Region-Based Classification of PolSAR Data Using Radial Basis Kernel Functions With Stochastic Distances

Region-based classification of PolSAR data can be effectively performed by seeking for the assignment that minimizes a distance between prototypes and segments. Silva et al (2013) used stochastic distances between complex multivariate Wishart models which, differently from other measures, are computationally tractable. In this work we assess the robustness of such approach with respect to errors in the training stage, and propose an extension that alleviates such problems. We introduce robustness in the process by incorporating a combination of radial basis kernel functions and stochastic distances with Support Vector Machines (SVM). We consider several stochastic distances between Wishart: Bhatacharyya, Kullback-Leibler, Chi-Square, R\'{e}nyi, and Hellinger. We perform two case studies with PolSAR images, both simulated and from actual sensors, and different classification scenarios to compare the performance of Minimum Distance and SVM classification frameworks. With this, we model the situation of imperfect training samples. We show that SVM with the proposed kernel functions achieves better performance with respect to Minimum Distance, at the expense of more computational resources and the need of parameter tuning. Code and data are provided for reproducibility.Comment: Accepted for publication in the International Journal of Digital Eart

Modifying the Yamaguchi Four-Component Decomposition Scattering Powers Using a Stochastic Distance

Model-based decompositions have gained considerable attention after the initial work of Freeman and Durden. This decomposition which assumes the target to be reflection symmetric was later relaxed in the Yamaguchi et al. decomposition with the addition of the helix parameter. Since then many decomposition have been proposed where either the scattering model was modified to fit the data or the coherency matrix representing the second order statistics of the full polarimetric data is rotated to fit the scattering model. In this paper we propose to modify the Yamaguchi four-component decomposition (Y4O) scattering powers using the concept of statistical information theory for matrices. In order to achieve this modification we propose a method to estimate the polarization orientation angle (OA) from full-polarimetric SAR images using the Hellinger distance. In this method, the OA is estimated by maximizing the Hellinger distance between the un-rotated and the rotated $T_{33}$ and the $T_{22}$ components of the coherency matrix $\mathbf{[T]}$. Then, the powers of the Yamaguchi four-component model-based decomposition (Y4O) are modified using the maximum relative stochastic distance between the $T_{33}$ and the $T_{22}$ components of the coherency matrix at the estimated OA. The results show that the overall double-bounce powers over rotated urban areas have significantly improved with the reduction of volume powers. The percentage of pixels with negative powers have also decreased from the Y4O decomposition. The proposed method is both qualitatively and quantitatively compared with the results obtained from the Y4O and the Y4R decompositions for a Radarsat-2 C-band San-Francisco dataset and an UAVSAR L-band Hayward dataset.Comment: Accepted for publication in IEEE J-STARS (IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing

Levee Slide Detection using Synthetic Aperture Radar Magnitude and Phase

The objectives of this research are to support the development of state-of-the-art methods using remotely sensed data to detect slides or anomalies in an efficient and cost-effective manner based on the use of SAR technology. Slough or slump slides are slope failures along a levee, which leave areas of the levee vulnerable to seepage and failure during high water events. This work investigates the facility of detecting the slough slides on an earthen levee with different types of polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (polSAR) imagery. The source SAR imagery is fully quad-polarimetric L-band data from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL’s) Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR). The study area encompasses a portion of the levees of the lower Mississippi river, located in Mississippi, United States. The obtained classification results reveal that the polSAR data unsupervised classification with features extraction produces more appropriate results than the unsupervised classification with no features extraction. Obviously, supervised classification methods provide better classification results compared to the unsupervised methods. The anomaly identification is good with these results and was improved with the use of a majority filter. The classification accuracy is further improved with a morphology filter. The classification accuracy is significantly improved with the use of GLCM features. The classification results obtained for all three cases (magnitude, phase, and complex data), with classification accuracies for the complex data being higher, indicate that the use of synthetic aperture radar in combination with remote sensing imagery can effectively detect anomalies or slides on an earthen levee. For all the three samples it consistently shows that the accuracies for the complex data are higher when compared to those from the magnitude and phase data alone. The tests comparing complex data features to magnitude and phase data alone, and full complex data, and use of post-processing filter, all had very high accuracy. Hence we included more test samples to validate and distinguish results

Outils statistiques et géométriques pour la classification des images SAR polarimétriques hautement texturées

