I was curious what instruments this use, looks like a special form of radar? Does this mean it effectively gives us very accurate height maps regardless of cloud coverage, and is able to differentiate between what surface material it's seeing?
> Radar instruments can image Earth’s surface through clouds, precipitation, regardless of sunlight, making them particularly well suited for monitoring polar regions. The Sentinel-1C and -1D satellites also carry an Automatic Identification System (AIS) instrument – improving the mission capacity to detect ships and sea pollution. The Sentinel-1D AIS was also activated as the satellite passed over Antarctica capturing the presence of ships in these extreme areas.
> Radar instruments can image Earth’s surface through clouds, precipitation, regardless of sunlight, making them particularly well suited for monitoring polar regions. The Sentinel-1C and -1D satellites also carry an Automatic Identification System (AIS) instrument – improving the mission capacity to detect ships and sea pollution. The Sentinel-1D AIS was also activated as the satellite passed over Antarctica capturing the presence of ships in these extreme areas.