Automated sea ice classification using spaceborne polarimetric SAR data

This paper discusses the capability of spaceborne polarimetric C-band SAR data for sea ice detection and classification. Unsupervised classification using polarimetric decomposition and the complex Wishart classifier was performed on SIR-C data acquired off the coast of Newfoundland in April 1994. The algorithm is used for sea ice applications for the first time, and appears promising. In addition to polarimetric classification, three of the measured features were found to have ice edge detection capability: HV-intensity, HH/VV-ratio and anisotropy. These features show a clear separation between sea ice and open water and simple thresholds can be applied.