X-band Dual-polarization Research Articles

A coherent dual-polarized radar for studying the ocean environment

The important features of a coherent dual-polarized X-band radar designed to be of instrumentation quality for research use are described. The motivation for building the radar was to quantify the improvements attainable through the use of coherence and polarization in the detection of small floating targets in the presence of sea clutter. Results on the statistics of dual-polarized radar returns from the ocean surface (obtained with this radar at a site on the east coast of Canada) are presented. These results indicate that the K-distribution is very useful for describing the amplitude statistics of sea clutter (both the like- and cross-polarized channels) for low grazing angles. Analysis of the time-varying Doppler spectra of a small ice target and the neighboring sea clutter reveals differing Doppler characteristics, offering improved target detection.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Confusion errors among urban land-cover types on SAR imagery

Abstract Urban land-cover maps were produced by interpreting dual-polarized (HH and HV) X-band synthetic aperture radar imagery of Los Angeles, California. These maps were then registered to and compared with an existing 85-category land-use map of the area to determine: (i) specific points of interpretation error (errors of commission) among the types of land cover; and (ii) differences in detectability and misidentification between polarizations. The HH data were much more difficult to interpret than the HV imagery and consequently produced a greater number of errors and types of land-cover confusion. However, there were some land-cover categories which were consistently confused with one another. Those within and between category misidentifications are discussed as they relate to SAR imagery.