Analysis of Scattering Properties of Continuous Slow-Release Slicks on the Sea Surface Based on Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar

This study employs polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (Pol-SAR) to examine the scattering properties of continuous slow-release oil slicks on the sea surface. The objective is to extract and analyze the general polarization scattering properties of continuous slow-release slicks, i.e., those slicks that consist of substances released at a fairly slow and relatively constant rate, and to determine the influence of the slick formation process on these properties. Using multi-polarization feature parameters derived from the averaged coherency matrix, we find that the scattering mechanisms related to the continuous slow-release slicks differ from those of anthropogenic slicks, possibly as a result of the multiple scattering mechanisms that occur between the interfaces formed by the thick slick layer. Combinations of entropy (H) and modified anisotropy (A12) are relatively robust parameters for identifying continuous slow-release slicks under different sea conditions, and may serve as a reference parameter for slick detection.