Backscatter Distributions of Persistent and Distributed Scatterers Over Wavelength: Results From X-, C-, and L-Band

Persistent scatterer (PS) techniques are a set of important time-series tools for interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) that enable deformation analysis in highly decorrelated terrain. Detailed knowledge of the statistics of persistent scatterers in InSAR images is critical for the design of better techniques that will enable both the extraction of deformation in traditionally difficult regions as well as develop a better understanding of how performance of these algorithms relates to important system parameters. In this article, we characterize the backscatter statistics of both persistent and distributed scatterers over wavelength using data from X-band (COSMO-SkyMed), C-band (Sentinel-1), and L-band (ALOS) sensors. We show that popular distributions that have previously been used to fit SAR backscatter can effectively capture the returns from both PS and clutter, with the G(0) distribution being the most applicable across wavelength and scatterer type. Thus, our work paves the way for improved detection algorithms to be designed based on these distributions and also builds an initial foundation for developing a greater theoretical understanding of PS statistics.