Introduction - Background, Goal and Content of the Lecture Series on Polarimetric SAR Interferometry (original) (raw)

Scientists and engineers already engaged in the fields of radar surveillance, reconnaissance and scattering measurements, for instance, generally gain their specialist knowledge in Polarimetry by working through scientific papers and specialised literature available on the subject. Usually, this is a time consuming exercise, as it is difficult for a newcomer to collate material especially on Polarimetry but also on interferometry and related subjects. Presently, the treatment of basic Polarimetry concepts, in the currently available literature, lacks a coherent framework of theory, and, moreover, several basic definitions and conventions are not yet unified sufficiently under the light of physical principles. This Lecture Series is an attempt to readdress this problem. The aim of this Lecture Series is to provide a substantial and balanced introduction to the basic theory, scattering concepts, systems and applications typical to polarimetric and interferometric radar reconnaissance and surveillance and to introduce the cutting-edge technologies, new ideas and methodologies as well. The following topics will be addressed: Basics, advanced concepts and applications of both radar Polarimetry and SAR Interferometry, cross track and along track Interferometry, single and dual pass Interferometry, differential interferometry, Interferometry errors and accuracy, polarimetric SAR processing and image analysis, decomposition theorems, polarimetric interferometry and polarimetric-interferometric SAR image analysis, processing principles, calibration, Polarimetric SAR analysis and applications, Digital Elevation Models, realized and future airborne and space-borne systems as Examples E-SAR, SIR-C/X-SAR, SRTM, ERS-1/2, RadarSAT, ENVISAT/ASAR, and CARTWHEEL. 1. BACKGROUND The use of high resolution radar especially SAR is indispensable for surveillance, reconnaissance and remote sensing. Radar Polarimetry and Radar Interferometry are advancing rapidly. Each target is a specific polarization transformer and, therefore, these technologies are increasing the target identification and classification capability decisively. With multi polarization the target fine-structure, target orientation, symmetries and material constituents can be recovered with considerable improvement above that of standard 'amplitude-only' radar. With radar interferometry the target's spatial structure can be explored and differential interferometry, presently, is the most sensitive all weather technique for change detection. In 'Polarimetric Interferometric SAR' it is possible to recover co-registered textural and spatial information simultaneously, including the extraction of ground based stealth targets, the development of Digital Elevation Maps etc. as well. Among surveillance and reconnaissance techniques, the polarimetric & interferometric SAR attracts currently the most appreciable and outranking attention because of its capabilities for 3-D high resolution imaging with abundant additional information Then, by either designing 'Multiple Dual-Polarization Antenna POL-IN-SAR' systems or by applying advanced 'POL-IN-SAR image compression techniques' will result in 'Polarimetric Tomography' which is an important progress in Foliage Penetration Radar and Ground Penetration Radar as well.