Les radars à synthèse d'ouverture (Synthetic Aperture Radar ou SAR) permettent de fournir des images à très haute résolution de la surface de la Terre. Les algorithmes de classification traditionnels se basent sur une hypothèse de bruit gaussien comme modèle de signal, qui est rapidement mise en défaut lorsque l'environnement devient inhomogène ou impulsionnel, comme c'est particulièrement le cas dans les images SAR polarimétriques haute résolution, notamment au niveau des zones urbaines. L'utilisation d'un modèle de bruit composé, appelé modèle SIRV, permet de mieux prendre en compte ces phénomènes et de représenter la réalité de manière plus adéquate. Cette thèse s'emploie alors à étudier l'application et l'impact de ce modèle pour la classification des images SAR polarimétriques afin d'améliorer l'interprétation des classifications au sens de la polarimétrie et à proposer des outils adaptés à ce nouveau modèle. En effet, il apparaît rapidement que les techniques classiques utilisent en réalité beaucoup plus l'information relative à la puissance de chaque pixel plutôt qu'à la polarimétrie pour la classification. Par ailleurs, les techniques de classification traditionnelles font régulièrement appel à la moyenne de matrices de covariance, calculée comme une moyenne arithmétique. Cependant, étant donnée la nature riemannienne de l'espace des matrices de covariance, cette définition n'est pas applicable et il est nécessaire d'employer une définition plus adaptée à cette structure riemannienne. Nous mettons en évidence l'intérêt d'utiliser un modèle de bruit non gaussien sur des données réelles et nous proposons plusieurs approches pour tirer parti de l'information polarimétrique qu'il apporte. L'apport de la géométrie de l'information pour le calcul de la moyenne est de même étudié, sur des données simulées mais également sur des données réelles acquises par l'ONERA. Enfin, une étude préliminaire d'une extension de ces travaux au cas de l'imagerie hyperspectrale est proposée, de par la proximité de ce type de données avec les données SAR polarimétriques.Synthetic Aperture Radars (SAR) now provide high resolution images of the Earth surface. Traditional classification algorithms are based on a Gaussian assumption for the distribution of the signal, which is no longer valid when the background is heterogeneous, which is particularly the case for polarimetric SAR images, especially in urban areas. A compound Gaussian model, called the SIRV model, allows to take into account these phenomena. This thesis is then devoted to studying the impact of this model for the classification of polarimetric SAR images in order to improve the interpretation of classification results in a polarimetric sense, and to propose tools better suited to this model. Indeed, classical techniques using the Gaussian assumption actually use the power information of each pixel much more than the polarimetric information. Furthermore, it is often necessary to compute a mean of covariance matrices, usually by taking the standard arithmetical mean. However, the space of covariance matrices has a Riemannian structure, not an Euclidean one, which means this definition of the mean is not correct. We will then present several methods to use the actual polarimetric information thanks to the SIRV model to improve the classification results. The benefit of using a correct, Riemannian definition of the mean will also be demonstrated on simulated and real data. Finally, a preliminary study of an extension of this work to hyperspectral imagery will be presented.RENNES1-Bibl. électronique (352382106) / SudocSudocFranceF

Vegetation characterization through the use of precipitation-affected SAR signals

Current space-based SAR offers unique opportunities to classify vegetation types and to monitor vegetation growth due to its frequent acquisitions and its sensitivity to vegetation geometry. However, SAR signals also experience frequent temporal fluctuations caused by precipitation events, complicating the mapping and monitoring of vegetation. In this paper, we show that the influence of a priori known precipitation events on the signals can be used advantageously for the classification of vegetation conditions. For this, we exploit the change in Sentinel-1 backscatter response between consecutive acquisitions under varying wetness conditions, which we show is dependent on the state of vegetation. The performance further improves when a priori information on the soil type is taken into account.1010FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP2013/50943-

Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar

This open access book focuses on the practical application of electromagnetic polarimetry principles in Earth remote sensing with an educational purpose. In the last decade, the operations from fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar such as the Japanese ALOS/PalSAR, the Canadian Radarsat-2 and the German TerraSAR-X and their easy data access for scientific use have developed further the research and data applications at L,C and X band. As a consequence, the wider distribution of polarimetric data sets across the remote sensing community boosted activity and development in polarimetric SAR applications, also in view of future missions. Numerous experiments with real data from spaceborne platforms are shown, with the aim of giving an up-to-date and complete treatment of the unique benefits of fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar data in five different domains: forest, agriculture, cryosphere, urban and oceans