• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.303-316
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• 2005

Strong radar returns were observed in oyster sea farms, and coherent interferometric pairs were successfully constructed. Tide height in coastal area is possible to be measured by using interferometric phase and intensity of SAR data. This SAR application technique for measuring the tide height in the near coastal zone can be further improved when applied to double bounce dominant areas. In this paper, we investigate the characteristics of polarimetric signature in the oyster farm structures. Laboratory experiments were carried out using Ku-band according to the target scale. Radar returns from vertical poles are stronger than those from horizontal Pole by 10.5 dB. Single bounce components were as strong as double bounce components and more sensitive to antenna look direction. Double bounce components show quasi-linear relation with the height of vertical poles, which implies double bounce is more useful to determine water level than total power. A L-band NASA/IPL airborne SAR (AIRSAR) image was classified into single-, double-bounce, and volume scattering components. It is observed that oyster farms are not always characterized by double bounced scattering. Double bounce is a main scattering mechanism in oyster farms standing above seawater, while single bounce is stronger than double bounce when bottom tidal flats are exposed to air. Ratios of the normalized single to double bounce components in the former and latter cases were 0.46 and 5.62, respectively. It is necessary to use double bounce dominant sea farms for tide height measurement by DInSAR technique.