Analysis of Polarization Responses According to Different Land Cover Types Using SAR Polarimetry Data

In this paper, multifrequency, polarimetric SAR data acquired during the first SIR-C/XSAR mission over the Seoul and Gyunggi-do (Korea) test sites are analyzed. The main objective of the study is to assess the possibility of extracting relevant information about surface properties for geophysical applications using polarimetry. This study analyses the characteristics of polarization responses and polarimetric parameters to conditions present in urban, river, agricultural, and forested areas. Results indicate that the dominant scattering property from these fields varies depending on the land cover types. The polarization response graphs and the backscattering coefficients associated with the polarimetric parameters are also useful in characterizing these cover types.