Iceberg Detection Using Compact Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar ...

• Main Author: Denbina, Michael
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Graduate Studies 2014
• Subjects: Remote Sensing; Engineering > Electronics and Electrical; Engineering > Marine and Ocean; icebergs; iceberg detection; Synthetic Aperture Radar; Circular Polarization; Compact polarimetry; Arctic; polarization; Stokes vector; Iceberg*; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/prism/26410; https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/11023/1946

The management and monitoring of icebergs and sea ice is an important consideration for any maritime operations that take place in the polar and near-polar regions. Spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites can provide iceberg detection capabilities over vast areas of ocean with a quick revisit time. Canada's next Radarsat satellite, the Radarsat Constellation, will collect compact polarimetry, a polarimetric SAR configuration that transmits a circular polarization rather than the typical linear horizontal or vertical polarizations. In doing so, it can provide greater polarimetric information than typical linear dual-polarized SAR, without the swath width restrictions of fully polarimetric or quad-polarized SAR. In this thesis, the use of compact polarimetry for iceberg detection is explored. The detection performance of Radarsat Constellation data, simulated using Radarsat-2 data, is assessed using validated iceberg locations collected by a survey vessel. Many new algorithms are tested for use ...