Quantifying and Correcting Ionospheric Effects on P-Band SAR Images

Faraday rotation and scintillation will seriously affect P-band SAR images if methods are not used to deal with them. There are published methods for correcting Faraday rotation when polarimetric data are available, but less is known about scintillation. Scintillation is unlikely to present a problem if data acquisitions at low and mid latitudes avoid the post-sunset equatorial region, but correction procedures are likely to be needed in the auroral zones. Such correction is possible using autofocus methods; this is demonstrated using the Phase Gradient Algorithm applied to SAR imagery seriously affected by simulated scintillation.