Polarimetric Characterization and Temporal Stability Analysis of Urban Target Scattering

• Published in: IEEE transactions on geoscience and remote sensing 2010-04, Vol.48 (4), p.2038-2048
• Main Authors: Margarit, G., Mallorqui, J.J., Pipia, L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Analytical models; Applied geophysics; Computational modeling; Computer simulation; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Electromagnetic modeling; Electromagnetic scattering; Enginyeria de la telecomunicació; Exact sciences and technology; Geometry; Image analysis; Internal geophysics; Mathematical models; Polarimetry; Radar; Radar scattering; SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar); Scattering; Senyal, Teoria del (Telecomunicació); Signal theory (Telecommunication); Solid modeling; Stability analysis; Subsidence; Synthetic aperture radar; synthetic aperture radar (SAR) simulation; urban scattering; Àrees temàtiques de la UPC
• ISSN: 0196-2892; 1558-0644
• DOI: 10.1109/TGRS.2009.2035052

This paper studies the polarimetric-dispersion properties of urban targets and their evolution along time in terms of the geometrical configuration. The relations between target geometry and the scattering behavior have been defined through the analysis of large stacks of simulated images. Scattering maps and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images have been synthesized with the numerical tool GRaphical Electromagnetic COmputing SAR for different qualitative models of two real buildings. Ground-based SAR (GB-SAR) data acquired in a subsidence measurement campaign has been used to assess the simulator's realism. These data have permitted the identification of the critical simulation parameters and their range of recommended values for realistic simulations. In the context of very high resolution images, the results derived from this study may be crucial for making progress in urban-image postprocessing. As the different resolution cells comprise few scattering centers showing a quasi-deterministic scattering behavior, nonprobabilistic models based on target's geometry seem more suited for scattering modeling. In these models, the geometry-scattering (GS) links precisely inferred from simulated images can be very important. In addition to change detection and land classification, GS models may help in improving the interpretation of subsidence results with differential interferometry. Certainly, new processing algorithms can be developed exploiting the available scattering data with more physical sense. In addition, they can take more advantage of the fine resolution and polarimetric capabilities of the new sensors, like TerraSAR-X or RADARSAT-2.