, no us fournit un nouvel outil pour entreprendre l'etude de cet environnement. Une image RSO a ete obtenue par le Centre canadien de tetedetection lors d'un survol eeroporte en bande C dans Ie cadre du projet GlobeSAR, en preparation pour RADARSA T. Une image du capteur TM de Landsat a aussi ete obtenue en vue d'une integration avec I'image ROS. De la fusion des deux ensembles de donnees a resuite une image de synergie qui combine la haute resolution spectra Ie et spatiale des donnees originales ce qui rehausse I'information disponible sur ces images. Les objectifs de cette etude sont premierement de tester le potentiel de ces images pour la gestion des ressources naturelles en milieu aride (collecte d'eeu, cartographie geologique, structurale et hydrologique) et deuxiememetit d'eveluer l'utilite de la fusion des donnees pour I'analyse structurale en environnement aride.

The Canadian Space Agency's Hurricane Watch program monitors tropical cyclones worldwide and acquires RADARSAT-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery to provide experimental datasets to the scientific research community interested in surface wind field studies. The current HW archives spans from 1999 to 2006 and contain a variety of tropical cyclones from around the world. The images show various storm development stages, and morphological characteristics. To further promote the initiative, CSA is about to provide processed images to the scientific community through an Announcement of Opportunity. In this paper, we will demonstrate how simulations of extensive acquisition plans over the Atlantic basin can provide an improved planning strategy to increase the number of valuable images.

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