SAR Polarimetry in Remote Sensing of Arctic Region

SAR polarimetry is a modern but mature technique in the Earth remote sensing, it is based on the measurements of the target scattering properties at different combinations of radar signal polarizations on transmit/receive. In our report we discuss an efficiency of polarimetric radar observations for thematic mapping of Yamal peninsula covers in Russian Arctic using L-band PALSAR-2 and X-band TanDEM-X SAR data acquired in different seasons of the years 2015-2016. To delineate surface dominating scattering mechanisms, we applied Pauli and Cloude-Pottier decompositions. Seasonal variations of bare soils and vegetation scattering properties as well as of industrial infrastructure were studied in both frequency bands. Arctic territories with presence of permafrost and lack of vegetation show lower variety of scattering mechanisms than areas in temperate latitudes. Anyways, polarimetric observations demonstrate high potential of radar remote sensing of Northern territories compared with single-channel measurements. L-band data show more opportunities for the Arctic monitoring than X-band data.