The effect of scattering from buildings on interferometric SAR measurements

Abstract

The determination of elevation models of buildings using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) is an important area of active research. The focus of this paper is on some of the unique scattering mechanisms that occur with buildings and how they affect the IFSAR height measurement and the coherence. The authors show by theory and examples that the various data products obtained from IFSAR can be used to aid in interpreting building height results. They also present a method that they have used successfully in mapping buildings in Washington D.C.