Polarimetric characterization and temporal stability analysis of urban target scattering

Abstract

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 quasideterministic scattering behavior, nonprobabilistic models based on target’s geometry seem more suited for scattering modeling. In thesemodels, 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.