A Quality Assessment Method Based on Common Distributed Targets for GF-3 Polarimetric SAR Data.

Area of Science:

• Earth Observation
• Remote Sensing Technology
• Geophysical Research

Background:

• The GaoFen-3 (GF-3) satellite is China's first C-band polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) satellite, launched in 2016.
• High-quality PolSAR data is crucial for geophysical research and various applications.
• Continuous quality monitoring is necessary throughout the GF-3 satellite's 8-year mission life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a novel quality assessment method for polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) data.
• To evaluate the quality of GF-3 PolSAR data using the developed method.
• To ensure the suitability of GF-3 data for quantitative applications.

Main Methods:

• Development of a new quality assessment technique for PolSAR data utilizing common distributed targets.
• Performance analysis of the proposed method through simulations.
• Experimental validation using data acquired by the GF-3 satellite.

Main Results:

• The proposed quality assessment method was successfully applied to GF-3 PolSAR data.
• Simulations and experiments confirmed the method's effectiveness.
• GF-3 satellite antenna exhibits high isolation, indicating robust design.

Conclusions:

• The quality of calibrated GF-3 PolSAR data meets the requirements for quantitative applications.
• The developed quality assessment method provides a reliable tool for monitoring GF-3 data quality.
• The findings support the continued use of GF-3 data in geophysical research and remote sensing applications.