SAR Processing With Geomatica v2014

SAR processing with Geomatica
Training guide
Version 2.1
2014 PCI Geomatics Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Software copyrighted by PCI Geomatics Enterprises, Inc., 50 West Wilmot Street, Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 1M5, CANADA
Telephone number: (905) 764-0614
The Licensed Software contains material that is protected by international Copyright Law and trade secret law, and by
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Licensed Software.
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Publication history
Version
Released
Revisions
Revised by
2.0
2014 09 30
Updated for 2014
G. Gosselin
2.1
2014 11 21
Minor edits
G. Gosselin
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Contents
Introduction
10
Course overview
About this guide
Radar-processing workflows
Starting Geomatica
Starting Geomatica Focus
Starting Geomatica SPTA
10
10
11
13
13
14
Module 1: SAR data structure and support in Geomatica

Lesson
Lesson
Lesson
Lesson
data
Lesson
17
1.1:
1.2:
1.3:
1.4:
Supported SAR data format in Geomatica

17
Data structure and matrix type
20
Complex data support in Geomatica
26
Ingesting and extracting a calibrated backscatter image from SAR
30
1.5: Conversion utilities
42
Module 2: Applying radiometric enhancements
47
About this module

Lesson 2.1: Applying SAR speckle filters
Lesson 2.2: Applying the PSBOXCAR filter to polarimetric data
Lesson 2.3: Applying the PSPOLFIL filter to polarimetric data
47
47
55
59
Module 3: Polarimetric decompositions
63
About this module

Polarimetry fundamentals
Lesson 3.1: Freeman-Durden decomposition
Lesson 3.2: Cloude-Pottier decomposition
Lesson 3.3: Touzi decomposition
63
63
74
80
85
Module 4: Using the SAR Polarimetry Target Analysis tool
94
About this module

Lesson 4.1: Introduction to SPTA and the target-selection mode
Lesson 4.2: Coherent target analysis in SPTA
Lesson 4.3: Incoherent target analysis in SPTA
94
94
100
108
Module 5: Classifying SAR data
117
About this module

Lesson 5.1: Classification of polarimetric data, possible workflows
Lesson 5.2: Unsupervised Wishart classifications
Lesson 5.3: Supervised Wishart classification (with targets defined in SPTA)
Module 6: Change detection using polarimetric data

About this module
Lesson 6.1: Examples of possible workflows for change detection
Lesson 6.2: Performing an intensity-change detection
Lesson 6.3: Wishart change detection
Lesson 6.4: Performing a phase change detection
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117
119
124
132
132
132
139
143
147
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Contents
Lesson 6.5: Incoherent change detection workflow
Appendix A
151
165
Processing with single or dualpol detected data

165
Applying intensity channels ratio or difference using EASI modeling on detected
data
165
Applying an intensity-change detection on detected data
169
Computing SAR texture measures
173
Appendix B
181
Polarimetric discriminators
181
Generating polarimetric discriminators based on coherency matrix eigenvalues182
Generating polarimetric discriminators based on analysis of the Poincar Sphere187
Synthesizing a backscatter SAR image for arbitrary transmit and receive
polarizations
191
Maximizing the contrast between two targets
196
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Introduction
Course overview
Welcome to the SAR processing with Geomatica training course.
The course is designed for experienced users of geospatial software and introduces
you to the radar analysis tools available with PCI Geomatica software.
This guide contains six modules. The lessons in each module are designed for tasks
you are likely to perform in your analysis of radar imagery. They provide instruction
for using the software to carry out key processes while sampling key Geomatica
applications and features.
About this guide

Each module in this guide contains a series of hands-on lessons that let you work
with the software and a set of sample data. Lessons have brief introductions
followed by tasks and procedures in numbered steps. The lessons provide you with
an opportunity to work with several Geomatica programs, such as Geomatica
Focus, OrthoEngine, and SPTA (SAR Polarimetry Target Analysis), to carry out
various tasks. The goal is to become familiar with the tools available for analysis of
synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and to develop your expertise with Geomatica.
The scope of this guide is confined to the core PCI software programs included in
the Geomatica suite. Some radar remote-sensing concepts are reviewed in the
modules and lessons.
The modules in this course provide instructions on a range of activities associated
with processing SAR data. This course includes the following modules:
The data you will use in this course can be found in the Radar Data folder of your
Geomatica installation.
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Introduction
Radar-processing workflows
Geomatica includes a variety of tools for working with radar data. The workflow you
choose depends on several factors:
What you want to achieve with your data
Whether your data is detected imagery or complex
Whether the detected data is flat versus rugged terrain
Whether you are performing intensity analysis and statistical modeling

versus texture analysis and classification
Figure 1 shows the software available in Geomatica 2014 to ingest, process, and
analyze SAR data.
Figure 1. Workflow diagram
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Introduction
Figure 2 shows the algorithms available to process detected or complex SAR data.
Most of these algorithms are described and used in this course.
Figure 2. Algorithms in Geomatica SAR Radar Analysis library
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Introduction
Starting Geomatica
Starting Geomatica varies slightly between Windows and UNIX operating systems.
Windows
With the Windows operating system, you start Geomatica from the Start menu.
To start Geomatica on a Windows system
Click the Start button, and then click All Programs > PCI Geomatics >
Geomatica 2014 > Geomatica.
The Geomatica Toolbar appears, followed by the Focus window.
UNIX
With the UNIX operating system, you start Geomatica from a command prompt.
To start Geomatica on a Unix system
1. Enter the Unix environment.
2. At the command prompt, type geomatica.
The Geomatica Toolbar appears, followed by the Focus window.
Starting Geomatica Focus

You start Geomatica Focus from the Geomatica toolbar.
Note
Focus starts by default when you start Geomatica.
To start Geomatica Focus
On the Geomatica toolbar, click the Focus button.

The Focus window appears.
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Introduction
Starting Geomatica SPTA

You start Geomatica SPTA from the Geomatica toolbar.
To start SPTA
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On the Geomatica toolbar, click the SPTA button.

The SAR Polarimetry Target Analysis window and the Target Selection
window appear.
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Introduction
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Module 1: SAR data structure and

support in Geomatica
Lesson 1.1: Supported SAR data format in Geomatica

Several SAR image formats are supported by the PCI generic-database technology,
known as GDB. GDB allows programs to directly access data using the vendors
format, in a uniform manner, without having to reformat it before using the data in
one or more programs. GDB includes access to imagery, vectors, attributes, ground
control points, and other auxiliary information of interest to users of geomatics
software. The Geomatica radar suite supports many SAR sensors 1 , including:
Radarsat-2
Sentinel-1
Cosmos-SkyMed
TerraSAR-X
Kompsat-5
UAVSAR
Alos-PALSAR
ERS1&2
Radarsat-1
Envisat-ASAR
Data acquired from these sensors is diverse and often available for different
acquisition modes, data formats, and processing levels, excluding different
resolution and beam modes. This variety can categorize the data in different ways,
and among them, the Geomatica radar suite uses two basic categories:
Channel type
Transmit/receive configuration
These categories define which algorithms you can use to process your SAR data.
The channel type is divided in two sub-categories:
Complex data
Detected data
1 To verify whether a sensor is supported by GDB, browse the GDB file formats in the
Technical Reference section of the Geomatica online help.
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Complex data, also known as single-look complex (SLC) data, corresponds to the
first processing level after the signal transformation into an image. Each pixel of a
given channel form corresponds to a complex number composed of an imaginary
(Q) and a real (I) part. Complex (coherent) arithmetic is thus possible between
channels of a single image or between channels from different images, which leads
to applications like radar polarimetry, compact polarimetry, Interferometry
(InSAR), and Polarimetric Interferometry (POLinSAR). More information on radar
polarimetry is provided in Module 3.
Detected data corresponds generally to the next processing level in which the real
and imaginary parts are combined. Detected data form layers (images) are easier
to interpret to the human eye, where the only available information for any given
pixel is the backscattered power. Thus, a surface or object that reflects most of the
incident signal toward the sensors will appear bright on the image while a surface
that reflects the most of the incident signal away from the sensor will appear dark.
Table 1.
Channel types
Channel type
Sub-type
Example
Complex channel
Single look complex

(SLC)
or
Multilook complex
(MLC)
For a complex number a + bi, where a

corresponds to the real part (I) and b to
the imaginary part (Q), if I= 0.206871
and Q = 0.0338254, then the complex
number corresponds to 0.206871 0.0338254i.
Detected channel
Amplitude,
magnitude, decibels
Intensity: corresponds to (I^2) +

(Q^2). Note that the intensity is also
known as power.
(0.206871^2) + (0.0338254i ^2)
= 0.0439399
Amplitude: corresponds to the square
root of the intensity (I^2 + Q^2)^0.5.
(0.0439399)^0.5 = 0.2096184
Decibel: corresponds to 10* log10
(intensity) or, equivalently, to 20*log10
(amplitude)
The transmit/receive configuration refers to the polarization or polarizations

used for transmitting (Tx) and receiving (Rx) the signal and to the number or
channels forming a single image.
Table 2.
Configuration types
Configuration
Channel type
Details
Single polarization
Complex or detected
Tx: one polarization, Rx: one polarization

ex.1: Tx (H), Rx (H) HH
ex.2: Tx (V), Rx (V) VV
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Configuration
Channel type
Details
Dual polarization
Detected
Tx: one polarization, Rx: two

polarizations
ex.1: Tx (H), Rx (H)&(V) HH + HV
ex.2: Tx (V), Rx (H)&(V) VH + VV
Compact polarization
Complex
Tx: one polarization, Rx: two

polarizations
+ phase () preservation between
channels
ex.1: Tx (H), Rx (H)&(V) HH + HV +
HHHV
ex.2: Tx (V), Rx (H)&(V) VH + VV +
VHVV
Fully polarimetric
(quadpol)
Complex
Tx: two polarization, Rx: two

polarizations
+ phase () preservation between
channels.
ex. Tx (H)&(V), Rx (H)&(V) HH, HV,
VH, VV
+ HHVV, HHHV, HHVH,
VVVH, VVHV
More information on the polarization concept is provided in Module 3 and Appendix

B.
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Lesson 1.2: Data structure and matrix type

In this lesson, you will:
Display a RADAR (SAR) image in Focus
Explore the SAR data structure and georeferencing
Learn about channel and matrix types
Data structure
With Geomatica Focus, you can work with data in a variety of formats through GDB
and the PCIDSK file format. This means that most RADAR data is supported in its
original distribution format and can be opened in Geomatica or SPTA using the keyfile name. Most algorithms can also process data in its raw vendor format.
Sensor, key-file name
Radarsat-2, product.xml
TerraSAR-X, *.xml
Cosmos-Skymed, *.h5
To open a file in original distribution format using its key-file name

1. In Focus, click File menu, and then click Open.
2. In the File Selector window, navigate to your file location, select the key
file name, and then click Open.
3. If data calibration is supported for the sensor used, at the prompt, select
a calibration type, and then click OK.
4. If supported, select a projection, and then click OK.
The image displays in the Focus view pane.
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For each sensor, depending on the product and acquisition type, different image
layers and auxiliary segments are available and can be imported.
Figure 3. Radarsat-2, Fine Quad polarization, beam 29 (FQ29), May 7, 2010.
Figure 4. TerraSAR-X, Single Look Slant Range Complex (SSC) Dual polarization,
August 18, 2007
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Figure 5. Example of SAR data structure in Geomatica

Today, most sensors provide information describing the geolocation of the acquired
SAR data derived from GPS receivers on board the satellite. In its simplest form,
the geolocation information corresponds to the geographic coordinates of each
corner. Some sensors also provide rational polynomial coefficients (RPCs) based on
hundreds of GCPs also derived from the satellite GPS receivers for greater
accuracy.
Figure 6. Ground Control Points displayed in Geomatica

When available, Focus and SPTA automatically read the geolocation from the file
and display the image according to the map projection from the file Projection
and Bounds, Rational Functions Model Segment, or from the orbit segment.
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Figure 7. Selecting georeferencing source
Figure 8. Select georeferencing layer
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Note
If an image is already open in Focus, but with a different

projection, a warning message appears, prompting you to
choose whether to add and reproject the file.
Finally, you choose whether to display the file North Up or Raster Up.
Figure 9. North Up or Raster Up selection

Note
Focus and SPTA read geolocation information "as is", due

to the variation in positional accuracy of sensors and
acquisition modes. SAR data is also resampled and
projected "on-the-fly", meaning the data always remains
in its original format, unprojected, and at full resolution.
Any processing will be applied on the original data format.
If you want to increase the positional accuracy by
collecting external GCPs and permanently apply map
projection to the data of a given spatial resolution, you
must do so in Geomatica OrthoEngine.
To take advantage of all of the features offered in Geomatica, convert your data
files to PCIDSK format (*.pix). Doing so allows you to, in particular, create
overviews faster and store auxiliary layers, such as lookup tables, pseudocolor
tables, bitmaps, and vectors. More information on the PCIDSK format is provided in
Lesson 1.5: Conversion utilities.
Matrix type
Geomatica characterizes SAR data according to a matrix type, which is derived
from the file metadata, the channel type, and the transmit/receive configuration.
Lesson 1.1: Supported SAR data format in Geomatica discussed that channel type
is either complex (indicated by "c") or detected (indicated by "r"). A SAR image can
contain a complex or detected channel or channels only or a mix of both. The
number of channels of each type determines the matrix type. The matrix type is
important because many SAR algorithms require a particular matrix type of input.
The following table describes the matrix types for complex data.
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Table 3.
Matrix types: complex data
Symbol
Full name
Total No. of Channels
s4c
Non-symmetrized scattering matrix (single

look only)
S3c
Symmetrized scattering matrix
s2c
Incomplete scattering matrix (dual-pol

single look only)
s1c
Incomplete scattering matrix (single-pol

single look only)
c4r6c
Non-symmetrized covariance matrix (best

for multilook)
10
C3r3c
Symmetrized covariance matrix
c2r1c
Incomplete covariance matrix (best for

dual-pol multilook)
t4r6c
Non-symmetrized coherence matrix (best

for multilook)
10
T3r3c
Symmetrized coherence matrix
k16r
Non-symmetrized Kennaugh matrix (best

for multilook)
16
K9r
Symmetrized Kennaugh matrix
The following table describes the matrix types for detected data.
Table 4.
Matrix types: detected data
Symbol
Full name
Total No. of Channels
c4r
Incomplete non-symmetrized covariance

matrix (quad-pol detected, single look, or
multilook)
c3r
Incomplete symmetrized covariance matrix

(quad-pol detected, single-look, or
multilook)
c2r
Incomplete covariance matrix (dual-pol

detected, single look, or multilook)
c1r
Incomplete covariance matrix (single-pol

detected, single look, or multilook)
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Lesson 1.3: Complex data support in Geomatica

Complex data support has been introduced in Geomatica 2014 to natively support
SAR complex data. With this version, the real and imaginary parts of each channel
are no longer stored on separate channels and detected channels are no longer
created and added to the file.
Figure 10. Radarsat-2, Fine Quad polarization, beam 29 (FQ29), May 7, 2010
opened in Geomatoca 2013
Figure 11. Radarsat-2, Fine Quad polarization, beam 29 (FQ29), May 7, 2010
opened in Geomatoca 2014
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This enhancement of Geomatica 2014 offers many advantages, such as a reduced

file size on disk. The data interpretation of any complex channels can be changed
dynamically for faster data-content exploration.
To change the data interpretation of complex images in Focus
1. In Focus, click the Maps tab.
2. Right-click a complex image, point to Data Interpretation, and then
click an interpretation type.
The interpretation type is automatically applied and the numeric values displayed
on the Focus status bar correspond to the selected interpretation.
Figure 12. Complex Data-interpretation options
Numeric
Numeric values of the selected applications and the original complex values can
also be viewed using the Numeric Values tool.
To open the Numeric Values window
Click the Layer menu, and then click Numeric Values.

The Numeric Values window appears.
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Figure 13. Numeric Values window: Raw (Intensity)
Figure 14. Numeric Values window: Complex data

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Other benefits of the new complex data support in Geomatica 2014 include:
In OrthoEngine, the ability to geocode, orthorectify complex data, or both,

and keep the orthorectified files in complex format. For example, this is
necessary for coherent change detection when a greater positional
accuracy is needed while complex data is required.
The ability to generate overviews, reproject, clip, or subset complex data.
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Lesson 1.4: Ingesting and extracting a calibrated

backscatter image from SAR data
Ingest a SAR image
Explore its metadata
Generate a calibrated backscatter image using different lookup tables.
Ingesting SAR data

There are two techniques to ingest (import) SAR data into a PCI pix file.
The first technique is to open an image in Focus using its key-file name, and then
import it as a .pix file. The second technique is to use the SARINGEST algorithm.
To ingest a file using the Import to PCIDSK option in FOCUS
1. Open the image in Focus using its key-file name.
2. If prompted , select a calibration type and a projection.
3. Click the Maps tab, and then select the file to import.
4. On the File menu, point to Utility, and then click Import to PCIDSK.
The source file is automatically set with the selected file in Focus.
5. In the Destination file box, enter a path and file name.
6. Click Import.
The File Selector window appears.
7. Enter a path and file name.
8. Click Save.
The image is imported (ingested) into a .pix file.
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Ingesting a file with SARINGEST

Alternatively, you can use SARINGEST to import (ingest) SAR data into a .pix file.
SARINGEST produces the same output file as the Import to PCIDSK option.
However, an advantage of using SARINGEST is that you can automate the ingestion
process to import multiple files.
To ingest SAR data in Focus
1. On the Tools menu, click Algorithm Librarian.
2. In the Algorithm Librarian window, click Find.
The Find Algorithm window appears.
3. In the Find what box, type SARINGEST, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click SARINGEST.
The SARINGEST Module Control Panel window appears.
5. Under Output Ports, below Output: SAR Dataset, select Untitled.pix,
and then click Browse.
6. In the File Selector window, open the
~\SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_20100507\ folder.
7. In the File name box, type FQ29_20100507sig.pix, and then click
Save.
The new path and file name appear in the SARINGEST Module Control
Panel window.
8. Click the Input Params 1 tab.
9. Click Browse, and then select the
~\SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_20100507\pro
duct.xml file.
10. For the Data Calibration, click Sigma Nought.
11. Accept the default settings for the remaining input parameters.
12. Click Run.
The image automatically opens in Focus, along with the output GCPs. A
pop-up window appears, prompting you to choose whether to display the
image North Up or Raster Up.
13. Click North Up, and then click OK.
The RADARSAT-2 FQ-29 image is displayed in the view area with North at
the top of the viewer.
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Note
When a file is opened in its original distribution format in

Focus, the calibration is applied "on the fly" only and not
permanently to the original data. However, once a file is
imported (ingested) to a PCIDSK file with a calibration
type, it will be applied permanently and cannot be
reverted to uncalibrated data or to another calibration
type. To apply another calibration type, you must reimport (re-ingest) the file.
Exploring the metadata

During ingestion, metadata is also imported. The metadata is retrieved directly
from the file header (usually an .xml or .txt file accompanying the data) or created
by Geomatica. The metadata is found at two levels, at the channel level and at
the file level.
At the channel level, metadata is limited to a set of standardized descriptors,
including the polarization type (HH, HV), the data scale (linear, decibels), and the
matrix-element position (1_1, 2_1, 4_4) of the channel. Metadata at the channel
level is read and used by many SAR processing algorithms.
At the file level, the metadata varies according to the sensor. While most of the
metadata is for information only, some is used by certain algorithms, such as the
matrix type, calibration type, and the number of looks.
To view the metadata at the file level
1. In Focus, click the Files tab.
2. Select the image for which you want to view the metadata.
3. Right click the file, and then click Properties.
The File Properties window appears.
4. Click the MetaData tab.

