On the relationship between polarimetric parameters

SAR polarimetry has been used to extract both electrical and geometrical properties of an area of scientific interest. For example, polarimetric SAR signatures are used to estimate biomass and soil moisture. Since an electromagnetic interaction with natural objects is complex, it is not easy to derive accurate inversion algorithms to estimate physical properties from polarimetric SAR signatures. The most important part of the algorithm derivation is to identify the most sensitive polarimetric parameters for the desired geophysical information. The authors present the relationship between physical properties and polarimetric parameters using NASA/JPL AIRSAR data. The sensitivity of a polarimetric parameter to the variation of physical properties was evaluated by the polarimetric parameter sensitivity factor at all three AIRSAR frequencies.