Polarimetric SAR interferometry for forest canopy analysis by using the super-resolution method

In this paper, we propose an polarimetric SAR interferometry technique for interferometric phase extraction of each local scatterer of the forest region. The proposed method formulated for local scattering center extraction is based on the ESPRIT algorithm which is known for high-resolution capability of closely located incidences. The method shows high-resolution performance when local scattered waves are uncorrelated and have different polarization characteristics. Using the method, the number of dominant local scattered waves and their interferometric phases in each image patch can be estimated directly. Validity of the algorithm is demonstrated by using examples derived from SIR-C data.