| Title | RCM polarimetric SAR for enhanced ship detection and classification |
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| Author | Touzi, R; Vachon, P W |
| Source | Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing vol. 41, issue 5, 2015 p. 473-484, https://doi.org/10.1080/07038992.2015.1110010 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2015 |
| Alt Series | Earth Sciences Sector, Contribution Series 20150423 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | British Columbia; Western offshore region |
| NTS | 92B; 92G; 92F |
| Area | Strait of Georgia; Vancouver |
| Lat/Long WENS | -126.0000 -123.0000 50.5000 48.7500 |
| Subjects | remote sensing; satellite imagery; radar imagery; RADARSAT-2; Automatic Identification System (AIS; degree of polarization (DoP); degree of depolarization (DoD) |
| Illustrations | satellite images; graphs; tables; photographs |
| Program | Remote Sensing Science |
| Released | 2016 02 05 |
| Abstract | The RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM), which involves three small SAR satellites flying in a constellation configuration, will be equipped with fully polarimetric (FP) capabilities in addition to
single-polarization (HH, HV, VV), conventional (HH-HV and VV-VH) and hybrid (i.e., Compact) dual-polarization. In this paper, the added value of polarimetric SAR information for enhanced ship detection is demonstrated using polarimetric RADARSAT-2
(RS2) data collected over vessels (validated with Automatic Identification System (AIS) data) in the Strait of Georgia, near Vancouver, Canada. It is shown that the excursion (?p) of the degree of polarization (DoP) provides a significant increase in
ship-sea contrast in comparison with conventional (i.e., scalar) single channel polarizations (HH, HV, VV) and Compact. ?p, which is a measure of the variation of the DoP with transmit antenna polarization, performs better than Compact intensities
and degree of depolarization (DoD) promoted recently for ship detection. The unique potential of FP for ship classification is also demonstrated. An efficient combination of successive wide swath ScanSAR and FP, which fully exploits the RCM rapid
revisit capability, is considered for operational ship detection and classification. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
The RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM), which is an evolution of the RADARSAT Program, includes three identical Earth observation satellites. Each
satellite is equipped with a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) with fully polarimetric capabilities in addition to single-polarization (HH, HV, VV), dual-polarization (HH-HV, VV-VH, and HH-VV) and hybrid (i.e., Compact). Ship detection supporting
national security and fisheries monitoring, and interception of polluting vessels are among the priorities of the RCM. The three-satellite RCM configuration will provide on average daily coverage of Canada's maritime approaches and frequent coverage
of Canada's land. In this study, conducted jointly with the Defence Research and Development Canada, the added value of polarimetric RCM for ship detection and classification is demonstrated. An efficient combination of successive single-(or dual)
polarization wide swath ScanSAR and polarimetric modes, which exploits the RCM rapid revisit capability at high latitudes, is proposed for operational ship detection and classification. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 297569 |
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