A Comparison of Function Bases For Polarization Coherence Tomography in Forest Scenarios

Abstract

Polarization Coherence Tomography addresses the TomoSAR inversion by approximating the vertical reflectivity profile by a weighting functions of a basis. The individual weights can be estimated from the available interferometric coherences. This concept becomes particularly suitable for space borne TomoSAR implementations over forest volumes in which the reflectivity profiles have to be estimated relying on a small number of acquisitions and/or non-uniform baseline distributions. However, the choice of an adequate (orthogonal) basis suitable for forest scenarios is still an open point. In this work, we compare alternatives on a data set acquired in an airborne campaign over a temperate forest.