Study of the Influence of Vessel Motions and Sea-Ship Interaction on Classification Algorithms Based on Single-Pass Polarimetric SAR Interferometry

This paper analyzes the worsening effects the sea surface can induce on vessel classification algorithms working with SAR imagery. Two issues will be tackled, the complex motion history of ships and the polarimetric scattering mechanisms generated by the sea-hull interaction. Both can modify the information that allows to infer the geometry of ships dropping the classification capability. The current analysis will introduce a new classification approach based on polarimetric SAR interferometry that presents a low sensitivity respect the main distortions caused by the sea surface. Simulated SAR images obtained from GRECOSAR, a SAR simulator of complex targets, will show trustworthy vessel classification almost independent on the environmental conditions could be possible for incoming system configurations as Tandem TerraSAR-X.