Work

Polsartools: A cloud-native python library for processing open polarimetric SAR data at scale

Year: 2026

Type: software-paper

Abstract: The current generation of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite missions, such as NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR), ISRO’s EOS-04, ESA’s BIOMASS, and Sentinel-1, are starting to deliver petabytes of data annually. This volume of open-access SAR data opens up new opportunities for research and applications, but also presents significant software challenges. Traditional tools for working with polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) data are primarily GUI-based, difficult to scale, and unsuited for cloud-native workflows. To address these issues, we introduce polsartools, an open-source Python library designed for scalable and reproducible processing and analysis of PolSAR data. This library is intended for researchers and academicians by supporting a variety of sensors and polarimetric modes. It integrates smoothly with Jupyterbased cloud platforms and produces cloud-optimized formats for downstream applications. This article outlines the architecture, functionality, and design decisions behind polsartools, and offers insight into building modern, domain-specific scientific software that meets the demands of big data and open science.

Source: SoftwareX

DOI: 10.1016/j.softx.2025.102490

Authors: Narayanarao Bhogapurapu, Paul Siqueira, Avik Bhattacharya

Institutions: California Institute of Technology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Language: English

Topic: Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Applications and Techniques

Subfield: Aerospace Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,200

Funder: National Aeronautics and Space Administration