The file-level metadata is displayed.
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Note
It is not mandatory to import a file in a .pix format to

view its metadata.
To view the metadata at the channel level

2. Select the image for which you want to view the metadata, and then
expand the Rasters list.
3. Right-click a raster channel, and then click Properties.
The Raster Properties window appears.
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The channel-level metadata is displayed.
SAR geometry and radiometric calibration

For most geoscience applicationsquantitative analysis (biomass, soil wetness, for
example) and time-series analysis, in particularSAR data must be calibrated. You
also may need to compensate for distortions in the imagery due to the geometry of
acquisition.
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SAR geometry
Most synthetic aperture radars (SAR) used in geoscience application are usually
side-looking. A series of waves, or pulses, are transmitted by the antenna toward
the ground. Between each transmission, the same antenna is used to receive the
transmitted signal.
Each transmitted pulse is carefully controlled; that is, the frequency, polarization,
and phase of the signal are known. After the signal is scattered back to the sensor,
the travel time, backscatter power, and phase is compared to the original pulse.
Typically, over a thousand pulses are coherently averaged together to form a single
pixel.
In a SAR image, the location of each pixel and its resolution is a combination of the
time it took to be reflected back to the sensor (x, range resolution) and the time
between two pulses relative to the platform velocity (y, azimuth resolution). Since
it takes more time for a pulse to reach the far range of the radar swath, the slant
range resolution is coarser at the far range than the near range (Figure 15 and
Figure 16).
Figure 15. Slant range vs. ground range image

The SAR-image geometry can be determined by the following parameters (Lee and
Pottier, 2009):
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H: Height of SAR-imaging system moving at a velocity V SAR along the

azimuth direction (y).
Lx and Ly: Antenna physical dimensions in height (Lx) and width (Ly),
typically in meters, aiming perpendicular to the flight direction (y).
Directed slant-wise toward the ground with an incidence angle 0 .
x: ground-range direction
PCI Geomatics
y: azimuth direction
r = Antenna radial axis (Radar-line-of-sight (LOS)
Radar swath: area scanned by the antenna beam
Antenna footprint: defined from the antenna apertures ( X , Y ) given

by
X LX
and
Y LY
, where
is the wavelength corresponding
to the carrier frequency of the transmitted signal
Figure 16. SAR Geometry 2

Slant range geometry is the natural result of radar-range measurements. In many
instances, however, it is preferred to convert the data to ground-range geometry,
which is often characterized by square pixels. This is usually done using a
resampling of the data when it is geocoded.
Transformation to ground range also requires a radiometric correction at each data
point to compensate for incidence angle and local terrain slope and elevation This is
especially true for wide-swath-imagined modes with the swath spanning more than
hundreds of kilometers. This process is called radiometric calibration.
2 Source: Lee and Pottier (2009). Fig,1.1, p.6.

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Extracting a calibrated backscatter image from SAR data: Radiometric

calibration
Calibration is the process whereby the digital values of a received remotely sensed
image can be related to physical quantities of the scene, such as brightness
(reflectivity), phase, and location.
"Radiometric calibration of the data is required so that information on the
magnitude of the radar backscatter coefficient of the imaged terrain can be
extracted from the processed image data. There are two fundamental requirements
for radiometric calibration (RSI, 2004)":
Relative radiometric calibration stability (evaluation of the electrical

stability of the radar sensor hardware, antenna elevation beam pointing
estimation, and pattern correction to reduce errors due to variations in
satellite roll angle)
Absolute radiometric calibration knowledge (using precision active

transponders, set to a known radar cross section (RCS), and passive
corner reflectors or areas of known distributed target backscatter
coefficient previously measured independently by other SAR sensors or
scatterometers)
The goal of radiometric calibration is to adjust for all of the contributions in the
radiometric values not due to target characteristics, so that the backscatter value of
targets can be compared to one another or to a reference. A proper radiometric
calibration is essential for any quantitative and temporal analysis of SAR data.
Output scaling of the processor

Most data products are radiometrically calibrated by the data supplier prior to being
distributed. The last step in processing is the application of lookup tables (LUTs),
during calibration from floating-point data to digital numbers (DN) to ensure the
best use of the 8 or 16 bits in storage media. These lookup tables apply a fixed
offset and a range-dependent gain function to the data prior to generating the final
image output. The scaling used can vary by scene, making it difficult to directly
relate information between each.
The LUTs provided with the data are used by Geomatica to extract the calibrated
image. To ensure proper SAR processing, pixel values (DNs) should first be
converted to sigma-0 ( ), and used subsequently for any further analysis.
0
Geomatica also has tools for converting from DNs to both beta-0 ( ) and gamma0
0 ( ).
0
The radar backscatter coefficient ( )) is used commonly and it is expressed

per unit area in ground range (Figure 17).
0
"A problem arises if there is a non-zero slope at the local terrain site. In this case,
the projected area is determined by the local incident angle. It follows that the
correct values for cannot be obtained unless one has at hand a reliable estimate
of the local slope (Raney, 1998)".
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The radar Brightness ( ), is the most natural and observable radar

measurement (Raney et al. 1994) and corresponds to the backscatter-per-unit area
in slant range, and requires no knowledge of local incident angle (Figure 17, Figure
18 and Figure 19). For the detected product, the radar brightness corresponds to:
0
0j DN 2j A3 / A2 j
where DN j is the digital number that represents the magnitude of the
the start of a range line in the detected image data, and
value for the
j th pixel from
A2 j is the scaling gain
j th pixel, and A3 is the fixed offset. Radar Brightness in decibels (dB)
is given by:
0j (dB) 10 * log10 DN 2j A3 / A2 j
For complex (SLC) single-beam products, the pixel number, j, is related to the LUT
index i, using the same procedure as for detected products. The radar brightness
for the
j th range pixel is then given by:
0j DN I j / A2 j 2 DN Q j / A2 j 2
j th
where DNI j and DNQ j are the digital values of the I and Q components of the
pixel from the start of the range line, and
A2 j is the corresponding range
dependent gain. The offset is not used in SLC product generation. For complex
data, radar brightness in decibels (dB) is given by:
0j (dB) 10 * log10 DN I j / A2 j 2 DNQ j / A2 j 2
can be converted into
0 using:
0j 0j * sin j
or
0j (dB) 0j (dB) 10 * log10 sin j

0
can be converted into
using:
0j 0j * tan j
or
0j (dB) j0 (dB) 10 * log10 tan j

where
PCI Geomatics
is the incidence angle at the
j th range pixel.
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In Figure 17, dR is the Slant range distance entering into the definition of
0.
0 represents the average reflectivity of a horizontal material sample, normalized

with respect to a unit area AL on the horizontal ground plane.
is defined with respect to incident area
Ai , orthogonal to the incident ray from
the radar .
Figure 17. Definition of surface area and incident area used to derive
0 , 0 and
0 3
With newer SAR image formats, such as RADARSAT-2, for example, the calibrated
data is read in on the fly, or calibration is performed during ingest with the
SARINGEST algorithm.
3 Source: Raney (1998), fig.2-8, p.25 and CCRS (2007)

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Figure 18. Depression, elevation, and incidence angle:
Figure 19. Depression, elevation, and incidence angle:
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j
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Lesson 1.5: Conversion utilities

Convert complex data to other interpretations using the PSIQINTERP

algorithm
Convert one matrix type to another using the PSCONV algorithm
Whether to meet the specific needs of a workflow or simply for data exploration, it
is sometimes necessary to convert data from one format to another.
Geomatica 2014 includes two conversion algorithms to provide you with such
flexibility: PSIQINTERP and PSCONV.
Converting complex data to other interpretations

Some SAR-processing algorithms require detected data in the input; such as most
SAR-speckle filtering algorithms (FEFROST, FELEE, FGAMMA, FTOUZI, et al).
The PSIQINTERP algorithm converts SAR images in single-look(SLC) or multilook
(MLC) complex format to other interpretations, such as detected data or phase
product. PSIQINTERP can also be used to extract the real or imaginary part of a
complex number, or to store each part in a separate channel.
To convert a complex channel to other interpretations
1. In Focus, on the Tools menu, click Algorithm Librarian.
3. In the Find what box, type PSIQINTERP, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSIQINTERP algorithm.
The PSIQINTERP Module Control Panel window appears.
5. Under Input Ports , click Browse, and then select the
~\SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_20100507
\FQ29_20100507sig.pix file.
6. Select the first channel (HH).
7. Under Output Ports, click the Output: SAR Dataset entry, click
Untitled.pix, and then click Browse.
folder.
9. In the File Name box, type FQ29_20100507sig_HH_dB.pix, and then
click Save.
The new path and file name appear in the PSIQINTERP Module Control
Panel window.
The output data-interpretation options are displayed.
11. In the Output data interpretation list, click Decibel.
12. Click Run.
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Exercise 1: Using the PSIQINTERP algorithm, extract from

FQ29_20100507sig.pix different complex channel interpretations for one or all
channels.
Converting a matrix representation to another matrix type

PSCONV converts a polarimetric SAR (POLSAR) data set between different matrix
formats, required by different polarimetric SAR algorithms. The available outputmatrix formats depend on the input-matrix type, as described in the following
procedure. Here, the entire input data set is converted.
To convert a matrix representation to another matrix type
3. In the Find what box, type PSCONV, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSCONV algorithm.
The PSCONV Module Control Panel window appears.
5. Under Input Ports , click Browse and select the
~\ SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_20100507
\FQ29_20100507sig.pix file.
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6. Select all channels (HH, HV, VH, and VV).

7. Under Output Ports, click Untitled.pix, and then click Browse.
~\ SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_20100507
folder.
9. In the File Name box, type FQ29_20100507sig_ c4r6c.pix, and then
click Save.
The new path and file name appear in the PSCONV Module Control Panel
window.
10. Click the Input Params 1 tab..
11. In the Output matrix representation list, click c4r6c.
This corresponds to a non-symmetrized covariance matrix.
12. Click Run.
The original complex-scattering matrix (s4c) is converted to a nonsymmetrized covariance matrix (c4r6c).
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You can use the PSCONV algorithm when a specific matrix format is required for a
polarimetric algorithm that does not automatically perform the conversion. Some
decomposition algorithms require a specific matrix representation as input. For
example, the Cloude and Pottier decomposition (PSEBA) requires a filteredcoherency matrix while output from polarimetric filters corresponds to a covariance
matrix.
Because the matrix type is read from the metadata, Geomatica will automatically
convert the covariance matrix to the coherency matrix (matrix type) before
applying the decomposition.
The following table lists the possible matrix conversions.
Conversion s4c
to
S3c s2c s1c c4r6c C3r3c
s4c
--
S3c
--
s2c
C3r3c
--
c1r
--
--
T3r3c
K9r
c2r1c
c2r
K9r
--
c4r6c
k16r
k16r
--
s1c
t4r6c
t4r6c T3r3c
--
In conversions between a symmetrized and a non-symmetrized form of the same

matrix type, the cross-polarization terms are duplicated. In conversions between a
non-symmetrized and a symmetrized form of the same matrix type, the crosspolarization terms are averaged to produce a single common value.
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Module 2: Applying radiometric

enhancements
About this module

Module 2 has three lessons:
Lesson 2.2: Applying the PSBOXCAR filter to polarimetric data
Lesson 2.3: Applying the PSPOLFIL filter to polarimetric data
Radiometric enhancement
The goal of radiometric enhancement is to improve the interpretation of the
radiometric information in an image using speckle and spatial filters. These filters
can reduce speckle, detect edges, analyze texture, and visually enhance the image.
Image variance, or speckle, is a granular noise that is inherent to SAR imagery.
Speckle gives a grainy, salt-and-pepper appearance and tends to be a dominating
factor in radar imagery. Speckle filters are used primarily with radar data to
remove high-frequency noise (speckle), while preserving high-frequency features
(edges).

Filter an image using different SAR adaptive filters
Compare different filtering results from SAR adaptive filters
SAR speckle filters

Coherent signal-scattering in SAR data often causes image speckle or a salt-andpepper effect. Speckle is inherent to most SAR images, and can inhibit accurate
image interpretation. There are several types of speckle filters and they generally
fall into either of two general categories:
Non-adaptive, or template
Adaptive
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Non-adaptive filters apply to the parameters of the whole image. They do not take
into account the local properties of terrain backscatter or the nature of the sensor.
Examples of non-adaptive filters are the Mean, Median, Edge Detection, and Sieve
filters.
Adaptive filters accommodate changes in local properties of the terrain backscatter.
They modify the image based on statistics extracted from the local environment of
each pixel. The main advantage of adaptive filters is that they maintain an accurate
estimate of the backscattering coefficient inside homogeneous (stationary) areas,
while preserving edge and texture structure in nonstationary scenes. Examples of
adaptive filters are the Frost, Lee, Gamma, and Touzi filters. Adaptive filters are
designed specifically for SAR images.
The ideal speckle-reduction filter reduces the speckle, but has minimal loss of
information. The filter should preserve radiometric information in homogeneous
areas, and preserve radiometric information and spatial-signal variability (textural
information) in textured areas.
With the FSPEC algorithm, which is a SAR-speckle filter, you can select which SAR
speckle filter you want to apply to your data. From a single panel, you can select
from many SAR speckle filters to apply.
The filter algorithms require that the signal represents power. If the input image is
in amplitude format, each gray level will be squared to derive power, and then the
square root will be applied to the filtered result.
In this lesson, you will apply and compare several adaptive SAR-speckle filters.
Applying an enhanced Frost filter

With the Frost filter, the unspeckled pixel value is estimated for each pixel by
computing the weighted sum of the center pixel value, the mean value, and the
variance calculated in a circular kernel surrounding the pixel. The enhanced Frost
filter minimizes the loss of radiometric and textural information.
Data preprocessing
Using the concepts learned in Lesson 1.4: Ingesting and extracting a calibrated
backscatter image from SAR data and Lesson 1.5: Conversion utilities and the
Vancouver scene located in
~\SAR_Training\Radar\Vancouver_RS2_FQ2_SLC, do the following:
1. Ingest the product.xml file into a PCIDSK file using sigma as the
calibration type.
Name the file Van_RS2_FQ02sig.pix.
2. Use the PSIQINTERP algorithm to convert the complex data to detected
data.
Convert the HH and the HV channel to Intensity. Name the file
Van_RS2_FQ02sig_HH.pix.
This creates a simulated dual pol image.
To open the FSPEC algorithm
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3. In the Find what box, type FSPEC, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the FSPEC algorithm.
The FSPEC Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the parameters for FSPEC
1. Under Input Ports, expand the Input: Unfiltered Layers entry.
The tree expands to show the array segments.
2. Click Browse, open the ~\SAR_Training\Radar\Vancouver_RS2_FQ2_SLC
folder, select the Van_RS2_FQ02sig_HH.pix, and then select the HH
channel for this file.
3. Under Output Ports, click the Output: Filter Layer(s) entry, click
The File Selector window opens.
4.
Open the Radar Data folder.
5. In the File Name box, type Van_RS2_FQ02sig_HH_FFrost7.pix.

6. Click Save.
The path and file name are updated in the FSPEC Module Control Panel
window.
8. In the Image Units list, select Power.
Image units specify the image format of the radar image.
Note: Intensity = Power, Amplitude = Magnitude
9. In the Filter Type list, select Enhanced Frost.
10. In the Filter X list, select 7.
11. In the Filter Y list, select 7.
The filter kernel size will be 7 x 7 pixels.
12. In the Number of Looks box, enter 1.
13. In the Damping Factor box, you need not change the default value of 1.
You must enter correct parameters for the image files you are working
with. The number of looks and the image type information is available in
the format definition included with your data or in the file metadata.
14. Click Run.
The Enhanced Frost filter runs and the result displays appear in Focus.
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Applying a Touzi filter

Unlike other filters, the Touzi filter adapts the size and shape of the filter processing
window based on signal nonstationarity. It also has a multiresolution ratio edge
detector for better filtering of contours and edges. This is effective when applied to
fine structures, such as roads and trails, which are generally smoothed out by other
filters.
To apply a Touzi Filter
1. In the FSPEC Module Control Panel window, click the Files tab.
2. Right-click Van_RS2_FQ02sig_HH_FFrost7.pix, and then click
Browse.
3. Open the ~\SAR_Training\Radar\Vancouver_RS2_FQ2_SLC folder.
4. In the File Name box, type Van_RS2_FQ02sig_HH_FTouzi11.pix.
5. Click Save.
The path and file name are updated in the FSPEC Module Control Panel
window.
7. In the Image Units list, select Power.
8. In the Filter Type list, select Touzi.
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9. In the Filter X list and the Filter Y list, respectively, select 11.
The filter kernel size will be 11x11 pixels.
10. In the Number of Looks box, enter 1.
11. In the Contour Threshold box, type 0.5.
12. In the Edge Threshold box, type 0.5.
13. In the Gradient Threshold box, type 0.1.
14. Click Run.
The Touzi filter runs and the results appear in Focus.
The two SAR speckle filtered images can now be compared in Focus.
Exercise 1: With FSPEC, run the enhanced Frost filter again on the same file
(Van_RS2_FQ02sig_HH.pix). Specify a window size of 11. Specify the following
name in the Output: File Layer (s) port:
Van_RS2_FQ02sig_HH_FFrost11.pix.
Run the Average filter to get another comparison basis to evaluate the results
obtained from the SAR adaptive filters.
Compare the results to the original HH SLC channel (Van_RS2_FQ02sig_SLC.pix),
both visually and numerically.
Stats: HH SLC
Water: 0.3430.35
(med: 0.226)
Forest: 0.1990.24
(med: 0.12)
H-D. Urban:
2.1595.56
(med: 0.50)
L-D. urban:
0.2120.32
(med: 0.11)
HH SLC (non filtered)
HH SLC (non filtered), sites

Stats: HH Enh. Frost
7x7
Water: 0.3410.14
(med:0.316)
Forest: 0.1980.13
(med:0.173)
H-D. Urban:
2.0624.59
(med:0.669)
L-D. urban:
0.2140.21
(med:0.164)
HH Enh. Frost 7x7
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(HH SLC) (Enh. Frost 7x7)
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Stats: HH Enh. Frost

11x11
Water: 0.3400.12
(med:0.314)
Forest:
0.1980.12
(med:0.175)
H-D. Urban:
2.1505.34
(med:0.559)
L-D. Urban:
0.2142.26
(med:0.160)
HH Enh. Frost 11x11
(HH-SLC) (Enh. Frost 11x11)

Stats: Touzi 11x11
Water: 0.2630.102
(med:0.258)
Forest:
0.1520.077
(med:0.148)
H-D. Urban:
1.5153.03
(med:0.592)
L-D. urban:
0.1630.117
(med:0.133)
Touzi 11x11
(HH SLC) (Touzi 11x11)

Stats: Average 7x7
Water: 0.3380.65
(med:0.329)
Forest: 0.1970.05
(med:0.19)
H-D. Urban:
2.1262.06
(med: 1.38)
L-D. urban:
0.2270.32
(med:0.08)
Average 7x7
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(HH SLC) (Average 7x7)
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Stats: Average
11x11
Water: 0.3310.03
(med:0.330)
Forest:
0.1960.03
(med:0.190)
H-D. Urban:
2.1845.56
(med:1.39)
L-D. urban:
0.2280.32
(med:0.05)
Average 11x11
(HH SLC) (Average 11x11)
Figure 20. Result of different filters and windows size
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Lesson summary
In this lesson, you:
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Filtered an image using enhanced Frost, Gamma, and Touzi adaptive

filters
Visually and numerically compared the results of the different filter

operations
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Lesson 2.2: Applying the PSBOXCAR filter to

polarimetric data
Apply a polarimetric filter to a RADARSAT-2 image
Compare the effect of different processing window sizes
The PSBOXCAR algorithm applies a boxcar filter to an input polarimetric SAR

(POLSAR) data set. The boxcar filter replaces every image pixel by an average of
pixel values in a window centered on the pixel. All of the raster channels in the
input image are filtered independently.
Boxcar filtering is usually used to increase the effective number of looks (ENL) in
the data. This step is required if an algorithm requires a minimum ENL that is
higher than the ENL of the input data. The input image must represent a nonsymmetrized or symmetrized fully polarimetric data set, which could be in
scattering (s4c, S3c or s2c), covariance (c4r6c or C3r3c), coherency (t4r6c or
T3r3c), or Kennaugh (k16r or K9r) matrix format.
Input data sets in scattering-matrix format are converted to the covariance-matrix
format before filtering. For such data, the output-matrix type and the number of
channels in the output file depend on the input-matrix type, as follows:
Input s4c: output c4r6c, 10 channels
Input S3c: output c3r3c, 6 channels
Input s2c output c2r1c, 3 channels
For input data in all other matrix formats, the output-matrix type and the number
of channels in the output are the same as those in the input. The physical quantity
of output pixel values (sigma-0, beta-0, or gamma-0) is always the same as in the
input data set.
Applying the PSBOXCAR filter

You apply the PSBOXCAR filter using the PSBOXCAR algorithm.
To open the PSBOXCAR algorithm
The Algorithm Librarian window opens.
3. In the Find what box, type PSBOXCAR, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSBOXCAR algorithm.
The PSBOXCAR Module Control Panel window appears.
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To set up the parameters for PSBOXCAR

1. Under Input Ports, expand the Input: Input polarimetric SAR image
entry.
2. Click Browse, open the
~\SAR_Training\Radar\Vancouver_RS2_FQ2_SLC folder, and then
select Van_RS2_FQ02sig_SLC.pix.
3. Select each of the channels in the list.
4. Under Output Ports, expand the Output: Output polarimetric SAR
filtered image entry, select Untitled.pix, and then click Browse.
5. In the File name box, type Van_RS2_FQ02sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix, and
then click Save.
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7. In the Horizontal filter size list and Vertical filter size list,
respectively, select 7.
The choice of a particular window size will have a strong impact on the
results produced by a polarimetric decomposition algorithm.
8. Click Run.
Repeat steps 3 to 8, specifying a different window size, and then compare the
results.
SLC
3x3
5x5
7x7
9x9
11x11
15x15
21x21
31x31
Figure 21. Various window sizes with the PXBOXCAR algorithm
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Lesson summary
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Applied a polarimetric filter to the RADARSAT-2 image
Compared the effect of different processing window size
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Lesson 2.3: Applying the PSPOLFIL filter to

polarimetric data
Apply a polarimetric filter to the RADARSAT-2 image
Compare the effect of different processing window size
The PSPOLFIL algorithm applies a speckle filter to the fully polarimetric SAR data
set. Unlike the boxcar filter, this filter preserves the edges. Edge-detection and
homogeneity parameters are estimated from the local power image.
The input image must represent a non-symmetrized or symmetrized fully
polarimetric (quad-polarization, complex) data set in the scattering (s4c or S3c),
covariance (c4r6c or C3r3c), coherency (t4r6c or T3r3c), or Kennaugh (k16r or
K9r) matrix format.
Input data sets in the scattering-matrix format are converted to the covariancematrix format before filtering. For such data, the output-matrix type and the
number of channels in the output file depend on the input-matrix type, as follows:
Input s4c: output c4r6c, 10 channels
Input S3c: output C3r3c, 6 channels
For input data in all other matrix formats, the output-matrix type and the number
of channels in the output file are the same as in the input file.
Applying a speckle filter

The PSPOLFIL algorithm applies a speckle filter.
To open the PSPOLFIL algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type PSPOLFIL, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSPOLFIL algorithm.
The PSPOLFIL Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the parameters for PSPOLFIL
entry, click Browse, and then open the Van_RS2_FQ02sig_SLC.pix file.
3. Under Output Ports, expand the Output: Output polarimetric SAR
filtered image entry, select Untitled.pix, and then click Browse.
The File Selector window opens.
4. In the File Name box, type Van_RS2_FQ02sig_PSPOLFIL_7.pix, and
then click Save.
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6. In the Filter size list, select 7.

