Phase-difference characteristics of urban areas in polarimetric SAR images

Author(s):  
Kyung-Yup Lee ◽  
Youn-Soo Kim ◽  
Yisok Oh
Author(s):  
J. Susaki

In this paper, we analyze probability density functions (PDFs) of scatterings derived from fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images for improving the accuracies of estimated urban density. We have reported a method for estimating urban density that uses an index <i>T</i><sub><i>v</i>+<i>c</i></sub> obtained by normalizing the sum of volume and helix scatterings <i>P</i><sub><i>v</i>+<i>c</i></sub>. Validation results showed that estimated urban densities have a high correlation with building-to-land ratios (Kajimoto and Susaki, 2013b; Susaki et al., 2014). While the method is found to be effective for estimating urban density, it is not clear why <i>T</i><sub><i>v</i>+<i>c</i></sub> is more effective than indices derived from other scatterings, such as surface or double-bounce scatterings, observed in urban areas. In this research, we focus on PDFs of scatterings derived from fully polarimetric SAR images in terms of scattering normalization. First, we introduce a theoretical PDF that assumes that image pixels have scatterers showing random backscattering. We then generate PDFs of scatterings derived from observations of concrete blocks with different orientation angles, and from a satellite-based fully polarimetric SAR image. The analysis of the PDFs and the derived statistics reveals that the curves of the PDFs of <i>P</i><sub><i>v</i>+<i>c</i></sub> are the most similar to the normal distribution among all the scatterings derived from fully polarimetric SAR images. It was found that <i>T</i><sub><i>v</i>+<i>c</i></sub> works most effectively because of its similarity to the normal distribution.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 4511
Author(s):  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Zhixin Qi ◽  
Xia Li ◽  
Yimin Chen ◽  
Xianwei Wang ◽  
...  

Urban flooding causes a variation in radar return from urban areas. However, such variation has not been thoroughly examined for different polarizations because of the lack of polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) images and ground truth data simultaneously collected over flooded urban areas. This condition hinders not only the understanding of the effect mechanism of urban flooding under different polarizations but also the development of advanced methods that could improve the accuracy of inundated urban area detection. Using Sentinel-1 PolSAR and Jilin-1 high-resolution optical images acquired on the same day over flooded urban areas in Golestan, Iran, this study investigated the characteristics and mechanisms of the radar return changes induced by urban flooding under different polarizations and proposed a new method for unsupervised inundated urban area detection. This study found that urban flooding caused a backscattering coefficient increase (BCI) and interferometric coherence decrease (ICD) in VV and VH polarizations. Furthermore, VV polarization was more sensitive to the BCI and ICD than VH polarization. In light of these findings, the ratio between the BCI and ICD was defined as an urban flooding index (UFI), and the UFI in VV polarization was used for the unsupervised detection of flooded urban areas. The overall accuracy, detection accuracy, and false alarm rate attained by the UFI-based method were 96.93%, 91.09%, and 0.95%, respectively. Compared with the conventional unsupervised method based on the ICD and that based on the fusion of backscattering coefficients and interferometric coherences (FBI), the UFI-based method achieved higher overall accuracy. The performance of VV was evaluated and compared to that of VH in the flooded urban area detection using the UFI-, ICD-, and FBI-based methods, respectively. VV polarization produced higher overall accuracy than VH polarization in all the methods, especially in the UFI-based method. By using VV instead of VH polarization, the UFI-based method improved the detection accuracy by 38.16%. These results indicated that the UFI-based method improved flooded urban area detection by synergizing the BCI and ICD in VV polarization.


Author(s):  
J. Susaki

In this paper, we analyze probability density functions (PDFs) of scatterings derived from fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images for improving the accuracies of estimated urban density. We have reported a method for estimating urban density that uses an index &lt;i&gt;T&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;v&lt;/i&gt;+&lt;i&gt;c&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt; obtained by normalizing the sum of volume and helix scatterings &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;v&lt;/i&gt;+&lt;i&gt;c&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;. Validation results showed that estimated urban densities have a high correlation with building-to-land ratios (Kajimoto and Susaki, 2013b; Susaki et al., 2014). While the method is found to be effective for estimating urban density, it is not clear why &lt;i&gt;T&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;v&lt;/i&gt;+&lt;i&gt;c&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt; is more effective than indices derived from other scatterings, such as surface or double-bounce scatterings, observed in urban areas. In this research, we focus on PDFs of scatterings derived from fully polarimetric SAR images in terms of scattering normalization. First, we introduce a theoretical PDF that assumes that image pixels have scatterers showing random backscattering. We then generate PDFs of scatterings derived from observations of concrete blocks with different orientation angles, and from a satellite-based fully polarimetric SAR image. The analysis of the PDFs and the derived statistics reveals that the curves of the PDFs of &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;v&lt;/i&gt;+&lt;i&gt;c&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt; are the most similar to the normal distribution among all the scatterings derived from fully polarimetric SAR images. It was found that &lt;i&gt;T&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;v&lt;/i&gt;+&lt;i&gt;c&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt; works most effectively because of its similarity to the normal distribution.


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