Yamagushi Decomposition Based on the Compact Polarimetry Mode Using RADARSAT2 Data

Recently, dual-mode partially polarimetric SAR modes (DP) called compact polarimetry have been proposed. In these polarimetric configurations, only one transmit/receive cycle is required instead of two in a full quad-pol system, reducing the pulse repetition frequency and data rates by a factor of two for a given swath width. Souyris et al. introduced the π/4 compact polarimetric mode, in which the transmitted polarization is the superposition of linear horizontal and vertical polarizations H + V, resulting in a linear polarization oriented at 45° with respect to the horizontal. The radar receives returns in horizontal and vertical polarizations. Another hybrid dual-pol mode is the circular transmit, linear receive (CTLR) mode. In these new polarimetric modes, an equivalent covariance or coherency matrix may be reconstructed to produce the so-called pseudo quad-pol data that accurately reproduces the full quad-pol data. The compact polarimetry was proposed to assess various architecture designs that could be implemented on lowcost/low-mass. In that context, the comparison between full polarimetry (fp) versus dual polarimetry (dp) is a subject of most importance. This paper provides a comparison of the information content of full quad-pol data and the pseudo quad-pol data derived from compact polarimetric SAR modes. Both the polarimetric signatures based on the kennaugh matrix and the Four component decomposition in the context of this compact polarimetry mode are explored. We illustrate our results by using the polarimetric SAR images of Algiers city in Algeria acquired by the RadarSAT2 in C-band.