Note: The choice of a particular window size will have a strong impact on
the results produced by a polarimetric decomposition algorithm.
7. Accept the default Number of Looks (1).
Note: You can estimate the ENL by calculating the mean squared to
variance ratio (of the intensity data) in a homogenous area.
8. Click Run.
Exercise 3: When the module runs to completion, open the file in Focus, and then
compare the results of this filter to those of the boxcar filter.
SLC
3x3
5x5
7x7
9x9
11x11
15x15
21x21
31x31
Figure 22. PSPOLFIL results for different window size
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Lesson summary
Filtered a quad-polarized image using the PSPOLFIL algorithm
Compared the PSPOLFIL filtering with PSBOXCAR and the original

unfiltered data
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Module 3: Polarimetric
decompositions
About this module

Polarimetry fundamentals
The study of polarimetry refers to the science behind, and the techniques relating
to, the analysis of the polarimetric properties of electromagnetic waves, and the
scattering of these waves.
When orthogonal polarization combinations are used, the complete scattering
properties of a radar target can be determined for a specific frequency, incidence
angle, and azimuth direction. The extraction of information, such as terrain
classification, is an important component of polarimetry.
In single-polarized images, the return is proportional to the target cross-section.
The amount of backscattering the radar system measures is dependent on the
target, the relative orientation of the target and radar system, and the polarization.
Figure 23. Diversity of polarization modes 4

4 Source: JAXA (2012), adapted from eoPORTAL
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With a monostatic (that is, the T X and R X antennas are co-located) polarimetric
T
R
X
) and the receiving antenna ( X ) can be
radar, the transmitting antenna (
modeled as a vector containing two polarization states that form an orthogonal

basis. Because the polarization state of the transmitted signal is known, and the
state of the received signal, the polarimetric properties of the target can be
represented. This matrix is called the complex-scattering matrix (
S ).
H
H
TX , R X
V
V
TX R XT S ,
S SHH
VH
S HV
SVV
It is important to stress that the retrieval of the polarimetric properties of a target

is possible only if the phase information of the H and V polarization is carefully
controlled in the SAR hardware, and carefully measured and preserved at the
signal-reception and focusing (processing) stages.
There are numerous advantages to using polarimetric data for image analysis.
Agricultural applications include crop-type identification, crop-condition monitoring,
and soil-moisture measurement. Forestry applications include biomass estimation
and species identification. Other applications of polarimetric data include geology,
hydrography, oceanography, and wetlands mapping.
Canonical targets
Canonical targets correspond to simple geometric structures whose interpretation
of diffusion is facilitated by the presence of symmetry plane in the matrices used to
represent them. Interpretation of polarimetric responses, like that of the
parameters from a polarimetric decomposition, is often based on a comparison with
the canonical targets.
Target
Scattering matrix
(H-V basis)
Sphere = S
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Co-pol polarimetric
response
1 0
0 1
PCI Geomatics
Target
Scattering matrix
(H-V basis)
Trihedral =
1 0
S
0 1
Dihedral = S
1 0
0 1
Co-pol polarimetric
response
For an Oriented Dihedral
cos 2
S
sin 2
sin 2
cos 2
Horizontal Dipole
1 0
S
0 0
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Target
Scattering matrix
(H-V basis)
Co-pol polarimetric
response
Vertical Dipole
0 0
S
0 1
Oriented
Dipole
2
cos
S
1 sin 2
2
1 2
sin
2
2
sin
Left Helix
1 j
S
j 1
Right Helix
1 j
S
j 1
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Figure 24. Canonical targets representation (in H-V basis), (Source: van Zyl et
Ulaby (1990), p.33-45.)
The sphere and the trihedral are both characterized by an odd number of bounces,
which results in a 0 phase difference in the backscatter alignment (BSA)
convention. Each produces a uniform scattering for all linear polarizations (=0),
which results in HH = VV. For an even number of bounces, (dihedral, for example)
the target introduces a 180 phase difference between the HH and VV polarization
and HH = -VV.
However, the HH and VV channels are still equal in intensity. If the dihedral in a
plane perpendicular to the radar line of sight (LOS) is rotated, it introduces a
depolarization of the signal, and the HV and VH channels are no longer equal to
zero. For a pure canonical dihedral, the signal is repolarized more than depolarized.
If the value of the angle is found, it is possible to cancel out its effect and retrieve
a pure dihedral scattering.
A dipole will produce a strong scattering in only one polarization channel according
to its orientation. Like the dihedral, it is possible to cancel out the effect of the
orientation angle for the case where it is not equal to 0 (HH) or 90 (VV).
Finally, the helix is an abstract construction, because it does not correspond to a
real physical target. This kind of scattering can occur in an urban environment
where multiple scattering is common. One way to produce a pure-helix scattering is
to place two dihedrals, oriented at 45 from each other. The phase difference
between the HH and VV channel will be 180.
If a pixel, or a small group of pixels, corresponds to a canonical target, it will
generally produce a highly polarized and strong scattering. These pixels are called
point targets or coherent point targets.
Backscattering mechanisms
The reality, however, is often more complex and only a small fraction of an image
pixel corresponds to a coherent point target. The scattering mechanisms tend to be
horizontally and vertically superposed. In such a case, it is necessary to average
(multilook) several pixels, to estimate the dominant scattering mechanisms, if any,
and the degree of polarization.
For example, a "forest stand can be broken down into individual components that
drive radar backscatter, these components are (Lo, 1998):
(a) Direct backscattering from the soil surface
(b) Volume scattering from foliage, shrub canopy, and leaf litter if present
(c) Direct backscattering from big branches and trunks if they are rough
or at normal incidence
(d) Interaction components due to corner reflection from tree trunks
(e) Other interaction components due to multiple scattering between

foliage and ground surface, big branches and surface, foliage and shrub
canopy, and so forth"
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With the same area, depending on the characteristics of the sensor (incidence and
orientation angle, spatial resolution, and wavelength), different scattering
mechanisms might dominate the scattered signal. Several polarimetric
decompositions have been proposed to facilitate the interpretation of the scattered
mechanism of a full-polarimetric image.
Figure 25. Horizontal and vertical superposition of scattering mechanisms5
Pol
olarimetric decomposition
There are two families of polarimetric decomposition: the coherent and the
incoherent decomposition.
The coherent target decompositions are applied only on single-look complex
(SLC) images and generally pixel-by-pixel for the characterization of a point
target. Although a dominant scattering mechanism can be found for each pixel of
an image, a coherence test is generally applied on each before the decomposition
to ensure a meaningful result. This topic will be covered in Lesson 4 of this course.
As mentioned previously, most natural targets, called extended targets, are
incoherent; that is, they cover more than one pixel, are partially polarized, and in
most cases have more than one scattering mechanism for any given pixel. The
complex-scattering matrix ([S]) is no longer appropriate to represent an incoherent
target, and a second-order representation is needed. Several matrices can be used
to represent an incoherent target: the Mueller ([M]), Kennaugh ([K]), the
coherency ([T]) and the covariance ([C]) matrices are used commonly:
T
kc S hh , 2 Shv , Svv
5 Source: Lo (1998)
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C3 kc kcT
Shh
*
2 Shv S hh
*
Svv Shh
*
2 Shh S hv
Shh Svv*
2 Shv
2 Shv Svv*
2 Svv Shv*
Svv
Covariance matrix
1
T
kt
Shh Svv , Shh Svv , 2Shv
2
T3

kt kt*T
S hh Svv
1
*
S hh Svv S hh Svv
2
*
2 S hv S hh Svv
Shh Svv Shh Svv
S hh Svv
2 S hv S hh Svv
*
2 S hh Svv S hv
*
2 S hh Svv S hv
4 S hv
Coherence matrix
Where
... indicates a temporal or spatial ensemble averaging. Symmetrized cases
are presented by (HV=VH).

The "objective of the incoherent target decomposition theory" is to express the
average-scattering mechanism as the sum of independent elements to associate a
physical mechanism with each component. Target-scattering decomposition permits
the extraction of target-characteristic information, provided that the decomposition
satisfies the general requirement of being robust under a change of wave
polarization basis (that is, roll invariant) (Touzi, 2007)". The angle of Figure 24
can be calculated and its effect compensated. (Touzi, 2007)"
There are several types of incoherent decomposition, but each can be distinguished
by two broad classes: the physical and the mathematical incoherent
decomposition.
Physical incoherent decomposition

The Freeman-Durden decomposition (PSFREDUR) corresponds to a modelbased decomposition of the coherency matrix developed for forested areas. The
author hypothesized that the total power (that is, the span) could be decomposed
as the sum of three scattering mechanisms:
Odd: corresponding to a slightly rough surface modeled as a first-order

Bragg surface scattering. This component contains the contribution of all
single-bounce or odd-bounce scatterers. For example, a trihedral will
produce a strong contribution to the slightly rough surface component.
Double-bounce: modeled as a dihedral corner reflector and representing

the ground-tree-trunk scattering (enhanced when the forest is inundated).
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Volume: modeled as the contribution from a cloud of randomly oriented

cylinder-like (dipole) scatterers that represent the volume scattering from
a forest canopy.
Today, this decomposition is used to decompose (interpret) the scattering of many

environments, such as urban areas, wetlands, and agricultural lands.
Mathematical-incoherent decomposition
The mathematical decompositions are not based on a physical model; however,
they can be applied to the analysis of all kinds of land-use and land-cover classes.
The current mathematical decompositions are based on an eingenvector
decomposition of the coherency matrix, which is analogous to a principalcomponent analysis (PCA).
The eigenvector decomposition, while mathematically unique, is not necessarily a
straightforward interpretation (when compared to a physical decomposition). This is
because there is no guarantee that the eigenvectors will represent any known
physical scattering mechanism directly (van Zyl and Kim, 2011).
In this module, the results of two mathematical incoherent decompositions will be
examined: the Cloude-Pottier and the Touzi decomposition.
The Cloude and Pottier eigen decomposition proposes an unsupervised
classification of the coherency matrix. Many parameters representing the scattering
characteristics of a distributed target are derived from the resulting eigenvectors
and eigenvalues. Among the parameters, the average alpha ( ) and Beta ( )
angles are the most used. While corresponds to the average scattering
mechanism of an extended target,
radar line of sight (LOS).
correspond to its orientation around the
Derived from the eigenvalues, the entropy (H), and the Anisotropy (A) complete
the description of the scattering type. The entropy (H) is used to characterize the
scattering randomness. A low entropy value (H <0.3) indicates the presence of a
dominant and deterministic scattering mechanism (dominant eigenvalue), which
means that only one scattering mechanism is contributing significantly to .
As H increases, the randomness of the scattering increases, which indicates a
greater mix between different kinds of scattering mechanisms. At H=1, the
scattering is random (completely depolarized) corresponding to pure white noise.
The polarimetric anisotropy (A) measures the relative importance of the second and
third eigenvalues. A high anisotropy value indicates the presence of a second
significant scattering mechanism, along the dominant scattering mechanism.
The average alpha angle and the Entropy are often combined to form the H /
plane, which leads to an unsupervised classification of a polarimetric image into the
following nine zone classes:
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Zone 9: Low-entropy surface scatter. Low-entropy scattering

processes with values less than 42.5 occur. These include GO
(geometrical optics) and PO (physical optics) surface scatteringBragg
surface scattering and specular scattering phenomena which do not
involve 180 phase inversions between HH and VV. Physical surfaces, such
as water at L and P-bands, sea-ice at L-band, and very smooth land
surfaces, all fall into this category.
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Zone 8: Low-entropy dipole scattering. Strongly correlated

mechanisms that have large imbalances between HH and VV in amplitude.
An isolated dipole scatterer would appear here, as would scattering from
vegetation with strongly correlated orientation of anisotropic scattering
elements. The width of this zone is determined by the ability of the radar
to measure the HH/VV ratio; that is, on the quality of the calibration.
Zone 7: Low-entropy multiple scattering events. Corresponds to lowentropy double, or even-bounce scattering events, such as those provided
by isolated-dielectric and metallic-dihedral scatterers. These are
characterized by > 47.5.
Zone 6: Medium-entropy surface scatter. Reflects the increase in

entropy H due to changes in surface roughness and canopy-propagation
effects. In surface-scattering theory, the entropy H of low-frequency
Bragg scattering is zero. As the roughness and correlation length of a
surface increases, its entropy H also increases. Furthermore, a surface
cover comprising oblate-ellipsoidal scatterers (leafs or discs for example)
generates an entropy 0.6 < H < 0.7.
Zone 5: Medium-entropy vegetation scattering. Moderate entropy H,

but with a dominant dipole-type scattering mechanism. The increased
entropy H is due to a central statistical distribution of orientation angles.
Such a zone includes scattering from vegetated surfaces with anisotropic
scatterers and moderate correlation of scatterer orientations.
Zone 4: Medium-entropy multiple scattering. Accounts for dihedral

scattering with moderate entropy H. This occurs, for example, in forestry
applications, where double-bounce mechanisms happen at P and L bands
following propagation through a canopy. The effect of the canopy is to
increase the entropy H of the scattering process. A second important
process in this category is urban areas, where dense packing of localized
scattering centers can generate moderate entropy H with low-order
multiple scattering dominant. The boundary between zones 4, 5, 6, and 1,
2, 3 is set as 0.9. This is chosen on the basis of the upper limit for
surface, volume, and dihedral scattering before random distributions
apply.
Zone 3: High-entropy surface scatter. Not part of the feasible region

in H- space (surface scattering with entropy H>0.9 cannot be
distinguished). This is a direct consequence of the increasing inability to
classify scattering types with increasing entropy. It is included to reinforce
the idea that increasing entropy really does limit the ability to use
polarimetric behavior to classify targets. Radar polarimetry will then be
most successfully applied to low-entropy problems.
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Zone 2: High-entropy vegetation scattering. High-entropy volume

scattering arises when = 45 and H > 0.9. This can occur for single
scattering from a cloud of anisotropic needle-like particles, or for multiple
scattering from a cloud of low-loss symmetric particles. In both cases,
however, the entropy H lies above 0.9, where the feasible region of H/
plane is shrinking rapidly. Scattering from forest canopies lies in this
region, as does the scattering from some types of vegetated surfaces with
random highly anisotropic scattering elements. The extreme behavior in
this class is random noise; that is, no polarization dependence, a point
which lies to the extreme right in Figure 26.
Zone 1: High-entropy multiple scattering. ln the H> 0.9 region, it is

still possible to distinguish double-bounce mechanisms in a high-entropy
environment. Again, such mechanisms can be observed in forestry
applications or in scattering from vegetation with a well-developed branch
and crown structure. 6
Figure 26. H- classification plane 7

The Touzi decomposition (PSTOUZIDEC) is based on the characteristic
decomposition of the coherency matrix. For reciprocal targets, the characteristic
decomposition leads to the representation of the coherency matrix as the
incoherent sum of three single scatterers, each weighted by its normalized and
positive eigenvalues ( i , i =1, 2, 3).
6 Source: Cloude, S.R., Pottier, E. (1997). An Entropy based Classification scheme for Land
Applications of Polarimetric SARs. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.
Vol.35, no.2, p.6878.
7 Source: Lee et Pottier, 2009
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The Touzi decomposition uses the Touzi scattering-vector model to represent each
coherency eigenvector with unique target characteristics. Each coherency
eigenvector is uniquely characterized by five independent parameters. Scattering
type is described with a complex entity, whose magnitude ( si ) and phase ( si )
characterize the magnitude and phase of target scattering. The helicity ( i )
characterizes the symmetric-asymmetric nature of target scattering.
The Touzi decomposition is similar to the Cloude-Pottier decomposition except that:
It does not proceed to the weighted sum of each eigenvectorss

parameters by their respective eigenvalues
It takes into account the polarimetric phase ( si )
It compensates for symmetric-asymmetric nature of target scattering ( i )
The orientation angle ( i ) is the conventional Huynen tilt angle.

