POLARIMETRY SESSION
Morning, 2 April 2001
Chair : Wolfgang-Martin Boerner
Co-chair : Francesco Mattia
The Glen Affric Radar Project - Investigating Applications of Polarimetric SAR Interferometry
Iain Woodhouse (1), Shane Cloude (2), Kostas Papathanassiou (2), Juan Suarez-Minguez (3), Joe Hope (4),
Patrick Osborne (4), and Gary Wright (5)
(1) Department of Geography, The University of Edinburgh
Drummond Street, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, Scotland, United Kingdom, Email :
(2) Fluid Gravity and Applied Electromagnetics Ltd.
83 Market St, St Andrews, KY16 9NX, United Kingdom, Email :
(3) Northern Research Station, Forest Research, Forestry Commission
Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9SY, United Kingdom, Email :
(4) Department of Environmental Science, University of Stirling
Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotland, United Kingdom, Email :
(5) Macaulay Land Use Research Institute
Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, Scotland, United Kingdom, Email :
As part of the NERC/BNSC SAR and Hyperspectral Airoborne Campaign (SHAC) in June 2000, the DLR E-SAR acquired data over Glen Affric in Northern Scotland. The data comprises fully polarimetric L-band SAR data in repeat-pass interferometry mode with two baselines, and two look directions. The Glen Affric data set is unique within the UK in that it contains polarimetric and multi-baseline interferometric L-band data in an area of varied topography and heterogeneous landscape. One of the aims of this project is to validate current algorithms for deriving surface topography and tree height in such areas.
Glen Affric is one of the most important landscapes in the British Isles as it contains one of the most extensive and intact remnants of native Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) woodland. For this reason, it is the subject of extensive research in forestry, landscape ecology and woodland regeneration by members of the research team and the SHAC data will provide useful input into these studies.
This paper will comprise a description of the Glen Affric dataset, including availability, data quality and calibration, as well as an outline of the field measurements made as part of the ground campaign (which included tree species, tree geometry, and soil moisture). The paper will also describe the first results assessing the accuracy of retrieving tree height, surface topography and species indicators from single-band SAR data.
Towards Recommendations for Partial Polarimetric Architectures in the Frame of Spaceborne SAR Studies
Jean-Claude Souyris (1) and Patrick Imbo (2),(3)
(1) Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES)
18, Avenue Edouard Belin, 31401, Toulouse Cedex 4, France, E-mail (1) :
(2) Centre d'Etudes Spatiales de la BIOsphere (CESBIO)
18 Av. Edouard Belin, UMR 5639 CNES-CNRS-UPS, 31401, Toulouse Cedex 4, France
(3) Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse (ENSEEIHT)
In the frame of next generation space-borne SAR systems studies, the 'assessment of partially versus fully polarimetric SAR images data takes' remains a subject of most concern, as mentioned in the recommendations of CEOS'99 SAR working group. We more particularly investigate here the potentialities of an partial polarimetric architecture for which the data take is restricted to a coherent co-polarization information (no cross-polarization measurement).
Using the Cloude and Pottier decomposition [1] (although we do not discuss its pertinence here), a preliminary work [2] established quantitatively to what extent the estimation of parameters such as the entropy or the average backscattering mechanism parameters were corrupted when HV information is removed. What was shown is that we globally preserve the polarimetric information content, both in the case of model-based canonical cases and of polarimetric L band data. It is particularly true when the local backscattered wave is highly polarized. This suggests that a partial polarimetric architecture of this type (which allows to relax both data volume and power budget) is expected to offer a valuable trade-off between performances and design constraints.
In order to highlight recommendations that will be suggested through this presentation regarding optimal partial polarimetric architectures, results based on full polarimetric spaceborne -L and -C band (10 m resolution class), and airborne -L and -X band (1.5 to 5 m class) data will be presented.
Finally, we shall discuss the possibility of preserving the assets of POL-INSAR technique in the context of partial polarimetry.
