The SINERGY project (Synthetic aperture lnstrument for Novel Earth Remote-sensed MeteroloGy and ldrologY), active from 2017 to 2018 is funded by the Italian Space Agency in the context of future Earth Explorer missions. SINERGY is a feasibility study on a future SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite that could have a temporal resolution of less than 24 hours; if launched, it would be the first SAR hosted on a geostationary platform in the history of satellite remote sensing.
SINERGY aims to investigate and demonstrate the scientific maturity of geostationary SAR applications in meteorology and hydrology by providing assessments of the potential benefits of any future geostationary SAR satellite for hydrological and meteorological applications. CIMA Research Foundation will develop an hydrological study, with particular reference to the soil moisture levels to understand to what extent the geostationary SAR may be useful for the purpose of surface moisture detection.
To perform this study, two types of data will be used: i) data which is simulated by models; i) data given by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 captured at high angles. These data will evaluate the reliability and accuracy of a geostationary moisture estimate and it will provide guidance on the best measurement configuration between time and space resolution.