Radiative transfer model for microwave bistatic scattering from forest canopies

A bistatic forest scattering model is developed to simulate scattering coefficients from forest canopies. The model is based on the Michigan Microwave Canopy Scattering (MIMICS) model (hence called Bi-MIMICS) and uses radiative transfer theory, where the first-order fully polarimetric transformation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on geoscience and remote sensing 2005-11, Vol.43 (11), p.2470-2483
Main Authors: Pan Liang, Pierce, L.E., Moghaddam, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied geophysics
Backscatter
Biological and medical sciences
Biomass
Bistatic radar
Bistatic scattering
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
forest scattering
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects. Techniques
Information geometry
Internal geophysics
Microwave theory and techniques
Permittivity
Radar polarimetry
Radar scattering
Radar systems
radiative transfer
Scattering parameters
Shape
synthetic aperture radar (SAR)
Teledetection and vegetation maps
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Summary:A bistatic forest scattering model is developed to simulate scattering coefficients from forest canopies. The model is based on the Michigan Microwave Canopy Scattering (MIMICS) model (hence called Bi-MIMICS) and uses radiative transfer theory, where the first-order fully polarimetric transformation matrix is used. Bistatic radar systems offer advantages over monostatic radar systems because of the additional information provided by the diversity of the geometry. By simulating the forest canopy scattering from multiple viewpoints, we can better understand how the forest scatterers' shape, orientation, density, and permittivity affect the canopy scattering. Bi-MIMICS is parametrized using selected forest stands with different canopy compositions and structure. The simulation results show that bistatic scattering is more sensitive to forest biomass changes than backscattering. Analyzing scattering contributions from different parts of the canopy gives us a better understanding of the microwave's interaction with the tree components. The ground effects can also be studied. Knowledge of the canopy's bistatic scattering behavior combined with additional synthetic aperture radar measurements can be used to improve forest parameter retrievals. The simulation results of the model provide the required information for the design of future bistatic radar systems for forest sensing applications.
ISSN:0196-2892
1558-0644
DOI:10.1109/TGRS.2005.853926