[1] S.R. Cloude, E. Pottier. 'An Entropy Based Classification Scheme for Land Applications of Polarimetric SAR' IEEE Trans. Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Vol. 35, no. 1, pp 68-78, 1997.
[2] P. Imbo, J.C. Souyris, 'Assessment of partial polarimetry versus full polarimetry architectures for target analysis', Proceedings EUSAR 2000, Munich, Germany, May 23rd - 25th 2000.
Ship Detection Using Polarimetric SAR - The CRUSADE-2000 Experiment
Robert Hawkins (1), M Yeremy (2), and K. P. Murnaghan (3)
(1) Canada Centre for Remote Sensing
588 Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0Y7, CANADA, Email :
(2) Defence Research Establishment Ottawa
3701 Carling Ave., Nepean, Ontario, K1A 0Z4, CANADA
(3) Isoceles Information Solutins Inc.
Suite 201, Mill Centre, 1128 Church Street
PO Box 189, Manotick, ON, Canada K4M 1A3
This paper describes results from the airborne SAR portion of a ship detection campaign funded by DND and which occurred in March, 2000 off the SE coastal waters of Newfoundland, Canada. The Environment Canada, SAR-580 polarimetric SAR was deployed from St John’s international airport making 6 sorties over ships deployed to an area approximately 60 nm SE of Cape Race. Three ships were formally part of the experiment: The M/V Anne S Pierce, a 116 ft scalloper; The MV Arctic Pride, a 60 ft fishing vessel; and, The HMCS Ville de Quebec, a 436 ft Canadian Navy frigate. These were imaged in a number of incidence and aspect angles over the two week deployment for various sea state and wind conditions. Data calibration was supported by deployment of trihedral corner reflectors and active radar calibrators at the St John’s airport. Results from the experiment include C-band polarimetric signatures of the vessels themselves and the surrounding sea clutter.
On Applying Polarimetric Optimisation to Maximise the Contrast between Magnitudes of Co-polarised Correlations
Francesco Mattia (1), Thuy Le Toan (2), Malcolm Davidson (2), and Shaun Quegan (3)
(1) Istituto di Tecnologia Informatica Spaziale (ITIS), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)
c/o CGS-ASI, Loc. Terlecchia, 75100, Matera, Italy, Email :
(2) Centre d'Etudes Spatiales de la Biosphere (CESBIO), CNES-CNRS-Universite Paul Sabatier
18 Av. E Belin, Bpi 2801, 31401, Toulouse Cedex 4, France, Email :
(3) Sheffield Centre for Earth Observation Science (SCEOS)
Hicks Building, University of Sheffield, S3 7RH, Sheffield, UNITED KINGDOM, Email :
In the past, the polarimetric optimisation theory has been applied to maximise the ratio of backscattering returns from two scattering classes. In SAR applications, such a result may be of great utility to better identify different terrain cover. However, for specific applications such as the discrimination between soil roughness states, previous observations have suggested that a better result is achieved by exploiting the magnitude of co-polarised correlation coefficients than the backscattering coefficients. In this respect, the potential of enhancing the contrast between magnitudes of co-polarised correlations in order to discriminate different land surfaces requires a more systematic assessment.
In this paper, we apply the polarimetric optimisation theory to achieve the maximum contrast between magnitudes of co-polarised correlations from two homogeneous scattering classes. The optimisation problem is cast in the form of a constrained maximisation problem and then solved using the Lagrange multiplier technique.
The results are applied to SIR-C/X-SAR data acquired during the first and second mission over different sites in Europe. In particular, a comparison between the maximum contrast achievable using backscatter returns and magnitudes of co-polarised correlations is carried out.
