Monitoring of Cryospheric and Hydrological Systems Using Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar

This PhD dissertation presents the main scientific contributions toward the observation and analysis of cryospheric and hydrological environments using dual- and compact-polarimetry (CP) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data acquired by several operational satellite missions. The research combines both theoretical and experimental developments to produce a range of value-added outcomes, including the extraction of ice and water boundaries, classification of coastal and inland areas, assessment of glacier and iceberg dynamics, and improved interpretation of polarimetric scattering mechanisms. The common rationale underlying all proposed methodologies is the model-based exploitation of polarimetric features and their physical relationship with surface scattering processes. Both dual- and compact-polarimetric configurations are investigated, demonstrating that, even when the information content is reduced compared with full-polarimetric SAR, reliable and robust analyses can still be achieved through appropriate electromagnetic modelling and polarimetric decomposition. This work represents one of the first efforts to apply compact-polarimetric data from the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) to the monitoring of Arctic and sub-Arctic lakes, and to use multi-polarisation SAR for the observation of Antarctic ice features such as the Drygalski Ice Tongue (DIT) and C33 iceberg. Furthermore, the study introduces a systematic evaluation of how imaging geometry, particularly the incidence angle affects the polarimetric separability and stability of natural surfaces. Overall, the findings show that integrating geometric and polarimetric parameters provides a precise, physically grounded approach for large-scale monitoring of cryospheric and hydrological boundaries.