MarCoPola Polarimetric SAR Trial: Signatures of Multiple Vessels with Aligned Operating Conditions

摘要

This memorandum addresses design, experimentation, and data collection components of the MarCoPola Polarimetric Signature trial that was conducted off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, March 22-26, 2004 in conjunction with the CFAV Quest trial Q-281. Four ships participated as maritime targets in the experiments: Quest, CCGS Sir Wilfred Grenfell and CCGC Sambro, and Divecom III. C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery of these targets was collected using the sensor on Environment Canada's CV-580 platform, with a supporting ENVISAT acquisition. A radar calibration site was established at CFB Shearwater, which offered an adequately high TCR environment. The calibration site was composed of four active radar calibrators (ARC), four corner reflectors (CR) and two GPS base stations. Additional ground truthing of targets of opportunity were acquired by a CP-140 through contact tracking and photographs. Fourteen lines of airborne Polarimetric SAR images were successfully collected with the target vessels exhibiting various speeds, incidence angles, aspect angles, and environmental conditions. One line was collected coincident with the ENVISAT acquisition. Four PolSAR lines were collected containing the Shearwater calibration site, also containing urban environments of the greater Halifax area. Seven lines of MTI data were obtained containing the target vessels, and two lines in MTI mode were collected for calibration.