Target scattering can be characterized by a deep analysis of the parameters of the
three eigenvectors. Touzi and others have shown that the analysis of dominant
scattering parameters can lead to efficient wetland classification
The psi angle compensates for the rotation of an object in the plane perpendicular
to the radar line of sight (LOS) to provide an unbiased estimation of the scattering
type (alpha angle). The Touzi decomposition also compensates for a lack of
symmetry (of an object), in a plane parallel to the radar LOS based on the value
stored in the helicity parameter.
A symmetric object will correspond to a helicity value close to zero, while an
asymmetric object will correspond to higher positive and negative helicity values.
Target asymmetry will introduce a helix-like type of scattering.
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Ingest a RADARSAT-2 quadpol image using the SARINGEST algorithm
Apply a boxcar filter on the ingested SAR data with the PSBOXCAR
algorithm
Use the PSFREDUR algorithm to perform the Freeman-Durden

decomposition
Use Focus EASI Modeling to create a normalized version of the FreemanDurden parameters
Ingesting a quadpol image

To ingest a quadpol image, you use the SARINGEST algorithm.
To open the SARINGEST algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type SARINGEST, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the SARINGEST algorithm.
The SARINGEST Module Control Panel window appears.
5. Under Output Ports, in the Output: SAR Dataset entry, select
Untitled.pix, click Browse, and then open the
~\SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_20100507 folder.
6. Enter FQ29_20100507sig as the output file name.
7. Click the Input Params 1 tab, beside the File box, click Browse, and
then select the product.xml file.
8. In the Data Calibration menu, click Sigma Nought as the calibration
type.
Applying the boxcar filter

You apply a boxcar filter using the PSBOXCAR algorithm.
To set up the parameters for PSBOXCAR
entry.
folder, and then select FQ29_20100507sig.
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4. Under Output Ports, in the Output: Output polarimetric SAR filtered

image entry, select Untitled.pix, and then click Browse.
5. In the File name box, type FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix,
and then click Save.
7. In the Horizontal filter size list and the Vertical filter size list,
respectively, select 7.
8. Click Run.
Performing the Freeman-Durden decomposition

You apply a Freeman-Durden decomposition using the PSFREDUR algorithm.
To open the PSFREDUR algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type PSFREDUR, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSFREDUR algorithm.
The PSFREDUR Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the PSFREDUR algorithm
1. Under Input Ports, click Browse, and then open the
folder.
2. Select the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix file.
3. Select each raster of the imported file.
4. Under Output Ports, click Browse, and then enter
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7 _PSFREDUR.pix as the name of
the output file.
5. Click Run.
To view the result of PSFREDUR
1. In Focus, on the File menu, click Open.
2.
Open the
folder.
3. Select the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7 _PSFREDUR.pix file,

and then click Open.
Exercise 1: Examine an RGB composite made of the Freeman-Durden parameters,
and each parameter in grayscale. You can compare the Freeman-Durden
decomposition to the Landsat-5 mosaic provided with this course:
~\SAR_Training\Landsat\Flevoland_L5_20100906_p198_r23r24.pix
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Exercise 2: Locate and examine some features that are producing a strong
scattering in only one of the components, in two components, or in all components.
For example, locate the bright area centered on 1789P, 3073L (671 036E, 5 823
936N). This industrial area produces a strong double-bounce scattering, as
predicted by the theory, but many buildings seem also to be characterized by a
stronger volume-scattering compared to the surrounding forest, which is less
intuitive. This is because the Freeman-Durden decomposition directly uses the HV
channel to calculate the volume contribution of the total backscattered signal.
In urban areas, many scattering processes can create a strong return in HV, which
are not volumic by nature. Among these are multiple scattering (the addition of
many scattering mechanisms in one cell of resolution), a building not aligned with
the radar line of sight (orientation effects), or a non-symmetric object.
Interpreting the Freeman-Durden decomposition can be easier by normalizing the
radiometry to calculate the fraction of the total scattered power associated with
each component.
Producing a normalized version of the Freeman-Durden

decomposition
You can produce a normalized version of the Freeman-Durden decomposition in
Focus with EASI Modeling.
To add four new 32-bit real channels
1. In Focus, click the Files tab, and then select the
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7 _PSFREDUR.pix file.
2. Select New Raster Layer.
3. Add four new 32-bit real channels.
To normalize the decomposition
1. In Focus, on the Tools menu, click EASI Modeling.
2. In the Input File list, click the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7
_PSFREDUR.pix file.
3. In the box below the Input File list, enter the code as shown in the
following figure.
Note: Comments indicated by "!" can be omitted
Note: The code can be loaded from:
~\SAR_Training\EASI_script\Module3_FreDur_Norm.eas
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4. Click Run.
Both versions can now be compared; each has its own utility. The power version is
often preferred if the components are to be used in a classification, while the
normalized version helps to better understand the composition of backscattered
power in mixing of scattering mechanisms.
Power version (RGB)

R: Double G: Volume B:
Surface
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Normalized version (RGB)

R: % Double G: %Volume
B: % Surface
Total power (span)
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% Double
% Surface
% Volume
Power, Double
Power, Surface
Power, Volume
HH
VV
HV
Figure 27. PSFREDUR, Freeman-Durden decomposition results
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Lesson summary
Ingested a RADARSAT-2 quadpol image using SARINGEST
Applied a PSBOXCAR filter on the ingested SAR data
Used PSFREDUR to perform the Freeman-Durden decomposition
Used Focus EASI Modeling to create a normalized version of the FreemanDurdens parameters
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Use PSEABA to perform the Cloude-Pottier decomposition
Use EASI modeling to analyze of the Cloude-Pottier parameters
Performing the Cloude-Pottier decomposition

To perform the Cloude-Pottier decomposition, you use the PSEABA algorithm.
To open the PSEABA algorithm
3. In the Find what box, PSEABA, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSEABA algorithm.
The PSEABA Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the PSEABA algorithm
1.
Under Input Ports, click Browse, and then open the

folder.

FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSEABA.pix as the name of the
output file.
5. Click the Input Params 1 tab, and then select the Retrieve
eigenvalues and eigenvectors check box.
6. Click Run
Exercise 3: Examining the PSEABA decomposition results using thresholds.
Examine the Cloude-Pottier decomposition parameters. Keep in mind that the
entropy is stored in channel 1 (%1), the anisotropy in channel 2 (%2), the alpha
angle in channel 3 (%3), and the beta angle in channel 4 (% 4).
1. Find the targets characterized by a double-bounce ( 55).
2. Are these double-bounce targets characterized by a low entropy? What is
the mean entropy of these targets (mean = 0.610.2, med = 0.63)?
3. Is the double-bounce scattering generally characterized by one dominant
or two scattering mechanisms ( 55 U A0.8)?
4. What is the mean entropy of
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55 U A 0.8 and
55 U A< 0.8?
PCI Geomatics
Alpha angle ( )
Beta angle ( )
Entropy (H)
Anisotropy (A)
Red = 55
Red= 55 and A<0.8

Green = 55 and A0.8
Figure 28. Cloude-Pottier parameters and thresholding result

It appears that there are two classes of double-bounce scatterers: one class
appears in red and is characterized by only one dominant scattering mechanism
(H), and a second class appears in green and is the result of two scattering
mechanisms (with a high anisotropy). The entropy of two classes are 0.630.2 and
0.390.15, respectively.
Extract the forested areas that correspond, in theory, to a dipole scattering with
medium-to-high entropy (zones 5 and 2). Do you observe only forested areas in
these zones? Are there forested areas outside these zones?
Note
PCI Geomatics
The following script can be loaded from:

~\SAR_Training\EASI_script\Module3_ForestedAre
as.eas.
Also, the Landsat-5 mosaic can be used to facilitate the
interpretation,
~\SAR_Training\Landsat\Flevoland_L5_20100906
_p198_r23r24.pix.
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Figure 29. EASI Modeling script to extract Cloude-Pottier zones 2 and 5
Figure 30. Green: Zone 5, Red: Zone 2
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PCI Geomatics
Green: Zone 5, Red: Zone 2 (detail)
Landsat-5, R: tm4, G:tm3, B:tm2

(2010-09-06)
Figure 31. Cloude-Pottier zones 2 and 5
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Lesson summary
Page 84
Used PSEABA to perform the Cloude-Pottier decomposition
Used EASI modeling to analyze of the Cloude-Pottier parameters
PCI Geomatics

Use the PSTOUZIDEC algorithm to perform the Touzi decomposition
Compare the Touzi decomposition to the Cloude-Pottier decomposition
Compare the Touzi s1 phase to the
hh vv phase difference
Performing the Touzi decomposition

To perform the Touzi decomposition, you use the PSTOUZIDEC algorithm.
To open the PSTOUZIDEC algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type PSTOUZIDEC, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSTOUZIDEC algorithm.
The PSTOUZIDEC Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the PSTOUZIDEC algorithm
1. Under Input Ports, click Browse, and then open the
folder.
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSTOUZIDEC.pix as the name of
the output file.
5. Click the Input Params 1 tab, and then in the Angle Units list, click
Degrees.
6. Click Run.
Exercise 4: Examine the Touzi decomposition parameters. Unlike Cloude-Pottier
decomposition, the Touzi decomposition does not proceed to the weighted mean of
each parameter ( si , s1 , i , i ) by their respective eigenvalues ( i , i=1,2,3).
Why do some of the parameters of the second component (i=2) and most of the
parameters of the third component (i=3) look noisy?
The Landsat-5 mosaic can be used to facilitate the interpretation,
~\SAR_Training\Landsat\Flevoland_L5_20100906_p198_r23r24.pix.
Note
Some of the parameters are best viewed in pseudo colors,

especially the angle parameters ( si , i and i ) and the
phase s1 .
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To view a parameter in pseudo colors

2. Expand the Raster list of the file containing the parameter or parameters
to be viewed in pseudo colors.
3. Right-click the parameter, point to View, and then click As Pseudocolor.
4. Click the Maps tab.
5. Right-click the parameter, and then click PCT Editing.
s1
-90
90
PCT Editing Stepped
-45
45
PCT Editing Stepped
s1
90
PCT Editing Smooth
s1
s1
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s2
s1
(in pseudo-colors)
s3
s 2
PCI Geomatics
1 (pseudo-colors)
(in pseudo-colors)
(min:0.37, max:0.99)
(min:0.23, max:0.48)
(min:0.10, max:0.29)
Figure 32. Touzi decomposition parameters (selection)

Note
PCI Geomatics
The parameter values are important, but their spatial

distribution (the texture) is important too.
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Note
In some analysis, the sign of the orientation ( i ) or

helicity ( i ) doesnt matter, calculating their absolute
values ( 1 , 1 ) might facilitate their interpretation.
Exercise 5: Compare the Touzi
s1
to the average Cloude-Pottier
Find areas in the Flevoland data set, where Touzi
s1
differs from Cloude-Pottier
. Can you explain the observed differences?
Calculate the global Touzi alpha angle ( s ). Do you still observe differences with
the Cloude-Pottier
Page 88
? If yes, why?
PCI Geomatics
Touzi
Touzi
s1
Touzi
s1 , detail
Touzi
Figure 33. Comparison between Touzi
sg
sg
Cloude
Cloude
, detail
s1 , sg
and Cloude
, detail
Exercise 6: Find areas where 1 is low or high. What kinds of land use and land
cover are characterized by high-and-low helicity values? Use EASI Modeling to
create bitmaps containing high helicity with different thresholds, such as 5, 10
and 25.
Tip
PCI Geomatics
The following EASI script can be loaded from:

~\SAR_Training\EASI_script\Module3_Helicity_thr
esholding.EAS
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Exercise 7: Compare the Touzi dominant orientation angle
with the Cloude-
Pottier average beta angle ;

Note
In theory,
and
both measure the orientation of a
target from the radar line of sight (LOS) (angle

Figure 24). While
in
is distributed between -45 and 45,
is distributed between 0 and 90;
2 1
Both are also sensitive to bare-soil roughness. Bare soil with a high roughness
tends to produce higher
(or
) values, while smooth surfaces result in
(or
) values centered around 0.
Exercise 8: Locate the urban or industrial areas on the Flevoland image, and
observe the main street orientation from the radar line of sight (LOS). What are the
1 and
average 1 and
average
values when the streets are parallel to the LOS? What are the
values when the main streets orientation departs from the LOS?
The following vector file can help to locate the urban area and interpret the relation
between 1 , and the LOS:
~\SAR_Training\Vectors\Flevoland_Streets.pix.
Exercise 9: Find some bare fields and observe the
1 and
values.
TOUZI PHASE s1
The Cloude-Pottier decomposition does not include a phase parameter, as does the
Touzi decomposition with s1 . This phase is similar, but not equivalent, to the
hh vv
phase difference. To better understand the s1 phase, the
hh vv
phase
difference will be generated with the PSPHDIFF algorithm.
Generating the hh vv phase difference

You generate the
hh vv
phase difference using the PSPHDIFF algorithm.
To open the PSPHDIFF algorithm

3. In the Find what box, type PSPHDIFF, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSPHDIFF algorithm.
The PSPHDIFF Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the PSPHDIFF algorithm
1. Under Input Ports, click Browse, open the
folder, and then select the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix file.
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PCI Geomatics

3. Under Output Ports, expand the Output: Output phase difference
raster entry, select Untitled.pix, and then click Browse.
4. Open the
folder.
5. Enter FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSPHDIFF_HHVV.pix as
the name of the output file.
6. Click the Input Params 1 tab, and then in the First input polarization
list, select HH and in the Second input polarization list, select VV.
7. In the Angle Units list, select Degrees.
8. Click Run.
Exercise 10: Compare the Touzi s1 and the
hh vv
phase difference.
Before the widespread use of polarimetric decompositions, the
hh vv
phase
difference was sometimes used as a (crude) way to identify the main scattering
mechanisms (see Ulaby et al., 1987). Single-bounce scattering occurs around 0 ([15, 15], while double-bounce scattering occurs at both ends of the hh vv
distribution ([-180,100] U ([-100,180]).
The Touzi phase s1 is similar, but not equivalent to
hh vv . The main
differences are:
Different dynamic range
A phase representation in the dihedral-trihedral basis instead of the HHVV basis
An independence of s1 from a polarization basis
For example, if the signal hit a tilted surface or an object with a complex geometry,
the phase of the maximum polarized (backscattered) component will no longer be
in the HH-VV basis. The hh vv will still provide information about the target
structure, but this information might be biased and not be representative of the
targets real structure. Since the departure of the backscattered signal from the HV basis (satellite transmitting antenna) is registered in 1 (or ) angle, it is
possible to use this information to retrieve an unbiased phase to characterize the
targets structure.
Exercise 11: Explore the differences between s1 and
absolute value of
PCI Geomatics
hh vv
using the
as a guide. The anisotropy (A) can also be used.
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Touzi
Touzi
s1
s1 , detail
hh vv
Blue: single bounce

scattering
Red: Double-bounce
scattering
hh vv , detail
Figure 34. Comparison between Touzi s1 phase and
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hh vv ,
hh vv ,
Blue: single bounce
scattering
Red: Double-bounce
scattering
hh vv
phase difference
PCI Geomatics
Lesson summary
Used PSTOUZIDEC to perform the Touzi decomposition
Compared the Touzi decomposition to the Cloude-Pottier decomposition
Compared the Touzi s1 phase to the
PCI Geomatics
hh vv phase difference
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Module 4: Using the SAR

Polarimetry Target Analysis tool
About this module

Lesson 4.1: Introduction to SPTA and the target-selection mode
Lesson 4.2:Coherent target analysis in SPTA
Lesson 4.3: Incoherent target analysis in SPTA and FOCUS
Lesson 4.1: Introduction to SPTA and the targetselection mode

Understand the different target-selection modes.
Draw a target in SPTA
Understand the target manager
Lear how to export and import a target using SPTA.
With Geomatica SPTAthe SAR polarimetry target analysis toolyou can select
targets in a polarimetric SAR scene, draw a target (or load an existing target),
perform a variety of polarimetric operations on it, and display the results
numerically and graphically.
You can use SPTA to analyze all types of SAR data products. However, to use the
full functionality of SPTA, a fully polarimetric SAR data set in complex format is
required.
To start the SPTA tool
On the Geomatica toolbar, click the SPTA button.

The SAR Polarimetry Target Analysis and Target Selection windows open.
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To open an image in SPTA

1. On the File menu, click Open.
2. Open the
folder.
3. Select the FQ29_20100507sig.pix file, and then click Open.
A pop-up window appears, prompting you to specify whether to display
the image North Up or Raster Up.
4. Select North Up, and then click OK.
The FQ29_20100507sig.pix file is displayed in the Target Selection
window with channels 1, 2, and 4 mapped to RGB, respectively.
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The Target Selection toolbar menu contains buttons to:
Change the channels displayed in the RGB channels.
Select a different enhancement (
) or to adjust the image contrast
) or brightness (
). Selecting a different enhancement or
(
modifying the image brightness and contrast will not change the
computed statistics for a particular target.
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Pan (
) and zoom (
) the displayed image.
Change the image interpretation ( ), that is to display the channels in

intensity, amplitude, Decibels, to display their phase or only their Real or
imaginary components.
PCI Geomatics
Understanding target-selection modes

There are three target-selection modes available in the SAR Polarimetry Target
Analysis window:
Pixel plus clutter estimation region: you can choose a single target
pixel at the cursor position and four clutter-estimation regions at the
corners of an overall square region that it is centered on, but excludes,
the target pixel and the sidelobe pixels. The Overall size and the Gap
size option can be modified to estimate the properties of the coherent
target against a larger clutter.
Square neighbor: you can choose a target that includes all pixels within
a square region that is centered on the cursor position.
Arbitrary region: you can choose either a rectangular or a polygonal

target that includes all pixels within the target
The selection mode determines the target type and, therefore, the polarimetric
parameters that can be computed. For example, Pixel plus clutter estimation
region determines a point target (you are analyzing the response of the center
pixel in relation to the clutter pixels). Square neighborhood and Arbitrary
region delineate surface targets.
Depending on the type of target, several polarimetric parameters are available. For
example, the symmetric scattering parameters are only applicable for point targets,
whereas parameters that are applicable to surface targets or require an averaging
of the data (such as entropy) are only enabled when surface targets (Square
neighborhood or Arbitrary region) are enabled.
The polarimetric parameters that can be computed also depend on the data set.
Polarimetric parameters that require multilook will be disabled for a single-look
complex image and, similarly, the ones that require a fully polarimetric data set
(such as polarimetric decompositions) are disabled for single or dual polarimetric
data.
To draw a target in SPTA
1. In the Target Selection window, pan or zoom to the area of interest, as
applicable.
2. In the SAR Polarimetry Target Analysis window, select a target-selection
mode.
3. With the mouse, drag to draw your target over the desired area.
If the Arbitrary region polygon option is selected, double-click to
close the shape.
The new target is added to the list in the Target Manager window.
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A) Point target location

Coordinates: 1380P , 2610L
B) Overall size: 11 (
Gap size:3 (
)
C) Overall size: 11
Gap size: 1
D) Overall size: 11
Gap size:3
E) Overall size: 11
Gap size: 5
F) Overall size: 17
Gap size: 1
G) Overall size: 17
Gap size: 3
H) Overall size: 17
Gap size: 5
Figure 35. Target selection mode: pixel plus clutter estimation region
Understanding the Target Manager

SPTA keeps a record of the target modes you have applied during a session. Using
the Target Manager, you can save one or more target records to a file. You can
also import a saved target and apply it to your imagery.
Each time a new target is drawn, it will be temporally stored in the Target Manager
window. A short description is given (target 1, target 2...) along with its selection
mode, the number of samples it contains, and its image coordinates (Figure 36).
Note
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You can edit the default description by click a target

description, and then typing a new name.
PCI Geomatics
Figure 36. Target Manager window

Note
Targets are not saved automatically; on exiting SPTA, any

unsaved targets will be lost.
To export (save) a target

1. In the Target Manager window, select a target.
2. Click Export.
The Save Target As window appears.
3. Specify a target file name and location.
4. Click Save.
The file is saved to disk as a vector file.
Note
The exported target (vector) will be in the same

geographic projection (if any) as the image on which it
was drawn. It can be opened for different images in SPTA
and Focus.
Importing and using a target

You can use the Target Manager to import targets that have been defined on a
different image and set it as the current target on a new image. The imported
target will not be selectable if it falls outside the bounds of the imagery displayed in
SPTA. To be recognized by SPTA, point targets must have the target-type, totalsize, and gap-size attributes for each point.
1. In the SAR Polarimetry Target Analysis window, on the File menu, click
Target Manager.
2. In the Target Manager window, click Import.
3. In the Import Targets window, open the folder containing the target file
you want to import.
4. Select the file, and then click Open.
5. In the Target Manager window, click the target you want to apply, and
then click Set as Current.
The target displays on the imagery in the Target Selection window.
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Lesson 4.2: Coherent target analysis in SPTA

Select coherent targets in SPTA
Analyze the scattering characteristics of a coherent target
Automatically detect coherent targets
The incoherent target analyses are restricted to single-look matrix type. Here, you
will use the s4c format (single-look, non-symmetrized scattering matrix).
To select a coherent target
1. In the Target Selection window, use the Pan and Zoom toolbar buttons to
locate a point target.
2. In the SAR Polarimetry Target Analysis window, under Target Selection
Mode, click Pixel plus clutter estimation region.
The default values will suffice for this lesson.
3. In the SAR Polarimetry Target Analysis window, do the following:
Under Coherent Target Decomposition, select the Huynen and

Cameron parameters check box
Under Symmetric scattering parameters, select the Symmetric

scattering characterization check box
4. In raster coordinates, select the target located at 411.5P, 4236.6L, and

then click Compute.
A series of statistics characterizing the scattering properties of the target
appears in the Results box.
Note
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The statistics are calculated only if the selected target is

coherent or symmetric according to the values specified
under Coherent Target Decomposition and
Symmetric scattering parameters. To include more
targets in the coherent target analysis, the default values
cans be lowered; however, this may produce less
meaningful statistics.
PCI Geomatics
Figure 37. Target Selection Mode, Coherent Target Decomposition, and Symmetric
scattering parameters
A second target, located at 1585.5P, 4437.5L can be selected. If the default
Overall size (=3) and the Gap size (=1) are used, the target does not appear to
be coherent or symmetric. Set the Overall size to 9 and the Gap size to 3, select
the target again, and then click Compute.
The target is now defined against a larger clutter corresponding to a flat ground
surrounding what appears to be a pylon. The scattering characteristics can now be
estimated.
Exercise 1: Compare the statistics of the two selected targets (see Figure 38)
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Target 1
Target 2
=========================
C:\PCIGeomatics\Geomatica2014\TrainingData\SAR\R
adar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_20100507sig.pix
=========================
=========================
C:\PCIGeomatics\Geomatica2014\TrainingData\SAR\R
adar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_20100507sig.pix
=========================
Matrix Representation is s4c
Matrix Representation is s4c
==Phase Difference HH and VV ====
==Phase Difference HH and VV ====
0.000000 deg
170.485611 deg
== Huynen and Cameron parameters===
== Huynen and Cameron parameters===
Target is coherent
Eigenvalues:
Target is coherent
Eigenvalues:
-7.640306 + 7.640072 i, -7.640305 +

