Case Studies: Coastal Zone Monitoring

» Polarimetric SAR for Geomorphic Mapping in the Inter Tidal Zone, Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia.,

C. Hugenholtz and J van der Sanden, Natural Resources Canada, CCRS. Nov. 2001.

Summary of report:

On average, the HH and HV channels were found to display a higher backscatter contrast between water and land than the VV and circularly polarized channels. Results reported in literature indicate that the HV backscatter is less sensitive to incidence angle and wind effects than the HH backscatter. Hence, the cross-polarized channel can be expected to offer the most potential for shoreline extraction. Multi-polarization and full polarimetric data were shown to offer significantly more potential for mapping coastal zone characteristics, including substrate and vegetation types, than HH-polarized data. The data studied were acquired by the airborne Convair-580 SAR system. The results provide some indication of the capabilities of the RADARSAT-2 system.

Figure 6a - Figure 6b - Figure 6c - Figure 6d: RGB color composite (R-HH, G-HV, B-VV) and three linear polarizations (VV, HH, and HV respectively) for Evangeline Beach mudflat. A) RGB, B) VV, C) HH, and D) HV.

Figure 9: Plot of backscatter values along a portion of the Evangeline mudflat. Relative locations of different geomorphic targets have been verified during field visits. Backscatter transect denoted in Figure 6. Curves derived from averaging in azimuth by 200 samples per line.