Abstract
In the diverse applications of polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems, it is a crucial to conduct polarimetric calibration, which aims to remove the radar system distortion effects prior to utilizing polarimetric SAR observations. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of different polarimetric calibration methods. Two widely used methods, the Van Zyl and Quegan methods, and one recently proposed method, such as the Villa method, have been selected among various calibration methods in literature. The selected methods have basic differences in their assumptions that are applied to the polarimetric system model. In order to evaluate the calibration performances under different system parameters and ground characteristics, comparative analysis of the calibration results were conducted on synthetic polarimetric SAR data and ALOS PALSAR quad-pol mode data. Based on the experimental results, the advantages and limitations of different methods were clarified, and a simple hybrid calibration method is presented to further improve the polarimetric calibration performance.
Highlights
Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) measures the vector scattering information of the target, and provides better characterization of the geo- and bio-physical properties of the Earth’s surface
Without the radar system symmetry assumption, the Quegan method [3] assumes the general system model, which can be rewritten in a vector form that is equivalent to Equation (4)
The polarimetric system model in the Villa method [7] is commenced from the general system model without the symmetry assumption of the radar system given in Equation (2)
Summary
Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) measures the vector scattering information of the target, and provides better characterization of the geo- and bio-physical properties of the Earth’s surface. One of the pioneering works was proposed by Van Zyl [1] He proposed a calibration method to solve radar system equations based on the natural scatterers’ reflection symmetry assumption and the monostatic radar symmetry assumption. Quegan [3] proposed a non-iterative algorithm without radar symmetry assumption. This method has been used for calibrating air-borne [4] and space-borne [5] polarimetric SAR systems with some modifications. A calibration method based on the covariance matching estimation technique was proposed by Villa et al [7] It provides a calibration method with numerical optimization, which permits distortion parameters to be obtained without symmetry assumptions of the radar system
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
