POLARIMETRIC ENHANCEMENT IN RADAR CHANNEL IMAGERY

This paper applied the polarimetric filtering principle to Synthetic A perture Radar (SAR) image sets in three possible polarimetric radar ch annels and compared the resultant imagery. The polarimetric radar chan nels in consideration here are Co-pol, Cross (X)-pol, and Matched (M)- pol channels. Each channel has its own polarimetric characteristics fo r imaging. Using the formulation of the contrast enhancement factors b ased on the Stokes vector formalism, polarimetric enhanced images for three channels are shown using NASA JPL DC-8 AIRSAR data sets (CC0045L , Bonanza Creek, AK/USA). It is shown that the optimally enhanced Co- and X-Pol channel images play a decisive role in imaging in a complex featured background.