7.640073 i,
0.058370 + 1.219124 i, 0.060395 0.086951 i,
Eigenvectors:
Eigenvectors:
0.000000 + 0.000000 i, 1.000000 +

0.000000 i,
0.623113 - 0.034474 i, 0.780887 0.027509 i,
-1.000000 + 0.000000 i, 0.000000 0.000000 i,
-0.780887 - 0.027509 i, 0.623113 +

0.034474 i,
Maximum returned power density:

163.651016 (linear)
Maximum returned power density: 4.416056

(linear)
Characteristic angle: 45.000000 deg
Characteristic angle: 16.410576 deg
Absolute phase of the target: -135.000870

deg
Absolute phase of the target: -16.021254

deg
Target skip angle: 0.000001872167 deg
Target skip angle: 35.618809 deg
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PCI Geomatics
Target 1
Target 2
Maximum polarization orientation relative to

the horizontal:
-90.000000
Maximum polarization orientation relative to

the horizontal:
-51.411686
Maximum polarization ellipticity:

0.000002504478
Maximum polarization ellipticity:

-2.527805
Rotation angle for maximum symmetrical

scattering component: 45.000000 deg
Rotation angle for maximum symmetrical

scattering component: -6.243052 deg
Degree of symmetry: 1.0000000
Degree of symmetry: 0.9990352
Real Component of Co-polarized ratio:

1.0000000
Real Component of Co-polarized ratio: 0.4406728
Imaginary Component of Co-polarized ratio:

0.000000
Imaginary Component of Co-polarized ratio:

0.07385702
Nearest elemental symmetric scattering

mechanism: Trihedral
Nearest elemental symmetric scattering

mechanism: Narrow diplane
Distance to nearest elemental symmetric

scattering mechanism: 0.000000
Distance to nearest elemental symmetric

scattering mechanism: 0.07743849
==Symmetric Scattering Characterization =
==Symmetric Scattering Characterization =
Degree of Coherence: 0.9872652
Degree of Coherence: 0.6910781
Scattering Vector Direction: 0.000000 deg
Scattering Vector Direction: 68.639687 deg
Phase Difference: 0.000000 deg
Phase Difference: 169.543076 deg
Target Sphere Angle (PSI): 0.000000 deg
Target Sphere Angle (PSI): 68.878654 deg
Target Sphere Angle (CHI): 0.000000 deg
Target Sphere Angle (CHI): -3.536424 deg
Rotation Angle: 45.000000 deg

===========================
Rotation Angle: -6.243052 deg

===========================
Figure 38. SPTA Target selection window and extracted statistics

Note
Coherent targets can be difficult to find by clicking

randomly on an image. It is possible to use the PSWHITE
or PSSCM algorithm from the SAR Radar Analysis toolbox
to help find the coherent targets of an image. PSWHITE
produces a bitmap representing the coherent point
targets. PSSSCM produces a bitmap representing the
coherent point targets, and an image file containing six
channels characterizing the scattering properties of the
coherent targets, where the first channel represents the
degree of coherence.
The bitmaps produced by the PSWHITE or PSSSCM algorithm can be viewed in

Focus.
Exercise 2: Using the PSSSCM algorithm, produce a bitmap representing the
coherent point target.
To open the PSSSCM algorithm
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3. In the Find what box, type PSSSCM, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSSSCM algorithm.
To set up the parameters for PSSSCM
1. Under Input Ports, click Browse, and then select the
FQ29_20100507sig.pix file.
2. Under Input Ports, expand the Input: Input polarimetric SAR image,
and then select each intensity raster file.
3. Leave the Input Targets: Input coherent target bitmap unchanged.
4. Under Output Ports, expand the OutputRaster: Output scattering
characteristics raster, select Untitled.pix, click Browse, and then
select the location in which to save the file.
5. In the File Name box, type FQ29_20100507sig_PSSSCM.pix, and
then click Save.
6. Under Output Ports, expand the OutputBitmap: Output coherent
targets bitmap, select Untitled.pix, click Browse, and then select the
location in which to save the file.
7. In the File Name box, type FQ29_20100507sig_PSSSCM_CTmap.pix,
8. Click the Input Params 1 tab, and then change the default value of the
parameters according to the values provided in Figure 39.
9. Click Run.
The resulting bitmap can be opened in Focus over the FQ29_20100507sig.pix
file. Figure 40 and Figure 41, following, show the detected coherent point target
using a different configuration of window sizes.
In comparison, the PSWHITE algorithm is less strict in its definition of a coherent
point target. This algorithm relies mainly on a threshold-based detection to
discriminate bright-point targets.
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Figure 39. PSSSCM Control Panel window
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Configuration
Target 1
Target 2
No. 1
Parameters
WS=9
CWOW=15
CWCW=3
DST=0.8
DCH=0.8
SCRT=12
No. 2
Parameters
WS=15
CWOW=25
CWCW=15
DST=0.8
DCH=0.8
SCRT=12
Figure 40. Coherent targets detection using PSSSCM (HH channel in background)
Parameters
Target 1
Target 2
WS=9
DT=12
Figure 41. Coherent targets detection using PSWHITE (HH channel in background)
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Lesson summary
Selected coherent targets in SPTA
Analyzed the scattering characteristics of a coherent target
Automatically detected coherent targets
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Lesson 4.3: Incoherent target analysis in SPTA

Define and select targets
Produce numerical and graphical outputs for selected targets
Analyze numerical and graphical outputs
Exercise 3: You are now ready to select some regions. From the results obtained
in Module 3 and Lesson 4.1 and Lesson 4.2, the major land-use and land-cover
classes present in the Flevoland region are readily apparent. For this analysis, you
will select regions corresponding to the following land-use and land-cover classes:
Open water
Urban area 1 [double-bounce dominated, aligned with the radar line of

sight (LOS)]
Urban area 2 (With volume, multiple scattering, or both)
Forested areas
Wetland (meadow, reeds)
Agriculture (with strong HV, vegetated, rough or both)
Agriculture (strong HH, double-bounce).
Agriculture (smooth bare field).
To select regions
1. In the Target Selection window, use your mouse to digitize a polygon over
an open water area in the image.
2. In the Target Manager window, in the Description box, type
a_OpenWater.
3. To save the region as a vector file, click Export.
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PCI Geomatics
4. Browse to the folder in which you want to save the file, and then enter
a_OpenWater.pix as the name of the output file.
The region will be saved as a vector file.
5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 for the remaining land-use and land-cover classes.
Tip
PCI Geomatics
To get a meaningful analysis of incoherent targets, select

a homogenous region. Also, avoid selecting a region with
too many or too few samples.
All the target polygons are provided in
~\SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_
20100507\targets
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Figure 42. Location of land-use classes
Producing numerical output

Now that you have defined a set of targets, you can analyze their diffusion
properties with the numerous numerical output tools available in SPTA by
checking the corresponding parameters of interest. Note that the available options
vary depending on the selected target type (box A).
For an incoherent target represented by an arbitrary region, like the ones you have
defined in the previous section, the following options are available:
Matrix Representations (box B)
Parameters and Discriminators (box C)
Channel Comparisons (box D)
After selecting a target and checking the output, click Compute (box F) to get the
numerical results.
To save the numerical-output results to disk
1. In SPTA, on the File menu, click Save Numerical Output.
2. In the File Name box, enter a name for the file and specify a location
where you want to save the file, and then click Save.
The results can be saved to disk by copying them from the Results box to a
document of your choice (*. txt, *. doc, *. docx).
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Note
All the options in boxes B, C, and D have their equivalent

in the Radar Analysis toolbox (see Module 3), which can
be applied to the whole image instead of a selected
region.
Exercise 4: Select open water and forested areas and compare their scattering
characteristics by selecting some of the available numerical-output options. You will
use the targets defined in the previous lesson.
Figure 43. SAR Polarimetry Target Analysis window, Numerical Output options
Producing graphical output

SPTA offers three main options to visualize your data. Each can be configured
(customized) in several ways:
Histogram: examine the distribution of one element (or channel)
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Scatter plot: examine the relationship between two (2-D) or three (3-D)
elements
Response plot: examine the polarimetric properties of one target
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Figure 44. Histogram, Scatter Plot, and Response Plot

Exercise 5: With the urban and the forest target, produce and compare:
1. the co-polarized response plot using the normalized scaling
2. the scatter plot using the HH and VV channels
3. The co-polarized response plot with the ones in Figure 24 for canonical
targets.
To produce a response plot
1. In the Target Manager window, select the urban target
(b_UrbanArea_DB_LOS.pix), and then click Set as Current.
2. In the SAR Polarimetry Target Analysis window, under Graphical
Output, click the Response Plot tab.
3. In the Type list, click Co-Polarized, and in the Scaling list, click
Normalized.
4. Click Plot.
To produce a scatter plot
1. In the Target Manager window, select the urban target
(b_UrbanArea_DB_LOS.pix), and then click Set as Current.
2. In the SAR Polarimetry Target Analysis window, under Graphical
Output, click the Scatter Plot tab.
3. In the Parameter 1 list, click Intensity, and in the Element 1 list, click
HH (or Element 1,1 of covariance matrix).
4. In the Parameter 2 list, click Intensity, and in the Element 2 list, click
VV (or Element 4, 4 of covariance matrix).
5. Leave the other options blank.
6. Click Plot.
Repeat the previous steps for the forest target (d_Forest.pix).
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LL
VV
VV
HH
VV
RR
b_UrbanArea_DB_LOS
response plot
d_Forest
response plot
b_UrbanArea_DB_LOS
HH-VV scatter plot
d_Forest HH-VV
HH-VV scatter plot
Figure 45. Examples of polarimetric response and scatter plot for an urban and a
forest target
Note
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You can customize the graphical output using the

standard Gnuplot command lines
(http://www.gnuplot.info/). To customize a graphic,
switch to Interactive mode. In the SAR Polarimetry
Target Analysis window, click the Preferences menu,
point to Plot Options, and then click Interactive.
PCI Geomatics
Lesson summary
Defined and selected targets
Produced numerical and graphical output for the selected targets
Analyzed the numerical and graphical output
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About this module

Lesson 5.1: Classification of polarimetric data, possible workflows
Lesson 5.3: Supervised Wishart classification (with targets defined in

SPTA)
Lesson 5.1: Classification of polarimetric data,

possible workflows
Applying polarimetric decompositions to fully polarimetric data (Module 4) is not an
end in itself, but usually part of a workflow (an application). One obvious use of
polarimetric decomposition parameters is for land-cover and land-use classification.
In this regard, Geomatica provides several supervised and unsupervised
classification algorithms designed primarily for optical imagery. While some
polarimetric parameters can be used directly in the classification algorithms (for
example entropy, eigenvalues), others may require further processing (scaling,
thresholding) before being used.
Another option is to use a parameter or a set of parameters to create bitmaps to
restrain (or exclude) a classification to specific areas using different parameters.
Polarimetric decomposition tends to focus more on scattering-type characterization
and identification while the information in the backscattered power is sometimes
neglected or not fully used. With a fully polarimetric image (s4c), it is also possible
to generate many polarimetric discriminators based on an extensive analysis of the
scattered power (using the PSPOLSYN, PSPOLSYNC, and PSPOLSYNR algorithms).
This topic is covered in Appendix B.
All generated channels and bitmaps can be combined in a single PCIDSK file and
then classified with a conventional classification algorithm (MINDIS, MCL,
ISOCLUS).
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Figure 46. High-level workflow for polarimetric data classification using supervised
or unsupervised classifications
The Geomatica radar suite includes algorithms that are designed specifically for
classifying polarimetric SAR-data sets. The PSSWIS and PSUWIS (supervised and
unsupervised Wishart classification) algorithms use customized classes distances
measures for polarimetric data. The training classes are derived from an existing
polarimetric decomposition result or based on polygons and bitmaps provided by
the user representing different land-use or land-cover classes. This topic will be
covered in Lesson 5.2 and Lesson 5.3.
Figure 47. High-level workflow for polarimetric data classification using supervised
or unsupervised Wishart classifications
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Run a Wishart unsupervised classification
Analyze the results of the unsupervised Wishart classification
Unsupervised Wishart classification

The Wishart unsupervised classification is performed on polarimetric SAR (POLSAR)
data using the PSUSWIS algorithm. The classification is similar to the method used
in the supervised maximum-likelihood classification for optical imagery, except that
the distance measured is customized for polarimetric data.
With the Wishart unsupervised classification, the training classes are derived from
an existing polarimetric decomposition: either a Freeman-Durden or Cloude-Pottier
decomposition. The output image is a single-channel image with pixel values
representing the class number, which can be between 1 and 9 for a FreemanDurden input, and between 1 and 16 for a Cloude-Pottier input. The use of iteration
refines the classification, but increases the processing time.
To complete this exercise you will use
Output generated by the PSBOXCAR algorithm in Lesson 2.2
Freeman-Durden decomposition output created in Lesson 3.1
Cloude-Pottier image classification produced by the PSCLOPOT algorithm
To open the PSUSWIS algorithm

3. In the Find what box, type PSUSWIS, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSUSWIS algorithm.
The PSUSWIS Module Control Panel window appears.
Performing an unsupervised Wishart classification using the

Freeman-Durden decomposition
Here, you will use the Wishart classification with the Freeman-Durden
decomposition.
To set up the PSUSWIS parameters
entry, click Browse, and then open the
folder.
2. Select the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix file, and then select
each raster in the file.
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3. Expand the Input: Input Freeman-Durden or Cloude-Pottier

classified raster entry.
4. Click Browse, and then open the
folder.
5. Select the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSFREDUR.pix file, and
then select each raster in the file.
6. Under Output Ports, expand the Output: Output Wishart classified
7. In the File Name box, type
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSFREDUR_WIS.pix, and then
click Save.
The new path and file name appear in the PSUSWIS Module Control Panel
window.
9. In the Number of iterations list, click 10.
10. Click Run
Performing an unsupervised Wishart classification using the

Cloude-Pottier decomposition
Before running the Wishart classification using the Cloude-Pottier decomposition,
the PSCLOPOT algorithm must be run.
PSCLOPOT performs an unsupervised Cloude-Pottier classification of a fully
polarimetric SAR (POLSAR) data set. The classification is based on the partitioning
of the entropy, alpha angle, and anisotropy feature space using a series of
thresholds that can you can set. The output image has one channel, where the pixel
values indicate the class number assigned to each pixel.
To set the PSCLOPOT parameters
entry.
folder.
4. Under Output Ports, expand the Output: Output Cloude-Pottier
classified raster entry, select Untitled.pix, and then click Browse.
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSCLOPOT.pix, and then click
Save.
The new path and file name appear in the PSCLOPOT Module Control Panel
window.
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6. Click Run.
To set up the PSUSWIS parameters
entry.
2. Click Browse, and open the
folder.
4. Expand the Input: Input Freeman-Durden or Cloude-Pottier
classified raster entry.
folder.
6. Select the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSEABA.pix file, and
then select each raster in the file.
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSEABA_WIS.pix, and then click
Save.
The new path and file name appear in the PSUSWIS Module Control Panel
window.
10. In the Number of iterations list, click 10.
11. Click Run.
Evaluating and comparing the unsupervised Wishart

classifications
Exercise 1: Using the Landsat-5 image
(Flevoland_L5_20100906_p198_r23r24.pix) and the filtered FQ29 Flevoland image
(FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix), evaluate and compare the FreemanDurden and the Cloude-Pottier unsupervised classification. What are the
similarities? What are the main differences? Pay special attention to the urban
areas.
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Figure 48. Unsupervised Wishart classifications using the Freeman-Durden

decomposition (7x7)
Figure 49. Unsupervised Wishart classifications using the Cloude-Pottier

decomposition (7x7)
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Lesson summary
Ran a Wishart unsupervised classification
Analyzed the results of the unsupervised Wishart classification
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Lesson 5.3: Supervised Wishart classification (with

targets defined in SPTA)
SPTA provides several tools to enable an in-depth analysis of the scattering
properties of point (Lesson 4.1) and distributed targets (Lesson 4.2), based on
regions you define. It is then possible to interactively use SPTA and the Focus SAR
Radar Analysis toolbox to perform a complete polarimetric analysis.
In this lesson, you will use targets defined in SPTA to train the supervised Wishart
classification of the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix file in Focus.
Set up preclassification tasks
Edit training sites
Run a Wishart supervised classification
Analyze the results of the Wishart classification
Compare the results of the supervised and unsupervised Wishart

classifications
Supervised Wishart classification

The Wishart supervised classification is performed on polarimetric SAR (POLSAR)
data sets using the PSSWIS algorithm. The classification is similar to the method
used in the supervised maximum-likelihood classification for optical imagery,
except that the distance measured is customized for polarimetric data. In the
Wishart supervised classification, you provide the training classes.
You specify a file containing the classification results in a single 8-bit channel. Its
pixel values specify the class number that is assigned to each pixel. Pixels that
cannot be classified (usually with zero values in all input channels) are represented
by a pixel value of 0. The classification file can hold up to 255 classes.
Pre-classification tasks
The supervised Wishart classifier (the PSSWIS algorithm) requires as input a series
of bitmaps representing each class to be classified. These bitmaps can be imported
or created in Geomatica Focus. Alternatively, a series of polygons (vectors) can be
imported and then converted into bitmaps.
Creating the training sites from polygons (vector-to-bitmap transformation)

In Lesson 4.2, a series of targets (polygons) representing several land-use and
land-cover classes has already been created; these targets can be converted into
bitmaps using the POLY2BIT algorithm, and can then be used as training sites.
Note
The targets are provided in

~\SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_
20100507\targets.
To open the POLY2BIT algorithm

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2. In Algorithm Librarian window, click Find.

