Recent Advances in the Derivation of POL-inSAR Statistics: Study and Applications

Inhalt:
This paper introduces recent developments in the derivation of POL-inSAR data statistics. Maximum likelihood proce- dures are provided to test widely encountered assumptions on the structure of POL-inSAR data sets acquired over natural environments. These hypothesis concern the evolution of the POLSAR information between two interferometric acquisi- tions, the equality of the optimal POL-inSAR projection vectors and the presence of reflection symmetry. In each of these particular cases, maximum likelihood tests and estimates of POL-inSAR quantities are derived. The proposed approach is then tested over SAR data acquired by the DLR ESAR sensor at L band.