On the Recovery and the Calibration of ''Fully Polarimetric Scattering Matrix Information'' in POL-D (RP)- IN/TOMO-SAR Imaging : and its air/space-borne application to geo-environmental background validation, stress assesment and stress change monitoring
Wolfgang-Martin Boerner (1), Jong-Sen Lee (2), Dale Schuler (2), Thomas Ainsworth (2), Mitchell Grunes (2), Alberto Moreira (3), Kostas Papathanassiou (3), Irena Hajnsek (3), Andreas Reigber (3), Jakob van Zyl (4), Yun-Jin Kim (4), David Imel (4), Robert Treuhaft (4), Shane Cloude (5), Ernst Krogager (6), Ernst Lueneburg (7), Zbigniew Czyz (8), Eric Pottier (9), Laurent Ferro-Famil (9), Sophie Allain (9), Ridha Touzi (10), Tom Lukowski (10), Terry Pultz (10), Jean-Claude Souyris (11), Patrick Imbo (11), Yoshio Yamaguchi (12), Hiroyoshi Yamada (12), Christiane Schmullius (13), Volker Hochschild (13), Wolfgang-Albert Fluegel (13)
(1) UIC/EECS
M/C 154, 851 So. Morgan Street, SEO-1120, Chicago, IL 60607-7053, USA, Email :
(2) NRL-RSD/ISS, Email :
(3) DLR-HFOP/SAR, Email :
(4) NASA-JPL/RSE, Email :
(5) AEL, Email :
(6) DDRE, Email :
(7) EML, Email :
(8) PIT, Email :
(9) UNIV-RENNES-1/Lab-ART-FRE-CNRS, Email :
(10) CCRS-ESD/SAR-Modeling, Email :
(11) ESA-CNES/SAR, Email :
(12) NU-FE-INFOENG/SAR-VAL/CAL, Email :
(13) FSU-JENA, Email :
The need for implementing high-resolution and high-quality “POL-D (RP)-IN/TOMO-SAR Imagery” in various applications to geo-environmental ground-truth validation, geo-ecological stress assessment and global stress-change monitoring exists worldwide:
* in the arctic tundra for oil spill detection and for oil/gas-pipeline explosion damage mitigation
* in the boreal (Canadian and Eurasian) taiga and forest for forest-fire detection and damage estimation
* the boreal arctic-bound river spring-flood damage assessment (e.g., Red-River-of-the-North annual spring floods)
* the temperate zone agricultural belt soil-parameters estimation and crop-yield predictions
* tropical forest biomass prediction and illegal tropical forest clear cutting damage estimation
* global coastal flood plain deterioration and destruction
* and so on
For proper implementation of existing remote sensing techniques - whether air-borne or space-borne - it was found:
(i) that “hyper-spectral electro-optic air-space-borne imagery” is either insufficient and/or rarely available due to precipitation cover image deterioration;
(ii) that “amplitude-only” and/or “semi-polarimetric” SAR modes do not suffice, and neither does microwave radio-metric imagery
(iii) that “Fully Polarimetric POL-SAR, POL-IN-SAR, POL-TOMO-SAR and its Differential or Repeat-Pass Modes” are strictly required.
As it was demonstrated during the CEOS-SAR WGCV Workshop in Toulouse, the rapid advancement of Fully Polarimetric “POL-D (RP)-IN/TOMO-SAR Imagery” has become an irreversible priority particularly in air-borne multi-modal, multi-band SAR imaging and monitoring systems development. Furthermore, more recent research retreats had, in addition, demonstrated that for space-borne multi-modal and multi-band SAR imaging and monitoring these air-borne techniques apply equally well and must become of top priority in near-future space-borne SAR monitoring systems designs.
In this “Tutorial (Plenary Session) Overview”, the basic polarimetric SAR theory, the pertinent polarimetric and interferometric scattering matrix calibration, and the “POL-D (RP)-IN/TOMO-SAR Image Ground Truth Validation” pre-requisites are succinctly stated as was discussed in [1], [2].
