Investigating polarimetric SAR data for cryospheric monitoring in a Canadian environment

Since the early 90´s, INKS has been developed tools for snow monitoring, river ice characterization and seasonal frost mapping in Canada. The focus to date has been on the use of monopolarized or multipolarized SAR data. With the forthcoming of RADARSAT-2, we have undergone a series of studies to asses the potential information gain from polarimetric SAR data. Airborne polarimetric SAR data from the Canadian CV-580 have been acquired over three different Canadian sites in winter: 1) a boreal forest 2) an agricultural watershed and 3) the Saint-Francois River. This paper presents the preliminary results obtained from the polarimetric data set over the Saint-Francois River in February 2003.