Polarimetric SAR Interferometry (Pol-InSAR)
Contact Persons
Lukas Zuberbühler |
Keywords
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR), SAR interferometry (InSAR), SAR polarimetry (PolSAR), polarimetric SAR interferometry (Pol-InSAR), single-/multi-baseline Pol-InSAR (SBPI/MBPI).
Quick Reference
Polarimetric SAR interferometry (Pol-InSAR) combines interferometric and polarimetric SAR (synthetic aperture radar) imaging techniques. Current research activities focus on the analysis of scattering mechanisms/properties of natural surfaces/volumes such as vegetation as well as snow and ice. Current projects make use of L- (1.3GHz) and P-band (350MHz) airborne Pol-InSAR data sets acquired over different Swiss test sites.
Some Results
Fig. 1: Simulation of the polarisation-dependent interferometric coherence amplitude for a random volume over a multi-polarising ground scattering scenario.
Fig. 2: Simulation of the polarisation-dependent interferometric coherence in the complex unitary circle for different vegetation heights as a function of different SAR system and model parameters.
Fig. 3: Polarimetric Pauli decomposition (Great Aletsch glacier 2003, Switzerland, E-SAR/L-band)
Methods
Methods of polarimetric SAR interferometry (i.e. optimisation of the interferometric coherence amplitude), general interferometric and polarimetric SAR imaging techniques, polarimetric decomposition methods, simulation and inversion of Pol-InSAR observables. (Airborne and spaceborne sensors.)
Partnerships
Research has been conducted in cooperation with the following organisations:
- German Aerospace Centre (DLR)
- International Foundation High Altitude Research Stations Jungfraujoch and Gornergrat (HFSJG)
Publications
- Pasquali, P., Stebler O., Small, D., Holecz, F., Nüesch, D., 1998:
SAR polarimetric interferometry experiments,
Proceedings of the Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium (PIERS) Workshop on Advances in Radar Methods, 20-22 July 1998, Baveno, Italy, JRC Report EUR 18662 EN, pp. 153-155. - Stebler, O., Brodbeck, R., Pasquali, P., Nüesch, D., 2000:
Multibaseline Pol-InSAR experiment for the estimation of the scattering processes and their spatial distribution within vegetation layers,
Proceedings of the IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 24-28 July 2000, Honolulu/Hawaii, USA, vol. 1, pp. 132-134. - Stebler, O., Meier, E., Nüesch, D., 2001:
Multi-baseline airborne Pol-InSAR measurements for the estimation of scattering processes within vegetation media,
Proceedings of the IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 9-13 July 2001, Sydney, Australia, vol. 7, pp. 3172-3174. - Stebler, O., Meier, E., Nüesch, D., 2001:
Multi-baseline airborne Pol-InSAR measurements for the analysis and inversion of scattering processes within vegetation media,
Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Retrieval of Bio- and Geophysical Parameters from SAR Data for Land Applications, 11-14 September 2001, Sheffield, UK, ESA SP-475, pp. 301-306. - Stebler, O., Meier, E., Nüesch, D., 2002:
Forward and inverse modelling of multi-baseline L-band Pol-InSAR E-SAR data,
Proceedings of the IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 24-28 June 2002, Toronto, Canada, vol. 2, pp. 823-825. - Stebler, O., Meier, E., Nüesch, D., 2002:
Multi-baseline polarimetric SAR interferometry - first experimental spaceborne and airborne results,
ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (P&RS), 56(3):149-166. - Rowland, C., Balzter, H., Cox, R., Saich, P., Stebler, O., 2003:
The CORSAR project: can polarimetric SAR interferometry improve forest biomass estimation?,
Proceedings of the Workshop on Applications of SAR Polarimetry and Polarimetric Interferometry (POLinSAR), 14-16 January 2003, Frascati, I. - Balzter, H., Rowland, C., Milne, R., Stebler, O., Patenaude, G., Dawson, T., Saich, P., 2003:
Potential of polarimetric SAR interferometry for forest carbon accounting,
Proceedings of the IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 21-25 July 2003, Toulouse, France, vol. 3, pp. 1945-1947. - Schwarz, M., Steinmeier, C., Holecz, F., Stebler, O., Wagner, H., 2003:
Detection of windthrow in mountainous regions with different remote sensing data and classification methods,
Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 18(6):525-536. - Stebler, O., Barmettler, A., Divis, L., Meier, E., Nüesch, D., 2004:
Swiss Alpine Airborne SAR-Experiment (SASARE),
In: Activity Report 2003 of the International Foundation High Altitude Research Stations Jungfraujoch + Gornergrat, pp. 103-107. - Stebler, O., 2004: Analysis of the complex coherence of airborne and spaceborne InSAR-systems as a function of conventional and interferometrically optimised polarisation states,
Remote Sensing Laboratories (Remote Sensing Series vol. 41), Department of Geography, University of Zurich, 2004. - Stebler, O., Barmettler, A., Divis, L., Small, D., Schwerzmann, A., Meier, E., Nüesch, D., 2004:
Swiss Alpine Airborne SAR Experiment (SASARE) part I: Multi-baseline polarimetric SAR interferometry studies at L- and P-band,
Proceedings of the IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 20-24 September 2004, Anchorage, Alaska, vol. 2, pp. 1116-1120. - Stebler, O., Small, D., Divis, L., Schwerzmann, A., Lüthi, M., Meier, E., Nüesch, D., 2005:
Swiss Alpine Airborne SAR Experiment (SASARE): Multi-Baseline Polarimetric SAR Interferometry Studies at L- and P-Band,
Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Applications of SAR Polarimetry and Polarimetric Interferometry (POLinSAR), 17-21 January 2005, Frascati, I, ESA SP-586. - Stebler, O., Schwerzmann, A., Lüthi, M., Meier, E., Nüesch, D., 2005:
Multi-baseline PolSAR and Pol-InSAR signatures from an Alpine glacier at L- and P-band,
Proceedings of the 4th Workshop of the EARSeL/Special Interest Group Land Ice and Snow (LIS-SIG) on Remote Sensing of Snow and Glaciers, 21-23 February 2005, Berne, Switzerland, pp. XXX-XXX. - Stebler, O., Schwerzmann, A., Lüthi, M., Meier, E., Nüesch, D., 2005:
Pol-InSAR Observations from an Alpine Glacier in the Cold Infiltration Zone at L- and P-Band,
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters (GRSL), 2(3):357-361.