Of specific relevance to the ‘Polarimetry and Interferometry Session’ are Chapters 5 & 6, with [3]
More direct assessments of the shortcomings of incomplete polarimetric SAR Imaging Techniques are contained in the attached Report on Polarimetry and Interferometric Polarimetry of the ESA-CEOS-MRS-99 Workshop, Working Group on Calibration and Validation. In order to demonstrate our findings pertinent “POL-D (RP)-IN/TOMO-SAR Imagery” recovered from the leading air-borne multi-modal SAR systems are selected which clearly show why it is absolutely necessary to become “Fully Polarimetric”! In addition to air-borne multi-modal multi-band SAR imagery also those derived from the L and C band SIR-C/X-SAR imagery are utilized with the aim of proving that multi-band “POL-D (RP)-IN/TOMO-SAR Imaging Systems” covering the “extra-wide-band spectral domain of 100KHz to 100GHz of the electromagnetic spectrum” are required.
Indeed, with the relentlessly increasing stress placed on our terrestrial biosphere, we are in a definite defendable position for requesting additional frequency allocations - periodically spaced throughout 100KHz to 100GHz - for the irreversible development and around the clock deployment of air-borne and space-borne multi-modal SAR sensors. Otherwise, disaster mitigation will not longer be possible in the future. The limited sporadic frequency allocations requested in the “14th CEOS Plenary Document: CEOS/14/DOC/03, 2000 October 06” are not sufficient at all to do the job as encouraging as the proposal seems to be. We require a much more global approach, and we need to raise the question on what is more or equally important to the survival of mankind: (i) the greedy misuse of the available frequency spectrum for the “Global Telecommunications Mafia”, or (ii) the preservation of the terrestrial biosphere? The later requires most urgently access of time shared remote sensing frequency band allocations for the full implementation of multi-band “POL-D (RP)-IN/TOMO-SAR Monitoring” covering the extra-wide-band spectral domain of 100KHz to 100GHz. This is what we need to fight for and for nothing less!
[1] Ryerson, R. A., Editor-in-Chief, MANUAL OF REMOTE SENSING - Third Revised Edition: Vol. 1, Earth Observing Platforms & Sensors (edited by S. A. Morain and A. M. Budge); Vol. 2, Principles and Applications of Imaging Radar (edited by F. M. Henderson and A. J. Lewis); Vol.3, Remote Sensing for the Earth Sciences (edited by A. Rencz), Published in cooperation with ASPRS - the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1998.
[2] Henderson, F. M. and A. J. Lewis, Guest Editors, Principles and Applications of Imaging Radar, Manual of Remote Sensing, Third Edition, Volume 2, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, July 1998 (940p.)
[3] Boerner, W. - M., H. Mott, E. Luneburg, C. Livingston, B. Brisco, R. J. Brown and J. S. Paterson with contributions by S.R. Cloude, E. Krogager, J. S. Lee, D. L. Schuler, J. J. van Zyl, D. Randall P. Budkewitsch and E. Pottier, "Polarimetry in Radar Remote Sensing: Basic and Applied Concepts", Chapter 5 (98p.) in F. M. Henderson, and A.J. Lewis, (eds.), Principles and Applications of Imaging Radar, vol. 2 of Manual of Remote Sensing, (ed. R.A. Reyerson), Third Edition, John Willey & Sons, New York, 1998.
[4] W-M Boerner and J. S. Verdi, Recent Advances in Polarimetric-Interferometric SAR Theory & Technology and its Application, Proc. CEOS SAR Workshop, Toulouse 1999 October 26-29, ESA SP-450, pp 379-396, 2000 March
[5] W-M Boerner, E. Pottier, J-S Lee, R. Touzi and R. N. Treuhaft, Report on Polarimetry & Interferometric Polarimetry, Working Group on Calibration Validation, Session: Polarimetry/Interferometry/Polarimetric SAR Interferometry: Round-Table Discussions, ESA-CEOS-MRS-99 Workshop, Friday 1999 October 29