Early Results using Single-Pass L-band Pol-InSAR

The extraction of bio-and geophysical parameters by means of Pol-InSAR has gained a lot of interest in recent years. In particular, the exploitation of full quad-pol mode long wave-length (L-and P-band) data in combination with advanced theoretical models like the Random-Volume-over-Ground (RVoG) model has successfully been used to derive quantities like ground topography or tree height with impressive accuracy. However, to date all experiments (airborne and spaceborne) have been conducted in repeat-pass interferometry mode and thus, results have been suffering from two major limitations: temporal decorrelation and, in the airborne case, uncompensated motion errors. Both error sources can significantly reduce the usability of the acquired data, which is of importance especially if operationalmapping of large areas is being considered. This paper reports about first experiments with a single-pass airborne L-band quad-pol interferometer that has been implemented on Intermap´s TopoSAR platform.