RCM Polarimetric SAR for Enhanced Ship Detection and Classification

Abstract. The RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM), which involves three small synthetic aperture radar (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, VV-VH, and HH-VV), and hybrid (i.e., compact) dual polarization. In this article, 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 (Δp) 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. Δp, 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 using polarimetric Convair-580 SAR data collected off Cape Race, Newfoundland, Canada. An efficient combination of successive wide-swath ScanSAR and FP, which exploits the RCM rapid-revisit capability at high latitudes, is considered for operational ship detection and classification. Résumé. La mission de la Constellation RADARSAT (MCR), qui est constituée de trois petits satellites SAR évoluant en configuration de constellation, sera équipée avec des capacités de polarisation en quadrature (FP) en plus de la polarisation simple (HH, HV, VV), de la polarisation classique (HH-HV, VV-VH, et HH-VV) et de la bipolarisation hybride (c.-à-d., compacte). Dans cet article, la valeur ajoutée des informations polarimétriques SAR pour améliorer la détection de navires est démontrée en utilisant des données polarimétriques RADARSAT-2 (RS2) recueillies sur des navires (validées avec le système d'identification automatique (AIS) de données) dans le détroit de Georgia, près de Vancouver (Canada). Il apparait que la différence (delta p) du degré de polarisation (DOP) fournit une augmentation significative du contraste entre le navire et l'eau par rapport à des polarisations simples classiques (p.ex., scalaire) (HH, HV, VV) et compactes. Le delta p, qui est une mesure de la variation de la polarisation DoP avec l'antenne d'émission, est plus performant que les intensités compactes et le degré de dépolarisation (DoD) promus récemment pour la détection de navires. Le potentiel unique de la FP pour la classification de navires est également démontré en utilisant les données polarimétriques Convair-580 SAR recueillies au large du cap Race à Terre-Neuve (Canada). Une combinaison efficace de la large fauchée ScanSAR consécutive à la FP, qui exploite la capacité de revisite rapide de la MCR dans les hautes latitudes, est considérée pour la détection et la classification opérationnelles de navires.

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