SAR POLARIMETRIC FEATURES OF AGRICULTURAL AREAS

The potential of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in monitoring soil and vegetation parameters is being evaluated worldwide through extensive investigations. A significant experiment performed on this subject was the Multi-sensor Airborne Campaign (MAC 91), carried out during the northern summer of 1991 on several sites in Europe, based on the NASA/JPL polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (AIRSAR). The site of Montespertoli (Italy) was imaged three times during this campaign. Calibrated polarimetric data collected over the agricultural area of this site have been analysed and critical analysis of the information contained in linear and circular co-polar and cross-polar data has also been carried out.