Model-based classification of polarimetric SAR sea ice data

This paper discusses the role of scattering decomposition models in the classification of polarimetric SAR sea ice data. The iterative Wishart classifier was applied to 3-frequency airborne SAR data acquired in the Beaufort Sea, and the scattering models were found to be helpful in interpreting the assigned classes. In addition to using the full data set, reduced data sets based on an eigenvector decomposition were investigated for their potential for classification, as the eigenvectors provided a separation of scattering mechanisms. The surface scattering component was found to be the dominant one for this data set, and yielded a classification similar to the full data set.