Sea Ice Characterization and Classification Using Hybrid Polarimetry SAR

A characteristic analysis of sea ice is conducted using the classic Poincare ellipticity parameter chi (χ) and the degree of polarization (m) from the Stokes parameters of the compact polarized (CP) mode of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). The polarimetric characteristics of sea ice for the simulated CP mode are compared with the classic polarimetric parameters, specifically the polarimetric entropy (H) and polarimetric scattering angle (α), for quad-polarized SAR systems. The physically based m-χ decomposition, obtained from the Stokes parameters of hybrid polarimetry mode CP SAR, is applied to sea ice classification, because the colorcoded images of the m-χ decomposition can be related to the basic scattering processes directly. Therefore, this methodology is able to provide more details in terms of sea ice classification than is possible with single polarimetic parameters. The classification results with the m-χ decomposition from CP SAR are shown to be comparable to those resulting from the Pauli RGB decomposition from quadpol SAR systems. Therefore, due to the planned wide swath widths for future CP SAR missions, such as the Canadian RADARSAT Constellation Mission, we suggest that hybrid polarimetry is an attractive mode for future CP SAR-based sea ice monitoring.