Direct and Inverse Methods in Radar Polarimetry: Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop Held in Bad Windsheim, Franconia, Germany, ... Series: C: Mathematical & Physical Sciences) - Hardcover

This foreword deals exclusively with the planning, organization, and execution of the Workshop's scientific as well as cultural programs. It is opened with a synopsis on how the global political changes that occurred immediately after the Workshop caused the ~elay in producing the proceedings, followed by a brief exposition on need, timeliness, and importance of this second ARW in the field of electromagnetic imaging, radar remote sensing, and target versus clutter di~rimination; and an outline of the objectives. An informal discussion about some of the organizational details, a retrospective summary of events, and a preview of the third workshop, planned for 1993 September 19-25, is intended to recapture the spirit of this second NATO Advanced Research Workshop (1988 September 18-24), and will reveal how successful it was in compar­ ison to the first of 1983 September 18-24, how its accomplishments may be appreciated and why a third and last workshop was requested by its participants to take place during 1993 September 19-25.

Significant technological advances during the last few years in the field of electromagnetic probing in the meter to sumbillimeter wave, infrared and optical regions, as well as in data processing and the use of mathematical inverse methods have opened up new avenues in the detection, identification and imaging of natural and man-made objects and gasseous agents in our environment. Information previously considered irretrievable can now be recovered from data disturbed by noise and clutter with the use of more advanced electromagnetic imaging techniques incorporating inverse methods. The incorporation of coherent polarimetric phase information into radar signal and image procesing is expected to lead to a breakthrough which is at least comparable to that wrought by the advent of holography and computer assisted tomography and its applications to synthetic aperture radar and inverse synthetic aperture radar. In "Direct and Inverse Methods in Radar Polarimetry" a major emphasis is placed on the basic principles of electromagnetic wave interrogation with natural and/or man-made media and objects, the optimnal structuring of illumination and detection, optimal recovery of useful target signal, mathematical and data processing methods, and representative applications.