Contribution of Ernst Lüneburg to Mathematical and Optical Radar Polarimetry

Abstract

On 2004 August 25, the geosciences and remote sensing community lost one of its principal applied mathematicians and electromagnetic fields experts in Dr. Ernst August Friedrich Lüneburg. In his later years Ernst contributed profoundly towards arriving at a unified theory of radar and optical polarimetry. Since he was well known and because he collaborated with several of us assembled here today during the IV International Workshop on Electromagnetic Wave Scattering at Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey, it is proper to honor him here for his many contributions by this special memorial session for the advancement of multi-modal polarimetric SAR imaging and high resolution optical spectroscopy. It is the prime objective of this presentation to expand on the particular contributions of Dr. Ernst Lüneburg exclusively to radar polarimetry, which consists of three parts, (i) the eulogy focused on his contributions to optical and radar polarimetry, (ii) the published contributions exclusively dealing with polarimetry, and (iii) the memorial paper on a subject of considerable relevance to future developments of radar and SAR polarimetry, interferometry and polarimetric SAR interferometry.