Potential of model-based polarimetric decomposition extended with multi-frequency and multi-incidence PolSAR observations

This letter attempts to extend the model-based polarimetric decomposition (PD) theorems with multiple polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) observations. To consider both the surface and dihedral scattering depolarization effects, the X-Bragg model, the extended double Fresnel scattering model, and the step-wise volume scattering model are introduced in the model-based PD. The proposed methodology is explored by exploiting Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AIRSAR) C-band and L-band data from southern Oklahoma, United States of America, and L-band Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) polarimetric data from Winnipeg, Canada, with two flight lines of 31605-03 and 31606-03 in different incidence angles. The potential and superiority of the proposed decomposition method are examined by illustrating the false color composition images, and the power ratio statistics of surface, dihedral, and volume scattering components over selected bare soil, forest, grass, and urban patches.