Ships and maritime targets observation campaigns using avialable C- and X-band SAR satellite

Obviously, radar resolution and swath width are two very important factors when it comes to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) maritime targets detections. The dilemma of using single polarization SAR imagery with higher resolution and coverage or quad- (or dualpolarimetric) imagery with its richness of information, is still unsolved when it comes to this application. In the framework of ESA project MARISS and EU project DOLPHIN, in situ campaigns aimed at solving this dilemma have been carried out. Single and multipolarimetric SAR data acquired by TenaSAR-X, RADARSAT-2 and COSMO-SkyMed have been acquired with close time gaps and partial coverage overlap. In this way several moving and non-moving maritime targets have been imaged with different polarization, geometry and working frequency. Available ground truth reports provided by Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, nautical chart and wind farm location are used to validate the different types of maritime targets