3. In the Find what box, type POLY2BIT, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the POLY2BIT algorithm.
The POLY2BIT Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the parameters for POLY2BIT
1. Under Input Ports, click Browse, locate and select all the targets
(polygons) created in Lesson 5.1, and then click Open.
2. Under Input Ports, expand the Input: Polygon Layer entry, and then
select a_OpenWater.pix
3. Expand the InputArea: Bounding Area entry, and then select
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix.
4. Under Output Ports, expand the Output: Filter Layer(s) entry, select
Untitled.pix, click Browse, and then locate the folder in which you want
to save the file.
5. In the File name box, type Flevoland_20100507_Training_Sites.pix,
6. Click Run (leave the Input Params 1 tab unchanged).
7. Repeat this procedure for the remaining targets (b_*.pix to h_*.pix).
Do not change the InputArea: Bounding Area and the OutputBitmap:
Bitmap Layer ports.
Note
All bitmaps must be stored in the same *.pix file.
To inspect the results of POLY2BIT

1. In Focus, on the File menu, click Open, locate and select the training
sites file (Flevoland_20100507_Training_Sites.pix), and then click Open.
2. Click the Files tab, and then expand the Bitmap layers list.
3. In the list, right-click a bitmap, and then click View.
To view the loaded bitmap, click the Maps tab.
For clarity, it is recommended that you rename the bitmap layers according to their
content (see the following example). If necessary, you can edit a bitmap layer.
Figure 50. POLY2BIT Result
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Creating the training sites in Focus (bitmap format)

You will now create the training sites in Focus.
1. In Focus, on the File menu, click Open, select the image to be classified,
and then click Open.
2. Click the Maps tab, right-click New Area, and then click New Bitmap
Layer.
The New Bitmap window appears.
3. Select Use Layer Georeferencing, and then click OK to create the new
bitmap layer.
4. On the Focus toolbar, click the New Shapes button, and then draw a
shape over an urban area on the new bitmap layer using the Polygon,
Rectangle, or Ellipse command.
5. Save the created bitmap as Flevoland_20100507_Training_Sites.pix.
6. To add a second bitmap, click the Files tab, right-click
Flevoland_20100507_Training_Sites.pix, and then click New >
Bitmap Layer.
7. Right-click the newly created bitmap, and then click View.
8. Click the Maps tab.
9. Draw a new shape representing the desired land-use and land-cover class
using the Polygon, Rectangle, or Ellipse command.
Tip: Be sure the new bitmap layer is selected before editing.
10. After editing, right-click the bitmap layer, and then click Save.
11. Repeat steps 7 to 11 for each new class.
12. Click the Files tab, and then select the
Flevoland_20100507_Training_Sites.pix file.
13. Expand the Bitmap layer tree, double-click a bitmap layer, and then
rename it to better describe its content.
Note
All bitmaps must be stored in a single *.pix file.
Performing a supervised Wishart classification

You will now perform a supervised Wishart classification using the PSSWIS
algorithm.
To open the PSSWIS algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type PSSWIS, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSSWIS algorithm.
The PSSWIS Module Control Panel window appears.
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To set up the PSSWIS parameters

entry.
2. Select each raster in the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix file.
3. Expand the InputBitmaps: Input sample data entry.
4. Select each bitmap in the Flevoland_20100507_Training_Sites.pix
file.
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSSWIS.pix, and then click Save.
The new path and file name appear in the PSWIS Module Control Panel
window.
7. Click Run.
Interpreting the PSSWIS classification results

After running the PSSWIS algorithm, you can analyze the results.
To interpret the PSSWIS classification results
1. In Focus, open the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSEABA.pix
file created in Lesson 3.2.
2. If you do not have the
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSSWIS.pix file created in the
previous lesson open already, on the File menu, click Open, and open the
file from its location.
3. To facilitate the interpretation of the supervised Wishart classification, you
can edit the legend names and colors, as shown in the following figure.
Exercise 2: What are the main differences between these two classifications? A
RGB composite made of the HH, HV and VV channels of the
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix file can be use to help the interpretation.
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Unsupervised Wishart
Supervised Wishart
(PSSWIS)
Unsupervised Wishart legend
HH-HV-VV
Supervised Wishart legend
Figure 51. Classifications comparison and legends
Editing the training sites (bitmap format)

If the classification result is not what you expect, it may be because the training
sites are not representative enough of the classes to be classified. If necessary, you
can edit the bitmap layer in Focus.
To edit a training site in Focus
1. On the File menu, click Open, and then open the
Flevoland_20100507_Training_Sites.pix file.
2. Click the Files tab, and expand the Bitmaps layer list.
3. Right-click the bitmap layer you want to edit, a_OpenWater layer, and
then click View.
4. Click the Maps tab, and then select the bitmap you want to edit.
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5. Click the New Shapes button (

same layer using the Polygon (
Trace (
) command.
), and then draw a new bitmap on the

), Rectangle (
), Ellipse (
), or
), and then use the Erase Trace ( )

6. Click the Raster Erase button (
or Erase Polygon ( ) commands to erase a bitmap or part of a bitmap
of the selected layer.
7. Right-click the bitmap layer being edited, and then to save your changes,
click Save.
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Lesson summary
Set up preclassification tasks
Ran a Wishart supervised classification
Analyzed the results of the Wishart classification
Visually compared the results of the Wishart supervised and unsupervised

classifications
Edited training sites
References
Ulaby, F.T., Held, D., Dobson, M.C., McDonald, K.C., Senior, T.B.A (1987). Relating
Polarization Phase Difference of SAR Signals to Scene Properties. IEEE Transactions
on Geocience and Remote Sensing. Vol. GE-25, no.1, p.83-92.
Lee, Jong-Sen., Pottier, Eric (2009). Polarimetric Radar Imagining: from basics to
applications. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, Florida, USA. 398
pages.
Lo, C.P. (1998). Applications of Imaging Radar to Land Use and Land Cover
Mapping. Published in: Manual of remote sensing: principles and applications of
imaging radar. R.A. Ryerson (ed). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 896 pages.
van Zyl, J.J., Ulaby, F.T (1990). Chapter 2: Scattering Matrix Representation for
simple targets. Publi dans: Radar Polarimetry for Geoscience Applications. F.T.
Ulaby. C. Elachy, editors. Artech House, Norwood, MA, USA. 388 pages.
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Module 6: Change detection using

polarimetric data
About this module

Module 6 has five lessons:
Lesson 6.1: Examples of possible workflows for change detection
Lesson 6.2: Intensity change detection
Lesson 6.4: Phase change detection
Lesson 6.1: Examples of possible workflows for

change detection
Learn about the different options for change detection in Geomatica
Examine examples of possible workflows for coherent and incoherent

change detection
Types of changes and techniques to detect them

Detecting and monitoring changes between two images, or from a time series of
images, is an important use of SAR data. There are many types of changes
possible, such as:
1. Permanent (non cyclic) changes:
Short term or abrupt changes: disaster monitoring (flood, fire), ships

and other vehicles movement detection
Medium, long term or gradual changes: mostly land-use, land-cover

changes like deforestation and reforestation, urban sprawl, glacier
receding, wetland and forest monitoring, and so forth
2. Seasonal (cyclic) changes, crop growth and rotation, leafs cycle in forests.
The success of a change-detection application depends on the adequacy between
the nature of change to be detected and the sensor spatial, spectral, radiometric
and temporal resolution. Obviously, the selected change-detection techniques also
have a strong impact on the results.
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There are many techniques for detecting change with remote-sensing data. At one
end of the spectrum there is hard-change detection based on comparison of landuse or land-cover classification and the resulting changes in discrete (qualitative)
categories.
At the other end, it is possible to directly compare two images using a band or ratio
technique, or a principal component analysis, for example. These techniques reveal
the magnitude of change, but give little information on the nature of the changes.
Between these two types, a multitude of hybrid techniques exists, with varying
levels of sophistication 8 .
The Geomatica radar suite has three coherent change-detection algorithms that can
extract the magnitude of change between two images (Table 5).
Table 5.
Change-detection algorithm included in the Geomatica radar suite
Change-detection algorithm
Input type
Description
CCDINTEN
Detected or complex
CCDINTEN measures the

change in total radar
backscattering between the
test and reference SAR
images. If the image is
single-look complex, the
intensity is derived and
output to the specified
output file. CCDINTEN also
supports integer or real
valued speckle filtered data
as test or reference file
input. A number of speckle
filters can be applied to the
files before running
CCDINTEN.
Filtered or not
Single, dual or fullypolarimetric
(symmetrized or not)
8 See Jensen (2005) and Hussain et al. (2013) for a review.

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Change-detection algorithm
Input type
Description
CCDWISH
Complex
CCDWISH uses Wishart

statistics to test the equality
of two complex covariance
matrices that are assumed
to follow a Wishart
distribution. When the
backscatter coefficients are
very close, but either the
phase or the correlation
coefficient between the copolarization have changed,
the Wishart test statistic is
much more sensitive to the
differences than test
statistics based only on the
intensity. In other words,
CCDWISH can highlight
changes not detected by
CCDINTEN.
SLC (not filtered)

Fully-polarimetric
The total number of

channels to process must be
less than or equal to four.
CCDPHASE
Complex
Not filtered
Fully-polarimetric
CCDPHASE measures
change based on the
average coherence (over a
specified window size)
between two coregistered
single-look complex SAR
images. Coherence values
will range between zero and
one, where areas of change
will have coherence values
close to zero (that is, they
are incoherent) while
unchanged areas will have
higher values (that is, will
be coherent).
The total number of
channels to process must be
less than or equal to four.
Each change-detection algorithm in the preceding table automatically extract the

overlap area between each image pairs, all return four channels in the output:
Intensity value (or sum of intensities) of the input test data
Intensity value (or sum of intensities) of the reference data
Change metric (absolute intensity ratio, Wishart metric, or the absolute

intensity ratio of the coherence)
Change, as percentiles, ranked from zero (no change) to 100 percent

(maximum change)
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Image quality in the context of change detection using SAR data refers to the
comparability of the source data. As far as possible, source images should have the
same calibration applied, the same georeferencing, pixel size, viewing geometry,
and polarization. Image quality also refers to the quality of the coregistration of
each pair of images to be processed by the change-detection algorithm.
Note
It is recommended that you check the pixel alignment (or

run AUTOSHIFT) before performing a change analysis.
However, for this lesson, the Radarsat-2 scenes provided
are well aligned, so running AUTOSHIFT is not necessary.
Examples of possible workflows

On page 136, Figure 52 shows a typical workflow for detecting and interpreting
incoherent changes in a pair of SAR images.
With most applications, applying the same calibration type to all of the data
(sigma-0, Beta-0, gamma-0) is more important than the selected calibration type
itself. The second step is to verify if all the data is well aligned. If not, many
workflows are possible depending on the data type, the severity of the
misalignment, and the application objectives.
If orbit segments are available, you can use OrthoEngine to collect GCPs and
orthorectify the data. If an orthorectification is inappropriate or if there is
insufficient information on the space-borne or airborne sensor, a different technique
(polynomial, thin-plate spline) can be used to geocode the data. If there is only a
slight misalignment between an image pair, you can use the AUTOSHIFT algorithm
(Algorithm Librarian) to coregister the pair.
It is worth mentioning that any geocoding applied to complex data will keep them
as such once they are geocoded. By doing so, they will remain compatible with the
change-detection algorithms that require complex data in input (CCDPHASE and
CCDWISH).
The third step concerns the change detection. CCDINTEN, CCDPHASE, and
CCDWISH can be used alone or in combination to produce images of change based
on different change metrics (see Table 5). Similar to the output from polarimetric
decompositions (Module 3), output from the change-detection algorithms do not
generally represent the end of the workflow, but rather the beginning.
One option is to extract areas of change based on image thresholding to produce
binary maps representing the changed areas versus areas of no change. It is also
possible to convert those binary maps into vector layers so they can be overlaid or
combined with ancillary data for change interpretation.
Another option for change interpretation, if working with fully polarimetric data, is
to apply one or many polarimetric decompositions on the same data set. In this
case, the change-detection algorithms provide the magnitude of change
(quantitative) while the polarimetric decompositions will help you to understand the
nature of change (qualitative) by identifying the scattering mechanisms. This
strategy will be demonstrated in Lesson 6.4.
Finally, in order to evaluate the same area, a similar processing-window size should
be used for change detection and for polarimetric decompositions.
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Figure 52. Incoherent change detection, example of a possible workflow.

Dotted boxes and arrows indicate nonmandatory steps.
A similar workflow for change detection can be applied to coherent targets; that is,
hard targets that cover from one to a few tens of pixels that can be compared to
canonical targets (see Module 3, polarimetry fundamentals). A coregistration
between each single-look complex image pair is usually preferred over an
orthorectification to preserve the highest possible spatial resolution and to preserve
the signal as close as possible to its raw (calibrated) values. Because the
characterization of coherent targets relies in good parts on the phase, algorithms
like CCDPHASE and CCDWISH are preferred over CCDINTEN using a smaller
windows size.
One difficulty is to distinguish change that occurs over few contiguous pixels from
the speckle. This is common because (conventional) speckle filtering is usually not
applied to data before the change-detection analysis or coherent-target
characterization.
Another difficulty is to identify pixels that correspond to coherent targets according
to tests (assumptions) that range from a simple thresholding of numeric valuesto
extract bright pixelsto more sophisticated tests that include an evaluation of the
target phase, a comparison of the target with its surrounding area (the "clutter",
see Lesson 4.2), or both.
The Whitening Filter (PSWHITE) algorithm or the Symmetric Scattering
Characterization algorithm (PSSSCM) can be used to find and characterize such
targets. Coherent polarimetric decomposition is another way to characterize
coherent targets for those pixels identified as such by PSWHITE or PSSCM.
Finally, coherent-target change can be interpreted in the same way as incoherent
changes by combining the change-detection results with the target-characterization
workflow.
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Figure 53. Possible workflow for coherent change-detection.

Dotted boxes and arrows indicate nonmandatory steps.
Today, many sensors, such as Radarsat-2 and TerraSAR-X have a high-resolutionacquisition mode, so the concept of point target is less relevant. For example, large
ships can be characterized by tens of pixels, and more for large buildings, while
smaller targets like cars and poles, can encompass tens of pixels and can be
treated as incoherent targets.
On average, however, such targets are more coherent compared to extended
targets (hundreds or thousands pixels). A coherent analysis conducted at full
resolution might reveal a precise characterization of their properties and structure.
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Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
Learned about the options available for change detection in Geomatica
Examined examples of possible workflows for coherent and incoherent

change detection.
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Lesson 6.2: Performing an intensity-change detection

Run an intensity-change detection using the CCDINTEN algorithm on the

HH, HV, and VV channels and the SPAN
Analyze the results of intensity-change detection
To complete this lesson, you will need:
FQ29_20100507sig.pix, located in:

~\SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_20100507\
To ingest the Radarsat-2 scene located in

~\SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_20100531\,
using the FQ29_20100531sig.pix file
CCDINTEN measures the change in total radar backscattering between the test and
reference SAR images by comparing the sum of the intensities of the input
channels. Given two registered detected or single-look complex SAR images,
CCDINTEN determines the overlap area, normalizes the intensity values based on
the total span of intensity values, and calculates the change (as a percentile).
If the image is single-look complex, the intensity is derived and output to the
specified output file. CCDINTEN is NoData-aware, meaning that pixels that contain
a value defined as NoData in the metadata of the input file are excluded from
processing. The input and reference layers must be comparable on a corresponding
basis; that is, the first layers from each image must have the same polarizations.
To open the CCDINTEN algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type CCDINTEN, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the CCDINTEN algorithm.
The CCDINTEN Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the CCDINTEN algorithm
1. Under Input Ports, expand the Input: Input complex or detected
SAR image entry, click Browse, and then open the
FQ29_20100507sig.pix file.
2. Select the HH channel.
3. Under Input Ports, under Reference: Reference complex or detected
SAR image, click Browse, and then open FQ29_20100531sig.pix.
4. Select the HH channel.
5. Under Output Ports, click Browse.
6. In the File name box, enter
FQ29_20100507_0531sig_CCDINTEN_15x15_HH.pix as the name of
the output file.
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7. Click the Input Params 1 tab, and then in the Window size list, click
15.
8. Click Run.
Exercise 1: Repeat steps 1 to 7, by selecting the HV channel instead of HH.
Specify FQ29_20100507_0531sig_CCDINTEN_15x15_HV.pix as the name of
the output file.
Repeat steps 1 to 7, by selecting the VV channel instead of HH. Specify
FQ29_20100507_0531sig_CCDINTEN_15x15_VV.pix as the name of the
output file.
Repeat steps 1 to 7, by selecting all the raster channels instead of HH. Specify
FQ29_20100507_0531sig_CCDINTEN_15x15_span.pix as the name of the
output file.
Exercise 2: Interpret and compare the results of the CCDINTEN change detection
for HH, HV, VV, and the span.
HH/R: 0507
/G:0531/B:0507
HH
Change metric 15x15
HH
Ranked change 15x15
HV/R: 0507
/G:0531/B:0507
HV
Change metric 15x15
HV
Ranked change 15x15
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VV/R: 0507
/G:0531/B:0507
VV
Change metric 15x15
VV
Ranked change 15x15
Span
/R: 0507 /G:0531 /B:0507
Span
Change metric 15x15
Span
Ranked change 15x15
Figure 54. CCDINTEN change-detection results using a 15x15 processing window
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Lesson summary
Ran intensity-change detection on SAR data
Analyzed the results of the intensity-change detection
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Run an intensity-change detection using the CCDWISH algorithm on the

SPAN
Analyze the results of Wishart change detection

FQ29_20100531sig.pix, located in
CCDWISH measures change between two single-look complex SAR images, based
on modified Wishart statistics. The statistical probability of the area of interest
being "the same" is computed in the defined analysis window. Areas with a high
probability are considered to be unchanged, while areas with a low probability are
considered to be changed; that is, they have a low probability of being the same.
The Wishart test statistic is much more sensitive to the differences than test
statistics based only on the intensity; that is, CCDWISH can indicate changes not
detected by CCDINTEN.
To open the CCDWISH algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type CCDWISH, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the CCDWISH algorithm.
The CCDWISH Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the CCDWISH algorithm
1. Under Input Ports, under the Input: Input complex or detected SAR
image, click Browse, and then open FQ29_20100507sig.pix.
2. Select each raster in the FQ29_20100507sig.pix file.
3. Under Input Ports, under the Reference: Reference complex or
detected SAR image, click Browse, and then open
FQ29_20100531sig.pix.
4. Select each raster in the file FQ29_20100531sig.pix.
5. Under Output ports, click Browse, and then in the File Name box enter
FQ29_20100507_0531sig_CCDWISH_15x15_span.pix as the name
of the output file.
6. Click the Input Params 1 tab, and then in the Window size list, click
15.
7. Click Run.
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Exercise 4: Compare the change-detection results for the span obtained using
CCDINTEN and CCDWISH. Which type of land use and land cover shows the most
difference, and which one shows the least difference?
CCDWISH change metric
CCDWISH ranked change
R: CCDINTEN ranked
G: CCDWISH ranked
B: CCDINTEN ranked
Figure 55. CDWISH change-detection results for span (15x15 window)

Exercise 5: The differences in results between CCDINTEN and CCDWISH shown in
Figure 55 may be linked to a change that occurred in the HH-VV correlation or
phase difference instead of a change in intensity. To verify this, use the PSCC
algorithm to calculate the correlation coefficient between the HH and VV channels.
To open the PSCC algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type PSCC, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSCC algorithm.
The PSCC Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the PSCC algorithm
entry, click Browse, and then open _20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix.
3. Under Output Ports, expand the Output: Output correlation
coefficient raster entry, click Browse, open the
folder, and then specify
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSCC_HH-VV.pix as the name of
the output file.
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5. In the First input polarization list, click HH in the Second input

polarization list, click VV, and then in the Angle measurement list,
click Degrees.
6. Click Run.
Repeat steps 1 to 5 selecting FQ29_20100531sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix in the
Inputs Ports and specifying FQ29_20100531sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSCC_HHVV.pix as the output file name.
Correlation coefficient
magnitude
(2010-05-07)
Correlation coefficient
magnitude
(2010-05-31)
R: PSCC 05-31
G: PSCC 05-07
B: PSCC 05-31
Figure 56. PSCC correlation coefficient ([0-1]) between HH and VV channel.
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Lesson summary
Ran a Wishart change detection on SAR data
Analyzed the results of a Wishart change detection
Compared the results of a Wishart change detection and an intensitychange detection
Compared the results of a Wishart change detection with a change

observed in the HH-VV correlation coefficient
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Lesson 6.4: Performing a phase change detection

Run a phase-change detection using the CCDPHASE algorithm
Analyze the results of the phase-change detection

FQ29_20100531sig.pix, located in
CCDPHASE measures change based on the average coherence (over a specified

window size) between two coregistered single-look complex SAR images.
Coherence values will range between zero and one, where areas of change will
have coherence values close to zero (that is, they are incoherent) while unchanged
areas will have higher values (that is, they will be coherent).
To open the CCDPHASE algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type CCDPHASE, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the CCDPHASE algorithm.
The CCDPHASE Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the CCDPHASE algorithm
1. Under Input Ports, expand the Input: Input complex or detected
SAR image entry, click Browse, and then open
FQ29_20100507sig.pix.
3. Under Input Ports, under the Reference: Reference complex or
detected SAR image entry, click Browse, and open
FQ29_20100531sig.pix.
5. Under Output ports, click Browse, and then enter
FQ29_20100507_0531sig_CCDPHASE_span.pix as the name of the
output file.
6. On the Input Params 1 tab, in the Window size list, click 15.
7. Click Run.
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Span
Change metric
Span
Ranked change
Figure 57. CCDPHASE change-detection results (15x15 window)

Exercise 5: Run the CCDPHASE detection algorithm for HH, HV and VV channels.
HH
Change metric 15x15
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HH
Ranked change 15x15
PCI Geomatics
HV
Change metric 15x15
HV
Ranked change 15x15
VV
Change metric 15x15
VV
Ranked change 15x15
Figure 58. CCDPHASE change-detection results (15x15 window)

