Polarimetric scattering from natural surfaces at 225 GHz

Polarimetric radar measurement at 225 GHz which demonstrate that the normalized Mueller matrix may be approximated in terms of a single parameter are presented. The depolarization ratio, defined as the ratio of cross-polarized to co-polarized normalized radar cross section, is shown to accurately predict backscatter from vegetation (trees and grass), as well as scattering from terrain at low incidence angles (snowcover and sand). The depolarization ratio also predicts the standard deviation of the scattered field ellipse parameters.<
>