Monitoring and retrieving rice phenology by means of satellite SAR polarimetry at X-band

This work presents a study about the evolution of the radar response of rice fields at X-band as a function of their phenology, by using three time series of coherent HHVV dual-pol X-band radar images acquired by the TerraSAR-X sensor at different incidence angles during a whole cultivation season. After analyzing a wide set of polarimetric observables, with particular sensitivities at different moments along the campaign, an approach to retrieve the phenological stage with a single acquisition is proposed and tested.