Can the density of PS over a new site be predicted?
Before a new area is processed, a feasibility study can be carried out, in order to understand how many PS can be retrieved. The land cover, inclination and direction the area looks in relation to the satellite orbit can give an idea of the results. For example, slope areas facing east and west can be easily detected by the satellite signals because they are orthogonal to the satellite path (satellites move in a north-south direction). Areas covered by dense and continuous vegetation will not give any PS. Landslides consisting of rocks or coarse gravel result instead in many scatterer points. A feasibility study can provide the location of all PS retrieved over an area of interest. In order to carry out the study, it is necessary to purchase all radar images and to process them up to the step where the PS locations are found. This procedure has a lower cost than the complete processing.
