Cloud- and night-independent Sentinel-1 C-band confirmation of forest disturbance. Intact forest scatters VV strongly + stably (canopy volume scattering); clearing collapses that term so VV backscatter DROPS ~3-5 dB. Samples VV at a baseline-year July-1 anchor and the latest scene, reports `vv_drop_db = baseline − recent` and a `disturbed` flag when the drop ≥ 3 dB (Reiche et al. 2018, RSE 204:147). Both VV reads are signed Primary facts; the response cites both fact_cids. Honest `inconclusive` when either S1 vintage is unavailable. Source: Microsoft Planetary Computer sentinel-1-rtc (anonymous SAS — no requester-pays, no API key).
When to use: Call to corroborate or scout forest clearing where cloud blocks the optical products — radar sees through cloud and at night, catching wet-season clearing the annual Hansen/JRC-TMF layers and a single cloudy Sentinel-2 pass miss (the gap RADD was meant to fill). This is an ADDITIVE scout signal, NOT a standalone legal verdict: a VV drop can also be transient (soil moisture, harvest, flood recession), so confirm with the optical consensus (`emem_eudr_dds` or `emem_deforestation_alert`) before crediting a decision.
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