A Comparison of Polarimetric Schemes to

Abstract On the basis of fully polarimetric 35 GHz data, several detection schemes for the discrimination of small maritime targets against sea clutter were implemented and compared to each other. Single channel detection performance is compared to that of the “optimal polarimetric detector” and the “polarimetric matched filter”, the advantage of using polarimetry is demonstrated. These well-known polarimetric schemes are compared to the concept of “polarimetric persistence”, i.e. the temporal behaviour of the polarimetric state of a dominant scatterer. It is found that the polarimetric persistence of man-made objects differs strongly from that of natural sea clutter and lends itself to a powerful discrimination between the two classes.