Exercise 6: Compare the CCDPHASE change-detection results to the HH-VV phase
difference.
PSPHDIFF derives the phase-angle difference between two polarizations of a
polarimetric SAR (POLSAR) data set. The dual-polarization and quad-polarization
polarimetric data are accepted for processing.
To open the PSPHDIFF algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type PSPHDIFF, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSPHDIFF algorithm.
The PSPHDIFF Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the PSPHDIFF algorithm
entry, click Browse, and then open
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix.
3. Under Output ports, click Browse, and then enter
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSPHDIFF_HHVV.pix as the
name of the output file.
5. In the First input polarization list, click HH, in the Second input
polarization list, click VV, and then in the Angle units list, use the
default setting Degrees.
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6. Click Run.
Repeat steps 1 to 5 using FQ29_20100531sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix in step one
and specifying FQ29_20100531sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSPHDIFF_HHVV.pix in
step 2.
2010-05-07,
HH-VV phase
2010-05-31,
HH-VV phase
R:05-07 / G:05-31
B:05-07
Figure 59. PSPHDIFF phase difference between HH and VV channels
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In this lesson you will:
Use CCDWISH to produce a map of changes
Extract areas of change using channel thresholding
Export the areas of change to a vector file using BIT2POLY
Interpret the nature of changes using a polarimetric decomposition

(PSTOUZIDEC)
Data preparation
To complete this lesson you will need:
The FQ29_20100507_0531sig_CCDWISH_15x15_span.pix file

produced in Lesson 6.3. If this file has not been produced, it can be
generated using CCDWISH (15x15 processing windows) using as input the
two Radarsat-2 Flevoland data sets ingested with the sigma-naught
calibration (FQ29_20100507sig.pix and FQ29_20100531sig.pix).
The results from the Touzi decomposition (PSTOUZIDEC) applied on

FQ29_20100507sig.pix and FQ29_20100531sig.pix. Remember to first
filter those files using PSBOXCAR with a 7x7 processing window. The
outputs can be named
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSTOUZIDEC.pix and
FQ29_20100531sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSTOUZIDEC.pix.
Area-of-change extraction using band thresholding

After the change-metric file is produced, the next step is to extract the areas of
change, the possibilities of which are numerous. Image thresholding is a simple
technique in which numeric values above a certain value (threshold) will be
considered as change.
The question is how to determine the threshold value? While there is no definitive
answerthe threshold value depends on the situation, the application objective and
the processing-window size useda good starting point is to look at the histogram
of the change metric.
To display the histogram of a channel
1. In Focus, open the file in question.
2. Click the Files tab, and then expand the Rasters list of
FQ29_20100507_0531sig_CCDWISH_15x15_span.pix.
3. Right-click the third channel (CCDWISH: Change metric), and then click
"Histogram with statistics".
The Histogram with Statistics window appears.
The histogram for the CCDWISH change metric is shown in Figure 60. The
histogram of the same metric produced with a 7x7 processing window is also
showed for comparison.
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As a reminder, the change metric from CCDWISH (and CCDPHASE and CCDINTEN)
does not consider the direction of change; therefore, the higher the number, the
stronger the change is according to the metric. Based on a visual inspection of the
histogram, the majority of pixels are distributed between 24.1 and 31 with a mean
of 25.52. The shape of the histogram suggests that a value of approximately 26
may be a good starting point for setting the threshold value.
A) CCDWISH: Change metric, 15x15
B) CCDWISH: Change metric, 7x7
Figure 60. CCDWISH change-metric histograms
Using Focus EASI Modeler to set threshold value and extract areas of change
The change metric will be thresholded and the result stored in a bitmap layer.
1. If not open already, in Focus, open
FQ29_20100507_0531sig_CCDWISH_15x15_span.pix.
2. Click the Files tab, and then select the
FQ29_20100507_0531sig_CCDWISH_15x15_span.pix file.
3. Right-click, point to New, and then click Bitmap Layer.
4. Load the (empty) bitmap.
5. Right-click the bitmap, and then click View.
The bitmap is displayed automatically at the top of the tree list on the
Map tab.
6. On the Tools menu, click EASI Modeling.
You are now ready to extract the areas of change.
7. Using the following script, extract all the pixels that are above 26 and
output the results in the new bitmap (%%2).
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A visual inspection indicates that a value of 26 may to be too permissive, especially

over the water areas (Figure 61, A and C). Inland, most of the detected changes
are associated to agricultural land and wetlands. None of the urban areas are
showing changes (except for some localized targets), which is expected because of
the short lapse of time between the two acquisitions. This is also an indication that
the coregistration between the two images is good.
In comparison, a threshold value of 27.5 produced better results (Figure 61, B and
D) by restricting the changes to the most important ones while reducing the
amount of change over the water area.
A) CCDWISH >26
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B) CCDWISH >27.5
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C) CCDWISH >26 (detail)
D) CCDWISH >27.5 (detail)
Figure 61. Thresholding of the CCDWISH change metric
Converting a bitmap layer to a vector layer

The bitmap representing the areas of change can now be exported to a vectorpolygon layer. The benefits of this are:
A bitmap layer is characterized by a pixel-and-line-coordinate system tied

to the raster file from which it has been created. A vector layer is
referenced according to a geographical projection and not attached to a
particular layer.
It is easier to overlay vectors on relevant images (data) layers to interpret

change
It is possible to filter the polygons of change based on their areas or

shape, if necessary
It is possible to automatically collect statistics for every polygon in a

vector layer
To convert a bitmap layer to a polygon layer

3. In the Find what box, type BIT2POLY, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the BIT2POLY algorithm.
5. If not already open, under Input Ports, click Browse, and then select
the FQ29_20100507_0531sig_CCDWISH_15x15_span.pix file.
6. Under Input: Bitmap Layer, select the bitmap you want to convert to a
polygon layer.
For this exercise, select the bitmap that corresponds to CCDWISH>27.5.
7. Under Output Ports, click the Output: Polygon Layer entry, click
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8. In the File Selector window, enter a file name and a location.

For this exercise, name the file
polygons_CCDWISH_15_Change_sup27.5.pix
Optionally, you can select the Smooth Vector option.
10. Click Run.
Each contiguous region of on pixels (i.e. values of 1) will be grouped
together into a single polygon. Only pixels with a value of 1 in the input
bitmap result in polygons in the output.
Create a copy of polygons_CCDWISH_15_Change_sup27.5.pix.
Filtering and extracting statistics from polygons

For each polygon, BIT2POLY will automatically create four fields:
Shape ID (unique identifier)
Area (sq m)
Perimeter (m)
PixelValue (inherited from the bitmap layer)
To view the vector file attributes table

1. In Focus, click the Maps tab.
2. Right-click the vector file for which you want to see the attribute table,
and then click Attribute Manager.
The Attribute Manager window appears.
In the following procedure, the boxes in the Area (sq m) column will be used to
remove all polygons of area inferior to 3000 sq m that correspond to approximately
110 pixels.
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To filter the polygons based on area

1. In the Attribute Manager window, on the Record menu, point to Query
By, and then click Example.
2. In the Attributes box, select Area.
3. Click the
menu, and then select the Less than operator (<).
4. In the New statement box, enter 3000, and then click Add.
5. Click Apply.
All polygons with an area less than 3000 sq m (4458 of 6116 polygons)
will be selected (Figure 62).
6. In the Attribute Manager window, on the Field menu, click Delete.
All selected polygons are removed.
7. On the Layer menu, click Save.
8. Rename the vector file
polygons_CCDWISH_15_Change_sup27.5_sup3000sqm.pix.
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Figure 62. Polygons >3000 sq m (white) superposed on the original bitmap layer in
red (CCDWISH>27.5)
Extracting statistics to the polygon attributes table

For each polygon, you will now extract a series of statistics that will help you to
understand the nature of change. For this example, you will use the polarimetric
parameters of the Touzi decomposition (see Lesson 3.3). For each polygon, the
mean of the following parameters will be calculated:
s1 , dominant symmetric scattering type
Span, which corresponds to the sum of the eigenvalues ( 1 + 2 + 3 )
1N , normalized first eigenvalue, which corresponds to 1 /span
To continue this exercise, you will need to apply the Touzi decomposition
(PSTOUZIDEC) to the Radarsat-2 Flevoland data set. Remember to add extra 32R
channels to each file and compute the normalized version of the first eigenvalue
(see Lesson 3.3).
You will now use the Geomatica Overlay Wizard to compute the mean of each
parameter of each polygon in
polygons_CCDWISH_15_Change_sup27.5_sup3000sqm.pix. This example
will calculate the mean of the dominant scattering type ( s1 ) of the May 7 image.
To use the Overlay Wizard
1. In Focus, on the Analysis menu, click Overlay.
The Overlay Wizard window appears.
2. Under Select type of overlay, click the Statistical - Computes
statistics by virtually overlaying them option button, and then click
Next.
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3. Under Primary Input, under Layer, click the File list, and then select
the vector file to add the new attributes (statistics); that is, select
polygons_CCDWISH_15_Change_sup27.5_sup3000sqm.pix.
4. Under Secondary Input, under Layer, click the File list, and then select
the file containing the layer of interest; that is, select
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSTOUZIDEC.pix.
If the file is already open in Focus it will be available in the list; otherwise,
to open the file, click Browse.
5. Click the Layer list, select (3 [32R] Dominant Touzi Alpha_S
Parameter, and then click Next.
6. In the table, select one or more attributes to compute (you may need to
click Advanced to see all of them), and then click Finish.
The selected attributes will be calculated.
7. Repeat steps 1 to 7 for each layer of interest.
After all of the statistics have been collected, the vector file should contain
1663 Records (polygons) and 10 fields. This file can be found in
~\SAR_Training\Radar\Vectors\
(polygons_CCDWISH_15_Change_sup27.5_sup3000sqm.pix ).
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Tip
You can export the attributes to other formats, such as

.xls (Microsoft Excel) and .ora (Oracle): on the Layer
menu, click Export Attributes.
Interpreting the changes

The polygons representing the areas of change, the collected statistics for each
polygon, the original parameters from the Touzi decomposition, and the Landsat
images can all be used to interpret and understand the changes.
In Figure 61 on page 154, you can see that most changes are associated with
surface scattering in agricultural fields. This is confirmed in Figure 63, where s1
shows values inferior to 40 for the two dates for most of the polygons. In the
same figure, ( s1 ), most of the polygons are clustered along the 1:1 line and do
not show a big change in the dominant scattering mechanisms, which might look
counterintuitive at first.
In comparison, as expected, most polygons show a strong difference in the span
scatter plot because CCDWISH uses the trace of the coherency matrix (Figure 63,
12-D). One explanation is that soil moisture increases the backscatter power, but
with little affect on the phase relationship between the two orthogonal polarizations
used for signal Tx/Rx (usually HH-VV). The backscattering mechanism remains the
same (wet soil versus dry),especially because the backscattered power is
normalized in the calculation of s1 .
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A)
s1 , dominant symmetric scattering
B)
1N , normalized first eigenvalue
type
C) Span (intensity)
D) Span (Intensity, axis cut at 0.5)
Figure 63. Change-detection results, agricultural area

Some polygons are characterized by a change in both
s1
and the span. A typical
situation is fields occupied by row crops where the combination of the plant growth
and rows increase s1 (from surface toward dipole or a week double-bounce
scattering) while the span has decreased due to soil drying between May 7 and May
31 (Figure 63, A and B), Figure 64 A and B vs. C).
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Figure 65 and Figure 66 show changes associated with moving targets over land or
water. Those targets produced generally to the most dramatic changes in the
scattering type, the span and the purity of the backscattered power represented
here by 1N .
You can see in Figure 65, E) that the workflows presented in this section worked
well in urban areas in filtering out the few changes which were associated to small
differences in the viewing geometry between the two images. On the other end, in
the same figure, you can also see the effect of the use of a large window size
(15x15) for CCDWISH, where changes associated with small targets have been
expanded to their surrounding areas.
s1 ,
A) May 7, 2010,
dominant symmetric
scattering type
D) May 7, 2010,
1N , first
eigenvalue
s1 ,
B) May 31, 2010,
dominant symmetric
scattering type
E) May 31, 2010,
C) Span
(R: May 7, G: May 31, B:
May 7)
1N , first
eigenvalue
Figure 64. Change-detection results, agricultural area

Note
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The polygons correspond to CCDWISH>27.5 and> 3000

sq m.
Page 161
s1 ,
A) May 7, 2010,
dominant symmetric
scattering type
s1 ,
B) May 31, 2010,
dominant symmetric
scattering type
D) High-resolution imagery
(from Google Earth)
E) CCDWISH, original
change-detection bitmap in
red.
C) Span
(R: May 7, G: May 31, B:
May 7)
Figure 65. Change-detection results, Urban environment.

Note
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sq m.
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s1 ,
A) May 7, 2010,
dominant symmetric
scattering type
D) May 7, 2010, 1N , first

eigenvalue
s1 ,
B) May 31, 2010,
dominant symmetric
scattering type
C) Span
(R: May 7, G: May 31, B:
May 7)
E) May 31, 1N , first

eigenvalue
Figure 66. Change-detection results, ship detection

Note
PCI Geomatics

sq m
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Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
Used CCDWISH to produce a map of changes
Extracted areas of change using channel thresholding
Exported the areas of change to a vector file using BIT2POLY
Interpreted the nature of changes using a polarimetric decomposition

(PSTOUZIDEC)
References
Masroor Hussain, Dongmei Chen , Angela Cheng , Hui Wei , David Stanley (2013).
Change detection from remotely sensed images: From pixel-based to object-based
approaches. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Vol.80, p.91106.
Jensen, J. R (2005). Introductory Digital Image Processing: A Remote Sensing
Perspective. 3rd ed. Prentice-Hall Series in Geographic Information Science.
Pearson/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J., USA, 526 pages.
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Appendix A
Processing with single or dualpol detected data

Appendix A has three lessons:
Applying a band ratio or a band difference to a pair of detected images

using EASI Modeling
Performing intensity-change detection
The goal of this appendix is to show how Geomatica Focus can increase the
information content of a detected single or dual polarization image. This appendix
uses a detected dual-polarization image (simulated) acquired over the Flevoland
region of the Netherlands.
Applying intensity channels ratio or difference using

EASI modeling on detected data
Apply a band ratio and a band difference between two polarimetric

channels using EASI Modeling
Compare the band ratio and band difference results
Band ratio and band difference

The band-ratio and band-difference techniques can be used to extract:
Changes between two images acquired on different dates
Differences between two polarization channels of the same image
You can use various strategies to extract the changes or differences between two
images or channels. First, you can use a pixel-by-pixel ratio or difference, and then
filter the result using an average (or median) filter. You can also compute the mean
(or other statistics) over a window, return the result to the central pixel, and then
proceed to the ratio or difference. Another strategy is to first filter the data, and
then proceed to a pixel-by-pixel comparison between the two channels or images.
Data preprocessing
Using the concepts learned in Lesson 1.4, Lesson 1.5, and the Flevoland scene
located in ~\SAR_Training\ Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_20100507:
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Appendix A
1. Ingest the product.xml file into a PCIDSK file using sigma as the
calibration type.
Name the file FLE_FQ29_20100507sig.
2. Use the PSIQINTERP algorithm to convert complex data to detected data.
Convert the HH channel to intensity.
Name the file FLE_FQ29_20100507sig_HH-HV.
To preprocess an image when applying a speckle filter
3. In the Find what box, type FSPEC, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the FSPEC algorithm.
The FSPEC Module Control Panel window appears.
5. Under Input Ports, open the ~\SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2
folder, and then select the FLE_FQ29_20100507sig_HH-HV file.
6. Under Output Ports, select Untitled.pix, and then click Browse.
7. In the File name box, type FLE_FQ29_20100507sig_HHHV_FEfrost_7.pix.
9. In the Image Units list, click Power, in the Filter Type list, click
Enhanced Frost, in the Filter X Size list and Filter Y Size list,
respectively, click 7.
Leave the other options set to the default values.
10. Click Run.
To perform a channel ratio and a channel difference using EASI modeling
1. Add two new raster layers: in Focus, click the Files tab, right-click the
FLE_FQ29_20100507sig_HH-HV_FEfrost_7.pix. file, point to New,
and then click Raster Layer.
The Add Image Channels window appears.
2. Add two (2) 32 bit real channels, and then click Add.
3. On the Tools menu, click EASI Modeling.
The EASI Modeling window appears.
4. In the Input File list, click the FLE_FQ29_20100507sig_HHHV_FEfrost_7.pix file.
5. Enter the code to perform the ratio and difference (the comments can be
omitted), as shown in Error! Reference source not found..
Note
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The modeling results will be saved automatically.
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Appendix A
Exercise 1: Compare the ratio and difference results to the original HH and HV
channels.
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Appendix A
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
Applied a band ratio and a band difference between two polarimetric

channels using EASI Modeling
Compared the band ratio and band difference result
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Appendix A
Applying an intensity-change detection on detected

data
Apply intensity-change detection between two polarimetric channels
Analyze the results
The CHDET algorithm detects changes in SAR imagery. Given two registered
amplitude or intensity SAR images, CHDET calculates a difference image, removes
the speckle noise, and generates bitmap overlays, which display changes greater
than a specified threshold and the number of pixels.
CHDET is intended to detect changes between two single-channel images acquired
on different dates. However, you can use this program to detect changes between
two channels of a dual-pol image.
Applying an intensity-change detection

You can apply an intensity-change detection with the CHDET algorithm.
To open the CHDET algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type CHDET, and then click Find next.
4. Double-click the CHDET algorithm.
The CHDET Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the parameters for CHDET
1. Open the nonfiltered Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_HH-HV.pix file.
2. Under Input Ports, expand the InputA: Layer A entry, and then select
the HH channel.
3. Expand the InputB: Layer B entry, and then select the HV channel.
4. Under Output Ports, expand the Output: A-B Difference Layer entry,
and then select the Untitled.pix check box.
5. Click Browse, open the folder in which you want to save the file, and
then, in the File name box, type Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_CHDETavg7.pix.
7. Set the following options:
For Filter Type, select AVG
For Positive Threshold and Negative threshold, enter 5 and -30

decibels, respectively
For Image Format, select Power
For Filter Size, select 7
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Appendix A
For Number of Looks, enter 1
For Data Type, select 32R.
8. Click Run.
Exercise 2: For which kind of land use and land cover is HH higher than HV? For
which kind of land use and land cover is HH similar to HV?
Compare the results from the previous lesson (ratio). What are the main
differences that can be observed between these two techniques? Are some
differences related to type of filter used?
To facilitate the interpretation of the results, a Landsat-5 image mosaic of the
region is provided. Select the Flevoland_L5_20100906_p198_r23r24.pix file
located in the ~\SAR_Training\Landsat folder.
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Appendix A
HH (non-filtered)
HV (non-filtered)
HH/HV ratio, Enhanced Frost filter 7x7

(Lesson 3.1)
CHDET HH/HV ratio, Average 7x7

(Lesson 3.2)
Figure 67. Band-ratio results comparison
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Appendix A
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
Applied and intensity change detection between two polarimetric channels
Analyzed the results
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Appendix A

Calculate SAR-specific texture measures using SARTEX
Calculate texture measures based on co-occurrence matrices using TEX
The SARTEX algorithm creates a set of texture images from a single channel in an
input image. The radar-specific measures are based on pixel-value statistics in a
window surrounding each pixel. In SAR images, a single pixel conveys very little
information about the underlying ground cover. Only by looking at the values of
many pixels can some interpretations be made. The statistics that apply best to a
given area depend on the actual image formation process.
The extracted texture measures may be used as input features to classification
algorithms.
The SAR-specific texture measures in this module account for radar-image
formation and statistical properties of radar speckle. Therefore, it is essential that
no prior filtering has been performed on the input channel.
Texture measures extracted by SARTEX are based on SAR-specific statistics of pixel
values in the rectangular window of user-specified dimensions. They complement
measures extracted in the module TEX, based on a gray-level co-occurrence matrix
(GLCM), and in the module HISTEX, based on the histogram of pixel values in a
window. The three types of measures can be combined for further analysis, such as
segmentation and classification of the image.
The optimal window size depends on image characteristics (terrain roughness,
land-cover type, imaging parameters). With large windows, some blocky artifacts
can appear in texture images, if a small, bright target is fully enclosed by the
window. Therefore, a small-to-moderate window size is recommended.
Creating SAR-specific texture images

To create SAR-specific texture images, you use the SARTEX algorithm.
To open the SARTEX algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type SARTEX, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the SARTEX algorithm.
The SARTEX Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the parameters for SARTEX
1. Under Input Ports, expand the Input: Input detected SAR band
entry.
2. From the Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_HH-HV.pix file, select the HH
channel.
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Appendix A
3.
Under Output Ports, expand the Output: Output texture measure

raster entry, select Untitled.pix and then click Browse.
4. Open the Radar Data folder.

