Data Editors：Robert Wang

Dataset Introduction: HEAD-1.0 is a dataset designed for the research and promotion of Hybrid Polarimetric (HP) SAR, with the aim of advancing the development and breakthroughs of key techniques such as polarimetric calibration, scattering characteristic analysis, and land cover classification. Compared with quad-polarimetric (QP) SAR, HP-SAR offers a wider swath and more balanced ambiguity performance but at the cost of partial polarization information. Therefore, providing data suitable for comparative analysis with QP mode is one of the key objectives of this dataset.

The dataset primarily consists of L1 Single Look Complex (SLC) images acquired by the stripmap mode of LuTan-1. The nominal resolution of the HP mode is 3 m with a swath width of 50 km, including two polarization combinations (LH–LV or RH–RV). The QP mode provides a nominal resolution of 6 m with a swath width of 30 km, including four polarizations (HH, HV, VH, and VV). To meet diverse polarimetric application needs, HEAD-1.0 additionally provides geocoded SLC (GSLC) products.

HEAD-1.0 covers three representative regions with distinct geographical and geomorphological characteristics: (1) the mountain–gobi transition zone in the eastern Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang; (2) the grassland–desert steppe ecotone in Sonid, Inner Mongolia; and (3) the hilly–plain agricultural zone of the Taihang Mountains and its southern piedmont. The dataset is intended to support a wide range of polarimetric research applications, with a particular focus on:

Hybrid-polarimetric calibration: Providing calibrator deployment information and scattering matrices. HP and QP images from the Hami and Sonid calibration sites are used to develop and validate HP calibration methods.

Land cover classification: Providing localized ground truth maps and auxiliary optical imagery. Land cover classification algorithms tailored to HP data are developed, and systematic comparisons between QP and HP modes are conducted across multiple classification tasks to clarify the capability boundaries of HP mode and to provide scientific guidance for polarimetric mode selection in future SAR missions.

Planetary analog studies: Providing planetary analog landform annotations. Based on HP data from terrestrial planetary analog sites, comparative analyses of polarimetric characteristics across different analog landforms are carried out, and automated recognition and extraction algorithms are developed to support analog studies in planetary geology.

The current data reference format is as follows:

LIU Lizhi, Wang Robert, LU Pingping, CAI Yonghua, MENG Tingyu, LI Bo, ZHAO Fei, HUANG Lijie, LI Liang, WANG Aichun. HEAD-1.0: HP-Experimental and Analytical Dataset-1.0[OL]. Journal of Radars, 2025.

https://radars.ac.cn/web/data/getData?dataType=HPSAREADEN&pageType=en

Data release time：2025-9-25