Understanding of partial polarization in polarimetric SAR data

Abstract Partial polarization is common in multi-look polarimetric images, although a polarimetric radar measures the complete scattering matrix of a target. This Letter indicates how the partial polarization arises, discusses the relationships between the coefficient of variation and partial polarization, and shows that the degree of polarization can be expressed by other quantities such as co- and cross-polarized backscattering coefficients, σ hh 0, σ vv 0 and σ vh 0.