Range Extension of Polarization Orientation Angle Estimation over Steep Terrain

Abstract

This paper extends the range of polarization orientation angle (POA) estimation of polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) data from conventional [−45°,45°] to [−90°, 90°] over steep terrain, combining with the physical scattering mechanisms of natural terrain surface. The algorithm achieves consistent estimation with the widely-used circular polarization algorithm (CPA) over flat area, but avoids the POA wrapping caused by the restriction of CPA over precipitous area, which is substantiated by both simulated data of Bragg scattering and PolSAR data of NASA/JPL AIRSAR.