Radar polarimetry - A state-of-the-art overview

Basic principles of radar polarimetry are introduced including a succinct sumiwy of the specific topics covered durinq the one-day Special Workshop on: Wdabatd mging and ansing Polarinetrye , arranged in cunjmction with th 1992 m: Radar Palarimetry, ieeet the utilization of wlete alectr~~gneticvector wave inforpati-, has be- an indispmsible tool in dlem electranagmtic sensor and imaging te!chnology, both in the civil and military sectorc, and increasingly -re 4.n ewir-tal rem- sensing of the terrestrial and planetary cnr~ts. Frcm the outset, w -ize that hy incorpotating coherent polaripetric: phase and -ita&? informatian intoxadarsignal andimage processing, cne can anticipate and already is witncs;aing a breakthrmgh that is cm+ parabletothat braughtaboutby the advent. of holography am3 c~mputer assisted (Radon projectian tamgraphy and its applicatians to Synthetic Apertuire Radar (SARI and Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (Ism). This overview paper provides a succinct overview of the principle developments in radar polarimetry, highlighting important contributions. Based on such a critical assessment, the appropriate formalism for handling basic polarimtric radar concepts is