Snow depth retrieval method for PolSAR data using multi-parameters snow backscattering model

Snow depth (SD) is a crucial property of snow, its spatial and temporal variation is important for global change, snowmelt runoff simulation, disaster prediction, and freshwater storage estimation. Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR) can precisely describe the backscattering of the target and emerge as an effective tool for SD retrieval. The backscattering component of dry snow is mainly composed of volume scattering from the snowpack and surface scattering from the snow-ground interface. However, the existing method for retrieving SD using PolSAR data has the problems of over-reliance on in-situ data and ignoring surface scattering from the snow-ground interface. We proposed a novel SD retrieval method for PolSAR data by fully considering the primary backscattering components of snow and through multi-parameter estimation to solve the snow backscattering model. Firstly, a snow backscattering model was formed by combining the small permittivity volume scattering model and the Michigan semi-empirical surface scattering model to simulate the different scattering components of snow, and the corresponding backscattering coefficients were extracted using the Yamaguchi decomposition. Then, the snow permittivity was calculated through generalized volume parameters and the extinction coefficient was further estimated through modeling. Finally, the snow backscattering model was solved by these parameters to retrieve SD. The proposed method was validated by Ku-band UAV SAR data acquired in Altay, Xinjiang, and the accuracy was evaluated by in-situ data. The correlation coefficient, root mean square error, and mean absolute error are 0.80, 4.49 cm, and 3.95 cm, respectively. Meanwhile, the uncertainties generated by different SD, model parameters estimation, solution method, and underlying surface are analyzed to enhance the generality of the proposed method.