An examination of the assumptions in the POLCAL cross-talk removal algorithm

The POLCAL crosstalk removal algorithm is based on the statistical properties of the image background and does not need any corner reflector or active radar calibrator deployed in the scene. The advantage of being able to remove the crosstalk contamination without using external calibration targets gives rise to the consideration of algorithms based on clutter statistics in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images in more detail. The basic assumption of the POLCAL procedure is the decorrelation of copolarized and cross-polarized backscatter, which is valid for natural targets with azimuthal symmetry. This assumption and others regarding the properties of the imaged surface are examined. An improved version called POLCALII is presented, and its performance is compared with POLCAL.