Influence of incidence angle and baseline on the retrieval of biophysical parameters of rice fields by means of polarimetric SAR interferometry with TanDEM-X data

Abstract

Polarimetric SAR interferometry has been recently applied with TanDEM-X data to the retrieval of vegetation height in rice fields, which constitutes the first demonstration of this technique applied to agricultural crops with satellite data [1]. In this work we extend that study by including an analysis of the effect of incidence angle and baseline on the retrieval of height. The study is based on the exploitation of 6 time series of TanDEM-X acquisitions during its science phase: 3 over Sevilla (Spain), with incidence angles of 22, 30 and 39 degrees, and 3 over Ipsala (Turkey), with incidence angles of 30, 36 and 44 degrees.