Analysis of polarimetric features from CTLR compact polarimetric SAR data for discriminating oil slick damping status

Polarimetric features retrieved from CTLR (circularly transmit and linearly receive) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data was analysed in details. A new parameter, namely, Damping Status Sensitivity Index (DSSI) was proposed for quantitatively evaluating the PolSAR characteristics´ capability of discriminating different damping patterns of oil slicks and clean seawater. The L-band Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle SAR (UAVSAR) data was utilized in the experiments. It was shown that polarimetric characteristics retrieved from CTLR compact polarimetric SAR data were nearly as same as those derived from fully polarimetric SAR data and can be applied for discriminating different damping status of oil spill and look-likes.