CoSAR: Geometrical analysis and image formation assessment

Correlating SAR (CoSAR) is an innovative remote sensing concept which delivers large-scale coverage of ocean surfaces with a high repeat cycle. The main specific measurements provided by CoSAR are estimates of the normalised radar cross section (NRCS), Doppler shifts, and surface topography with higher resolution than microwave radiometers and larger coverage than state-of-The-Art LEO SAR constellations. This paper analyses the specific geometrical characteristics of CoSAR surveys, keeping an eye in the future development of efficient CoSAR image formation approaches. Far from being foreign to SAR, the paper will show that CoSAR image formation can benefit from the available knowledge in efficient bistatic and multistatic SAR image formation approaches.