On the multi-frequency polarimetric scattering of harsh coastal environments

In this study, a multi-frequency analysis on the polarimetric scattering of harsh coastal environments is addressed. The polarimetric properties of different scattering scenarios including grasslands and agricultural crops over land, mudflats and sea water are analyzed using the polarization signatures and the correlation between the co-polarized channels. To this purpose, C-and X-band quad-polarimetric synthetic aperture radar satellite measurements are collected over the Solway Firth, along the western coastal area at the borders between England and Scotland. The Solway Firth coastal area represents a meaningful showcase since it consists of a mixture of harsh environments resulting from different meteo-marine conditions and natural/anthropogenic coastal processes, e.g., erosion, tides, sedimentation, storms, sea currents. Preliminary results obtained at C-band show that polarimetric analysis tools allow improving the understanding of natural and anthropogenic processes in harsh coastal environments that may support the development of advanced and robust scattering-based algorithms for coastal management purposes.