L-Band Co-Polarized Backscattering Analysis of Internal Waves

In this study, the multi-polarization L-band scattering mechanisms of internal waves are investigated. Internal waves represent key geophysical factors for sea-air heat ex-change, playing an important role on the evolution of marine ecosystems. Hence, a better understanding of internal waves microwave scattering mechanisms can support the devel-opment of advanced tools based on polarimetric synthetic aperture radar imagery. The latter can be exploited to miti-gate the impact internal waves may have on offshore drilling operations and aquaculture. In this study, the analysis is performed using full-polarimetric L-band synthetic aperture radar images of internal waves ob-served under different radar imaging parameters and sea state. The analysis is also supported by ancillary information from external independent sources. Experiments show that the co-polarized backscattering of internal waves is remarkably impacted by non-polarized scattering mechanisms, with the wave crest signatures being more affected than the troughs.