Land target detection using high resolution multipolarimetric SAR data

The Future Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Systems Group within the Space Department at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) Farnborough, England, are investigating the utility of high resolution multipolarimetric SAR data for land target detection from space based geometries. A trial was held over DERA Farnborough and the surrounding area in March 1996 in order to determine the usefulness of high resolution, multipolarimetric SAR data for land target detection. In addition the use of multipolarimetric SAR imagery was investigated to determine if any increase in the target detection rate, image interpretability and if any reduction in the false alarm rate was gained over the use of single polarisation channel imagery. Previous studies within the Future SAR Systems Group have utilised multipolarimetric SAR data obtained from the Shuttle Imaging Radar C (SIRC) mission and have shown that the utility of multipolarimetric SAR data greatly increases the detection rates of land targets and the interpretability of the data compared to single channel imagery. However the data obtained from the SIR-C was at a medium resolution, ~25 m and this trial enabled the acquisition of multipolarimetric SAR data at a high resolution