POLSAR Image Analysis of Wetlands Using a Modified Four-Component Scattering Power Decomposition

It is important to monitor environmental changes of the Earth´s cover by remotely sensed data. This paper analyzes seasonal changes of a wetland by a modified polarimetric four-component scattering power decomposition method. The data sets analyzed here are L- and X-band fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (POLSAR) data, which have been acquired by the NICT/JAXA airborne polarimetric and interferometric synthetic aperture radar system in 2004. Since there existed a deficiency in the currently adopted decomposition schemes in that negative powers appear in a few pixels in the image analysis, we modified the approach taking into account physical conditions. It is shown by the modified scheme that the seasonal changes and features of the vegetation near Sakata Lagoon in Niigata, Japan, are observed clearly, demonstrating the utility of POLSAR image analysis for wetland assessments in general.