Two-target height effects on interferometric synthetic aperture radar coherence

Useful products generated from interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) complex data include height measurement, coherent change detection, and classification. The IFSAR coherence is a spatial measure of complex correlation between two collects, a product of IFSAR signal processing. A tacit assumption in such IFSAR signal processing is that the terrain height is constant across an averaging box used in the process of correlating the two images. This paper presents simulations of IFSAR coherence if two target with different heights exist in a given correlation cell, a condition in IFSAR collections produced by layover. It also includes airborne IFSAR data confirming the simulation results. The paper concludes by exploring the implications of the results on IFSAR height measurements and classification.

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