Polarimetric SAR data compensation for terrain azimuth slope variation

This paper addresses the problem of polarimetric SAR (POLSAR) data correction for changes in radar cross sections, which are caused by azimuth slopes. Most radiometric slope corrections remove slope effects to account for the effective scattering pixel area. However, few studies address the slope effect on the radar cross section as a function of polarization states. The authors propose two approaches to compensate for this azimuth slope effect for POLSAR data. In the first approach, the digital elevation model (DEM), obtained from interferometric SAR or from other means, is used to estimate orientation angles, and in the second approach, orientation angles are derived directly from the POLSAR data. They have developed three new methods to implement this second approach. One is based on the right-right and left-left circular polarizations, and the other two are based on Cloude's and Huynelt's decompositions. The results are compared with the original polarization signature method using the DEM-generated orientation angles as the reference. POLSAR data is then compensated using the derived orientation angles. Significant changes were observed in many elements of the coherency matrix. The compensated POLSAR data should improve the accuracy of geophysical parameter estimation techniques. NASA/JPL AIRSAR data for an area in central California is used for illustration.