Rotated dihedral and volume scattering behavior in cross-polarimetric SAR

In this study we analyze Radarsat-2 quadruple polarization (quad-pol) mode data acquired over the Everglades wetlands in south Florida. We analyzed the phase information of each polarization mode independently, and obtained similar fringe patterns representing water level changes in all four interferograms. It is surprising, because common scattering theories indicate that cross-polarization (cross-pol) observations reflect volume scattering due to the interaction of the radar signal with upper sections of the vegetation. However, our cross-pol interferometric observations suggest that the cross-pol signal reached the water surface and scattered back to the satellite by a rotated dihedral double bounce mechanism. Based on these new observations, we developed a new scattering formulation that accounts also for double bounce component in cross-pol.