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During the past decade, two seemingly independent imaging sciences have advanced to maturity (I) Wideband (SAR) Polarimetry (UWB-POL-SAR), as discussed in Part I ofthese SPIE 3 120 Conference Proceedings, and (ii) Topographic Interferometric SAR (TOP-InSAR), which has become of considerable interest in Digital Elevation Mapping (DEM). In addition, with the rapid perfection ofDifferential Global electronic satellite Positioning Systems (D-GPS), Repeat-Pass Differential Interferometric SAR (RP-D-InSAR) has been realized with satellite (ERS-112, JERS) and airborne dual-antenna interferometer SAR systems (NASA-JPL-TOP-SAR, DCRS EMI-SAR; DLR-E-SAR, EREM-IFSAR, NAWC-QUAD-SAR, etc.)1'2. In conceptually extending generalized vector (polarization) holography, it follows directly that the complete utilization of polarimetric (dual channel: scattering matrix) radar (SAR) systems should strongly improve on the performance ofboth single-platform dual antennas and on repeat-pass (long-temporal baseline) radar (SAR) interferometry3. The benefits are two-fold in that polarimetric speckle reduction can be achieved, by means of the polarization-extended "Lee filter" of Jong-Sen Lee and coworkers at NRL-RSD/ISS, and interferometric phase coherence can strongly be enhanced with the implementation of Cloude's PIPCO (Polarimetric Interferometric Phase Coherence Optimization) algorithm. This is being demonstrated in papers by Cloude and Papathanassiou at DLR-Oberpfaffenhofen in coordination with Lee, Ainsworth, Schuler and coworkers ofNRL-RSD/ISS, Washington, DC, utilizing one ofthe ideally-matching repeat-pass pairs of the recent SIR-C/X-SAR Mission 2, Tien-San Tracks 122.20 (94 Oct. 08) and 154.20 (94 Oct. 09) L/C-band POL-D-InSAR Image Overlays within the Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Division, Buriat Natural Sciences Center (RAS-SDBNSC) SE Baikal Lake, Selenga Delta geo/eco-environmental Sanctuary, the "Kudara Polygon" for which various institutes ofthe RAS-SD-BNSC have collected extensive geographic (geo-ecological and geo-tectonic environmental information and vegetative/eco-agriculture, forestry, urbanization, wildlife and fisheries, etc.) groundtruth data over the past several decades2. By coincidence, this tectonically active region ofthe Kudara Polygon lies within the Mid-Asian Baikal Tectonic Rift Zone of the Hovsogol/Mongolia - Baikal/BuriatiaLakes Basin; and is hence well-suited for serving as a test site for developing RPPOL-D-InSAR technology by implementation ofvarious image feature characterization algorithms such as Cloude-Pottier polarimetric "Entropy versus Anisotropy (H-ct) " andthe Cloude-Papathanassiou PIPCO concepts. Part II ofthese SPIE 3 120 Conference Proceedings contains the first complete records ofthis impressive advancement accomplished in spaceborne RP-POL-D-InSAR during the past three years.
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