5. In the File name box, type Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_HHHV_SARTEX_7.pix, and click Save.
7. Under Basis of SAR Texture Measurement, select all four of the check
boxes.
8. In the Horizontal Filter Size list, click 7.
9. In the Vertical Filter Size list, click 7.
10. In the Image Units list, click Power.
Note: It is important to select the correct image format for the input
layer. Any required conversions are performed internally to use the
correct values for each computed texture measure.
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Appendix A
11. Click Run.

Note
Table 6.
To solve a specific problem (distinguishing between

several land cover types for example), the usual approach
is to compute all texture measures and use the measure
that provides the best result.
SAR-specific texture measures
Texture measure
Explanation
Normally distributed
intensity (VI)
This is a ratio of the mean of squared intensity to the mean

intensity squared. It is applicable when pixel intensity has a
Gaussian distribution.
Normally distributed
amplitude (VA)
This is a ratio of mean intensity to the squared mean

amplitude. It is applicable when pixel amplitude has a
Gaussian distribution.
Lognormal distributed
intensity (VL)
This is a difference of the mean value of the squared

intensity logarithm and the square of the mean intensity
logarithm. It is applicable when pixel intensity has a lognormal distribution.
K-distributed intensity (U)
This is a normalized log measure of texture. It

approximates k-distribution when the number of looks in
the SAR image is large.
Exercise 3: Compare the different textures measure from SARTEX.
VI, normally distributed intensity
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VI, detail
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Appendix A
VA, normally distributed amplitude
VA, detail
VL, lognormal distributed intensity
VL, detail
U, K-distributed intensity
U, detail
Figure 68. SARTEX results (7x7)
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Appendix A
Creating texture
texture images based on co-occurrence matrices using
TEX
The TEX algorithm calculates a set of texture measures for all pixels in an input
image. The measures are based on second-order statistics computed from the
gray-level co-occurrence matrices. Either texture measures for a specific direction
or directional-invariant measures can be computed. The texture measures can be
used as input features to classification algorithms.
To open the TEX algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type TEX, and then click Find Next until the TEX
algorithm is selected.
4. Double-click the TEX algorithm.
The TEX Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the parameters for TEX
1. Under Input Ports, expand the Input: Image Layer entry.
2. From the Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_HH-HV.pix file, select the HH
channel.
3. Under Output Ports, expand the Output: Output texture measure
Layer(s) entry, select Untitled.pix, and then click Browse.
4. Open the Radar Data folder.
5. In the File name field, type Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_HHHV_TEX_11.pix and click Save.
7. Under Texture Measure PARAMETERS, select the Homogeneity,
Variance, Entropy, Angular Second Moment, and the Correlation
Texture check boxes.
8. In the Filter X Size list, click 11.
9. In the Filter Y Size list, click 11.
10. In the Number of Gray Levels list, click 32.
11. Click Run.
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Appendix A
Exercise 4: Compare the different textures measure from TEX.
Homogeneity, 11x11, 32 grey levels

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Homogeneity, details
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Appendix A
Standard Deviation, 11x11, 32 grey levels
Standard Deviation, details
Entropy, 11x11, 32 grey levels
Entropy, details
Angular second moment, 11x11, 32 grey

levels
Angular second moment, details
Figure 69. TEX results (11x11)
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Appendix A
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
Calculated SAR-specific texture measures using SARTEX
Calculated texture measures based on co-occurrence matrices using TEX
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Appendix B
Polarimetric discriminators
Polarimetric decompositions are useful for identifying the scattering mechanisms
characterizing a point or a distributed target. However, they only characterize a
part of the polarimetric information available for a given target. It is possible to
deepen the characterization of a target by analyzing its eigenvalues ( i , i=1, 2, 3)
produced by a polarimetric decomposition (Module 3).
The polarimetric response plots introduced in Module 3 and Module 4 can also be
used to identify the backscattering mechanisms characterizing a target. These
responses also provide an analysis of the backscattered power that is often
overlooked with the polarimetric decompositions.
Analysis of the peaks and valleys of a polarimetric response plot is particularly
interesting: "the polarization plots have peaks at polarizations that give rise to
maximum received power, and valleys where the received power is smallest, in
agreement with the concept of Huynen's polarization fork in the Poincar sphere
(CCRS, 2007, Boerner, et al. 1998, fig.5-3-9)".
The polarimetric response plot corresponds to a projection of the Poincare sphere,
where the orientation angle ( ) represent the longitude and the ellipticity angle
( ) represents the latitude. Using an increment of 1, there are more than 16,000
possible combinations of and for signal transmission, and a similar number

for reception (16,000 x 16,000 possible transmit-receive combinations).
Fortunately, the SAR Analysis toolbox provides algorithms to automatically analyze

the properties of a target using the concept of the Huynen fork on the Poincare
sphere. The PSPOLDIS algorithm is used to calculate a number of polarimetric
discriminators for a fully polarimetric SAR (POLSAR) data set. The PSPOLSYN
algorithm creates a synthesized backscatter SAR image for arbitrary transmit and
receive polarizations. The PSPOLSYNC algorithm creates a synthesized backscatter
image to maximize the contrast between two targets.
Appendix B has four lessons:
Generating polarimetric discriminators based on coherency matrix

eigenvalues
Generating polarimetric discriminators based on analysis of the Poincare

sphere
Synthesizing a backscatter SAR image for arbitrary transmit and receive

polarizations
Maximize the contrast between two targets
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Appendix B
Generating polarimetric discriminators based on

coherency matrix eigenvalues
Generate some polarimetric discriminators based on the coherency matrix

eigenvalues using EASI Modeling in Focus
Compare the resulting polarimetric discriminators
The entropy and the anisotropy are calculated from the three eigenvalues of the
coherency matrix. Several parameters can be derived from these eigenvalues to
perform an in-depth analysis of the scattering properties of the examined scene. In
this lesson, you will use EASI modeling to calculate a series of polarimetric
discriminators.
Data preprocessing
Before you can calculate polarimetric discriminators, you must preprocess your
data.
To preprocess the data
1. Ingest into a pix file the
~\SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_20100507 file
using product.xml as the key name file.
Select sigma as the calibration type, and then name the file
Fle_FQ29_20100507sig.pix.
2. Filter the ingested image using the PSBOXCAR algorithm.
Select a filter size of 7 x 7, and then name the file
Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix.
3. Using Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix as input file, apply
the Cloude and Pottier decomposition (PSEBA).
4. Click the Input Params 1 tab, and then select the Retrieve
eigenvalues and eigenvectors option.
5. Name the output:
Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSEABA.pix
From Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSEABA.pix, extract
channels 5, 6 and 7. Name the output:
Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_eigen.pix.
6. This new file should contain only three channels.
To calculate a series of polarimetric discriminators
1. In Focus, on the File menu, click Open, open the
folder, and then open the Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_eigen.pix file.
2. Right-click the Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_eigen.pix file, point to New,
and then click Raster Layer.
The Add Image Channels window appears.
3. Add seven (7) 32-bit real channels, and then click Add.
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Appendix B
4. In Focus, on the Tools menu, click EASI Modeling.

The EASI Modeling window appears.
5. In the Input File list, click Fle_FQ29_20100507sig_eigen.pix.
6. Enter the following script, and then click Run.
Note: The script can be loaded from ~\SAR_Training\EASI_script\
AppendixB_PolarimetricDiscriminator.eas.
Exercise 1:
Compare the different eigenvalues based on polarimetric discriminators.
Note
There is some correlation between anisotropy, entropy,

and the polarimetric discriminators based on the
coherency matrix eigenvalues. Which Polarimetric
discriminators are less correlated? More correlated?
Figure 70. EASI Modeling windows, eigenvalues polarimetric discriminators
PCI Geomatics
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Appendix B
Table 7.
Correlation coefficients between the polarimetric discriminators (channel

description given in Figure 70, for whole image except open-water areas)
%1
%2
%6
%7
%8
%9
%10
%11
-0.28
-0.86
-0.19
0.80
0.73
0.37
0.29
0.81
-0.59
0.18
0.79
-0.78
-0.46
-0.89
-0.35
-0.89
0.61
0.65
0.84
0.15
-0.96
0.89
-0.61
-0.65
-0.84
-0.15
0.96
-1.00
0.88
-0.49
-0.70
-0.76
-0.05
0.89
-0.98
0.98
%2
%6
%7
%8
%9
%10
%11
%12
%1, entropy (H)
Page 184
%2, anisotropy (A)
%6, dominant point target
PCI Geomatics
Appendix B
%7, more than one

scattering mechanism
%8, two strong scattering

mechanism
%9, fully diffused scattering
%10,polarization fraction
%11, radar vegetation index
%12, pedestal height
Figure 71. Polarimetric discriminators from the coherency matrix eigenvalues
PCI Geomatics
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Appendix B
Lesson summary
summary
Generated polarimetric discriminators based on the coherency matrix

eigenvalues
Compared the polarimetric discriminators produced
Page 186
PCI Geomatics
Appendix B
Generating polarimetric discriminators based on

analysis of the Poincar Sphere
Generate different polarimetric discriminators using PSPOLDIS
Compare the polarimetric discriminators produced
The PSPOLDIS algorithm calculates a number of polarimetric discriminators for a

fully polarimetric SAR (POLSAR) data set. Polarimetric discriminators are useful to
characterize the features in your image, by identifying the different types of
scattering mechanisms. The discriminators are based on the polarimetric synthesis,
and describe the polarimetric response of features in the image.
These include:
Minimum and maximum polarization
Minimum and maximum completely polarized component
Minimum and maximum completely unpolarized component
Minimum and maximum received power
Minimum and maximum scattered intensity
Coefficient of variation
Fractional polarization
The orientation and ellipticity angles for the extrema of the completely polarized
component are also written to the output file.
Because PSPOLDIS searches for the extrema of the response at every pixel, the
processing can take a long time, depending on the number of lines and pixels in the
image, and the step-size values. Reducing step-size values for orientation and
ellipticity increases the processing time, but makes the results more accurate. For
example, changing STEPPSI and STEPCHI from the default values of 10 degrees
to 5 almost quadruples the processing time, but the determined extrema are
accurate to within plus or minus 2.5 degrees.
Table 8.
PSPOLDIS parameters
No.
Parameters
Min
Max
Unit
1.
Ratio of the intensity of the maximum polarized part

on total power
N/A
2.
Ratio of the intensity of the minimum polarized part

on total power
N/A
3.
Maximum intensity of the of the completely

polarized component
N.A
intensity
-90
90
Degree
-45
45
Degree
4.
5.
Orientation angle ( ) at the maximum of the

completely polarized component
Ellipticity angle ( ) at the maximum of the
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Appendix B
No.
Parameters
Min
Max
Unit
6.
Minimum intensity of the completely polarized

component
N.A
Intensity
-90
90
Degree
-45
45
Degree
Orientation angle ( ) at the minimum of the
7.

Ellipticity angle ( ) at the minimum of the
8.
9.
Maximum intensity of the completely unpolarized

component
N.A
Intensity
10.
Minimum intensity of the completely unpolarized

component
N.A
Intensity
11.
Maximum of the received power
N.A
Intensity
12.
Minimum of the received power
N.A
Intensity
13.
Maximum of the scattered intensity
N.A
Intensity
14.
Minimum of the scattered intensity
N.A
Intensity
15.
Coefficient of variation
Unitless
16.
Coefficient of fractional polarization
Unitless
To open the PSPOLDIS algorithm

3. In the Find what box, type PSPOLDIS, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSPOLDIS algorithm.
The PSPOLDIS Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the parameters for PSPOLDIS
entry.
2. Click Browse, open the folder
~\SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29_20100507, and
then select the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix file.
3. Select each raster for this file.
4. Under Output Ports, expand the Output: Output polarimetric
discriminator entry, select Untitled.pix, and then click Browse.
5. Open the ~\SAR_Training\Radar\Flevoland_RS2_SLC\FQ29 folder.
6. Type FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSPOLDIS.pix as the file
name.
7. Click Save.
The path and file name are updated in the PSPOLDIS Module Control Panel
window.
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Appendix B

9. In the Orientation angle step size list and the Ellipticity angle step
sizeb list, respectively, click 5.
10. Click Run.
The PSPOLDIS analysis runs and the results appear in the Focus viewer.
Exercise 2: Compare the different polarimetric discriminators generated by
PSPOLDIS.
% 3, Max. Int. C.P.C
% 4,
at max. C.P.P
%9, Max. Int. C.U.C
%6, Min. Int. C.P.C
% 5,
at max. C.P.P
%10, Min. Int. C.U.C
% 1, Int. Max. Pol.

part/total power
% 2, Int. Min. Pol. part/total

power
%16, Coef. Frac. Pol.
Figure 72. Polarimetric discriminators from PSPOLDIS (selection)
PCI Geomatics
Page 189
Appendix B
Lesson summary
Generated different polarimetric discriminators using PSPOLDIS
Compared the polarimetric discriminators produced
Page 190
PCI Geomatics
Appendix B
Synthesizing a backscatter SAR image for arbitrary

transmit and receive polarizations
Create synthesized backscatter SAR images for arbitrary transmit and

receive polarizations
The PSPOLSYN algorithm creates a synthesized backscatter SAR image for arbitrary
transmit and receive polarizations, from a fully polarimetric SAR (POLSAR) data set.
Creating an image with polarizations that are different from the original ones may
reveal information that is not apparent in the input data set. The input file must
represent a non-symmetrized, or a symmetrized, fully polarimetric (quadpolarization) SAR data set in the scattering (s4c or S3c), covariance (c4r6c or
C3r3c), coherency (t4r6c or T3r3c), or Kennaugh (k16r or K9r) matrix format.
In Figure 73, an urban target, corresponding to a building not aligned with the
radar line of sight, has been selected. This misalignment has created a stronger
backscattering in HV, but the backscattering in HH might be lower than what you
would normally expect for this kind of target.
Target
coordinates
538'08.9''E;
5233'57.8N
HH=0.307
(-5.12dB)
HV=0.193
(-7.14 dB)
VV=0.246
(-6.09 dB)
Nb. pixels = 44
R: HH, G:HV, B:VV
Target in red
(R=HH, G=HV, B=VV)
Figure 73. Urban target

In the previous lesson, you used PSPOLDIS to characterize the backscattered power
of the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix scene. In this lesson, you will try
to enhance the backscattered power by generating a synthesized backscatter SAR
image that corresponds to the targets orientation ( ) and ellipticity ( ) angles at
the maximum of the completely polarized component (Table 9).
Table 9.
PSPOLDIS parameters (selection) for a small urban target
Description
Orientation angle ( ) at the minimum of
the completely polarized component
PCI Geomatics
Mean ()
Med ()
S-D ()
46.1
44.9
11.8
12.5
10.0
5.9
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Appendix B
Description
Ellipticity angle ( ) at the minimum of the
Mean ()
Med ()
S-D ()
-57.0
-60.0
18.4
-12.9
-10.0
13.4
To open the PSPOLSYN algorithm

3. In the Find what box, type PSPOLSYN, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSPOLSYN algorithm.
The PSPOLSYN Module Control Panel window appears.
To set up the parameter for PSPOLSYN
entry.
folder, and then select the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix file.
3. Select each raster for this file.
4. Under Output Ports, expand the Output: Output synthesized
detected SAR image entry, select Untitled.pix, and then click Browse.
5. Open the
folder.
6. In the File name box, type
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSPOLSYN_t1.pix.
7. Click Save.
The path and file name are updated in the PSPOLSYN Module Control
Panel window.
9. In the Transmitted orientation angle box and the Transmitted
ellipticity angle box, enter 46.1 and 12.5, respectively.
10. In the Received orientation angle box and the Received ellipticity
angle box, enter 46.1 and 12.5, respectively.
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PCI Geomatics
Appendix B
11. Click Run.

The PSPOLSYN analysis runs and the results appear in Focus.
Exercise 3: A co-polarized (transmit=received) image has been generated. You
will synthesize a second image using the minimum of the completely polarized
component angles.
Repeat the previous steps with the following modifications:
In step 5, specify RS2_FQ29_Fle_20100507sig_PSPOLSYN_t2.pix
In step 9, specify -57.0 and -12.9 for the Received orientation angle
and Received ellipticity angle boxes, respectively
PCI Geomatics
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Appendix B
T1
T :46.1
T :12.5
R :46.1
R :12.5
Mean = 1.25
(0.96 dB)
T2
T :46.1
T :12.5
R :-57.04
R :-12.95
Mean = 0.12 (9.2dB)
T3
T :-57.0
T :-12.9
R :-57.0
R :-12.9
Mean = 0.22
(-6.57dB)
Figure 74. Synthesized backscatter SAR images for various transmit and receive
polarization configurations
Page 194
PCI Geomatics
Appendix B
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
Created synthesized backscatter SAR images for arbitrary transmit and

receive polarizations
PCI Geomatics
Page 195
Appendix B
Maximizing the contrast between two targets

Create a synthesized backscatter image to maximize the contrast between

two targets
The PSPOLSYNC algorithm creates a synthesized backscatter image from a fully

polarimetric SAR data set. The polarizations used for synthesis are selected
automatically by PSPOLSYNC to maximize the contrast (ratio) between two targets.
The polarizations are determined by searching the full range of the orientation and
ellipticity angles for the transmitted and received polarizations. The identified
transmitted and received polarizations are then used to synthesize the radar
backscatter at every pixel in the input data set. The synthesis algorithm is the
same as in PSPOLSYN.
The input file must represent a non-symmetrized or symmetrized fully polarimetric
(quad-polarization, complex) data set in the scattering (s4c or S3c), covariance
(c4r6c or C3r3c), coherency (t4r6c or T3r3c), or Kennaugh (k16r or K9r) matrix
format.
In the following procedure, the urban target described in the previous lesson will be
compared to a forest target.
Details
Forest target:
HH=0.140
(-8.53dB)
HV=0.054
(-12.67 dB)
VV=0.142
(-8.47 dB)
Nb. pixels = 44
R: HH, G:HV, B:VV
Target in red: Urban,

in blue: Forest
R:HH, G:HV, B:VV
Figure 75. Targets used in input for the PSPOLSYNC algorithm.

To open the PSPOLSYNC algorithm
3. In the Find what box, type PSPOLSYNC, and then click Find Next.
4. Double-click the PSPOLSYNC algorithm.
The PSPOLSYNC Module Control Panel window appears.
Page 196
PCI Geomatics
Appendix B
To set up the parameter for PSPOLSYNC

entry.
folder, select the FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7.pix file, and then
select each raster for this file.
3. Under Input Ports, expand the InputBitmap1: First input target layer.
folder, and then select the FQ29_20100507_mod6_urban1.pix bitmap
file.
5. Under Input Ports, expand the InputBitmap2: Second input target
layer.
6. Click Browse, select the FQ29_20100507_mod6_mod6_forest.pix
bitmap file.
7. Under Output Ports, expand the Output: Output synthesized
detected SAR image entry, select Untitled.pix, and then click Browse.
folder.
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSPOLSYNC_t1.pix.
10. Click Save.
The path and file name are updated in the PSPOLSYNC Module Control
Panel window.
11. Click Run.
The PSPOLSYNC analysis runs and the results appear in the Focus viewer.
To view the metadata
2. Right click the
FQ29_20100507sig_PSBOXCAR_7_PSPOLSYNC_t1.pix file, and then
click Properties.
The File Properties windows appears.
The metadata shows that the maximum contrast between the two targets
is obtained with the following configuration:
Optimum Contrast Receive Ellipticity: 26.4
Optimum Contrast Receive Orientation: 7.5
Optimum Contrast Transmit Ellipticity: 16.0
Optimum Contrast Transmit Orientation: 11.0.
PCI Geomatics
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Appendix B
Details
Red: Target 1,
urban
0.464 (-3.33dB)
Blue: Target 2,
forest
0.054 (-12.7dB)
Figure 76. Synthesized backscatter image maximizing the contrast between the two
targets
Page 198
PCI Geomatics
Appendix B
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
Created a synthesized backscatter image to maximize the contrast

between two targets
PCI Geomatics
Page 199
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SAR processing with Geomatica

2014 PCI Geomatics Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.

Updated for 2014

Module 1: SAR data structure and support in Geomatica

Supported SAR data format in Geomatica

Module 2: Applying radiometric enhancements

About this module

Module 3: Polarimetric decompositions

About this module

Module 4: Using the SAR Polarimetry Target Analysis tool

About this module

Module 5: Classifying SAR data

About this module

Module 6: Change detection using polarimetric data

Lesson 6.5: Incoherent change detection workflow