| Sensor | C/X SAR (C-band/X-band synthetic-aperture radar) |
| Platform | CV-580 (Convair 580 aircraft) |
| Data distributor | Canada Centre for Remote Sensing |
| Sections |
Data product name and version |
| Short Name | Long Name | Version |
|---|---|---|
| SLC-Q | Single-look Complex, Standard Quad Polarization | None |
| MLC-Q | Multi-look Complex, Standard Symmetrized Quad Polarization | None |
SPW can read this data product without prior conversion.
| Product Name | File Name | File Type | Required | Contents | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLC-Q | l#p#polgasp.hdr | Product-specific text format. | No | Metadata that applies to the data set as a whole. | Also known as the master header file.
The first # symbol is the line number; the second is the pass number. |
| SLC-Q | l#p#hhpolgasp.hdr |
Product-specific text format. | Yes | Metadata that applies to individual polarization rasters. | Also known as the polarization header files.
The first # symbol is the line number; the second is the pass number. The hh, hv, vh, and vv substrings indicates the <transmit, receive> scattering matrix component to which the raster corresponds. |
| SLC-Q | #p#hhpolgasp.img |
Product-specific binary format. | Yes | Raster data | Also known as image data files.
The first # symbol is the line number; the second is the pass number. |
| MLC-Q | l#p#SIRC.hdr | Product-specific text format. | Yes | Metadata | The first # symbol is the line number; the second is the pass number. |
| MLC-Q | l#p#SIRC.img | For these data, the SIR-C MLC-Q format specification is used | Yes | Raster data | The first # symbol is the line number; the second is the pass number. |
To import the data, you have to select a single file that represents the data type to GDB. This file is called the "key file".
For SLC-Q, any one of the l#p#polgasp.hdr, l#p#hhpolgasp.hdr, l#p#hvpolgasp.hdr, l#p#vhpolgasp.hdr, and l#p#vvpolgasp.hdr files can be used as the key file.
For MLC-Q, l#p#SIRC.hdr is the key file.
| Data product | Data returned | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Single-look Complex Quad Polarization (SLC-Q) | Eight rasters | The rasters are spatially coincident and represent the real and imaginary components of each of four independent complex elements of the non-symmetric Sinclair scattering matrix (s4c).
The rasters conform to SAR slant-range geometry. |
| Multi-look Complex Quad Polarization (MLC-Q) | Nine rasters | The rasters are spatially coincident and represent the three real and three complex independent elements of the symmetric covariance matrix (C3r3c).
Each complex element is represented by two rasters: one for the real component and one for the imaginary component. The rasters conform to SAR slant-range geometry. |
Returned metadata for the data set level is described in the following table.
| Name | Description | Values |
|---|---|---|
| SensorModelName | The model name of the sensor that acquired the data. | CV580 |
| SensorType | The sensor type. | SAR |
| ProductType | The data product type. | For SLC-Q, the value is SLC. For MLC-Q, the value is MLC. |
| MatrixType | The type of the matrix whose elements correspond to rasters in the data set. | For SLC-Q, the value is s4c. For MLC-Q, the value is C3r3c. |
| SAR_Calibration | The SAR-related calibration that is applied to the image pixel values as it is read from the file. | sigma0 |
| MicrowaveBand | The microwave frequency band in which the sensor operated during data acquisition. | C |
| Polarizations | The set of <transmit, receive> polarization pairs that is represented by the data set. | For SLC-Q, the value is (HH, HV, VH, VV).
For MLC-Q, the value is (HH, HV, VV). |
| NumLooks | The number of looks processed in range and azimuth. | For SLC-Q, the value is 1.
For the MLC-Q product, the value is a number greater than 1. |
Returned metadata for the channel level is described in the following table.
| Name | Description | Values |
|---|---|---|
| MatrixElement | The row and column position and number component (complex or real) of the matrix element to which the raster corresponds.
A real-valued matrix element has only a real component and is represented by one raster. A complex-valued matrix element has both a real and an imaginary component, and is represented by two rasters. |
Possible values for SLC-Q: real_1_1, imaginary_1_1, real_1_2, imaginary_1_2, real_2_1, imaginary_2_1, real_2_2, imaginary_2_2.
Possible values for MLC-Q: real_1_1, real_2_2, real_3_3, real_1_2, imaginary_1_2, real_1_3, imaginary_1_3, real_2_3, imaginary_2_3. |
Wind, A.F. and K.P. Murnaghan, CV-580 PolGASP Format Definition, CCRS-TN-2002-025. Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, November 24, 2004.
SLC-Q data is available from the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing at: ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca
Samples of free MLC-Q data are available from Natural Resources Canada at: geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca
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