Tree height estimation from the polarimetric and interferometric radar response

problem of tree height estimation from a polarimetric repeat-pass interferometric SAR (IFSAR) is considered. Current methods for extraction of elevation data require phase unwrapping algorithms. A polarization height difference method is proposed for the estimation of tree height which is immune to the errors which may originate from phase unwrapping and SAR frequency drift between the two data takes. Using a coherent scattering model, the physical tree height is estimated from the measured polarization height difference. Repeat-pass polarimetric L-band data acquired by SIR-C over Michigan's well-characterized forest test sites are used to demonstrate the performance of the algorithm.