Coastline extraction from SAR images using spatial fuzzy clustering and the active contour method

Coastline extraction from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data is difficult because of the presence of speckle noise and strong signal returns from the wind-roughened and wave-modulated sea surface. High resolution and weather change independent of SAR data lead to better monitoring of coastal sea. Therefore, SAR coastline extraction has taken up much interest. The active contour method is an efficient algorithm for the edge detection task; however, applying this method to high-resolution images is time-consuming. The current article presents an efficient approach to extracting coastlines from high-resolution SAR images. First, fuzzy clustering with spatial constraints is applied to the input SAR image. This clustering method is robust for noise and shows good performance with noisy images. Next, binarization is carried out using Otsu’s method on the fuzzification results. Third, morphological filters are used on the binary image to eliminate spurious segments after binarization. To extract the coastline, an active contour level set method is used on the initial contours and is applied to the input SAR image to refine the segmentation. Because the proposed approach is based on an active contour model, it does not require preprocessing for SAR speckle reduction. Another advantage of the proposed method is the ability to extract the coastline at full resolution of the input SAR image without degrading the resolution. The proposed approach does not require manual initialization for the level set method and the proposed initialization speeds up the level set evolution. Experimental results on low- and high-resolution SAR images showed good performance for coastline extraction. A criterion based on neighbourhood pixels for the coastline is proposed for the quantitative expression of the accuracy of the method.     

Automatic computation of speckle standard deviation in SAR images

Being a coherent reception system, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors are highly liable to speckle noise effect, which masks details and patterns in the image, and therefore, degrades interpretation. Speckling may be reduced by applying filtering techniques to SAR multilook images. The major problem that arises from this type of method is the estimation of input parameters: sliding window size and speckle standard deviation. The present paper describes a manual and two automatic methods devised to estimate speckle standard deviation based on the texture concept, in order to extract homogenous regions. The automatic method were specially developed to improve results obtained with the manual one, and the so-called least-squares approach and mean approach were considered. The mean approach was introduced as an alternative to the least-squares approach. It performs better in terms of computing time and disk space use, and even shows a slightly higher accuracy when tested against artificially speckled images. Manual and automatic methods were applied as an example using ERS-1/SAR one-look and three-look images with different features, obtained over several Austral and Antartic regions of Argentina. Results show that the automatic method is a valuable tool for estimating speckle standard deviation, being accurate, less tedious, and preventing typical human errors associated with manual tasks.     

基于模糊连接度的高分辨率SAR图像道路自动提取

针对高分辨率合成孔径雷达(SAR)图像受到乘性斑点噪声的影响,且道路环境复杂多变的问题,提出一种基于模糊连接度的高分辨率SAR图像道路自动提取方法。首先,对SAR图像进行斑点滤波,以降低斑点噪声的影响;其次,结合指数加权均值比(ROEWA)算子检测结果和模糊C均值(FCM)分割结果自动提取种子点,从而提高自动化程度;最后,利用以图像灰度和ROEWA检测算子边缘强度为特征的模糊连接度算法对种子点进行扩展提取道路,经形态学处理后得到最终结果。对两幅SAR图像进行实验,并与FCM方法分割出的道路结果进行比较,所提出的方法在提取完整率、正确率及检测质量上均优于模糊C均值方法。实验结果表明,所提出的方法能较有效地从高分辨率SAR图像中提取不同宽度和弯曲程度的道路,且无需人工输入种子点。     

广义统计区域合并的SAR图像浮筏养殖信息提取

目的 海水浮筏养殖是海域使用动态监测中的重要类型,合成孔径雷达（SAR）卫星遥感影像可以克服海洋气象环境的影响,有效反映浮筏养殖区域。由于浮筏养殖信息受乘性相干斑噪声污染严重,为了降低噪声敏感性,改进得到广义局部二值模式（GLBP）,进而将其用于改进广义统计区域合并算法（GSRM）,构建以GLBP_GSRM为核心的多特征集成模型,得到更具纹理一致性的超像素,实现浮筏养殖信息精确提取。方法 根据SAR数据的乘性噪声特性改进局部二值模式算子得到GLBP算子,将其加入GSRM的合并准则中,结合纹理信息的超像素分割能得到更具纹理一致性的超像素,有效抑制相干斑噪声。进而利用非下采样轮廓波变换得到轮廓信息丰富数据特征,使用FCS（fuzzy compactness and separation）算法聚类实现浮筏养殖信息的无监督提取。结果 实验选取辽宁省长海县邻近海域作为研究区域,针对C波段的Radarsat-2 SAR和X波段的TerraSAR图像,分别比较同一图像不同区域和不同图像同一区域的提取结果,结合实地现场调查结果表明所提模型对不同类型SAR图像均能精确无监督地提取浮筏养殖信息,分类精度均高于85%,明显优于经典无监督算法,验证模型的有效性。结论 所提模型充分集成纹理特征、空间特征和轮廓特征,有效解决相干斑噪声干扰信息提取的问题,针对不同类型SAR遥感图像,均能在复杂的海洋背景中实现有效地无监督浮筏养殖信息提取,提高海水养殖自动监测准确度。     

基于稀疏重构框架下剪切波的SAR图像去噪

SAR图像很容易被乘性噪声多污染,进而影响SAR图像后序的分析与处理。本文中提出了一种基于剪切波稀疏编码的SAR图像移除乘性噪声的新模型。首先通过压缩感知理论建立SAR图像去噪模型;其次通过剪切波变换获得剪切波系数,每个尺度的系数视为一个单元;对于每个单元,通过剪切波域的贝叶斯估计对稀疏系数进行迭代估计。重现的单元最后结合起来构造去噪后的图像。SAR图像去噪效果显示了该算法有良好的表现性,对噪声具有鲁棒性;本文提出的算法不仅有较好的去噪效果,而且还保存了更多的边界信息。     

Observations of typhoon eye using SAR and IR sensors

In this review, recent studies on the observations of typhoon eyes by images acquired by multiple sensors, including synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and infrared (IR) radiometer, are first summarized. Large horizontal distances between typhoon eyes on the ocean surface by SAR and those on the cloud top by IR sensors have been demonstrated; these have previously been ignored but should not be ignored in typhoon forecasts and numerical simulations. Then, based on nine published typhoon cases, the horizontal shifts and vertical tilt angles from the cloud-top typhoon eye locations by IR sensors on board the Feng-Yun 2 (FY-2) and Multi Functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT) to those at sea surface by SAR are further estimated. This shift difference between different sensors raises an issue on project distortion and navigation system errors for FY-2 and MTSAT satellites, which are of concern to both space agencies and data users. Finally, issues for current ongoing study and future research related to typhoon eyes are discussed, including rainband tracking between sensors for local wind speeds.     

基于独立分量分析的极化SAR图像的相干斑抑制

研究基于独立分量分析( ICA)的极化合成孔径雷达（SAR）图像相干斑抑制方法。该方法将极化SAR图像斑点噪声的乘积模型，变换为应用ICA的信号独立加噪模型。并且将HV/VV的比值图像，也作为ICA的输入数据。利用ICA 的分离性，得到了分别对应于HH、HV和VV极化的三幅降噪图像。经本文方法处理后的图像，其相干斑噪声得到了有效的抑制，具有较高的等效视数，明显地改善了图像的质量。     

极化SAR图像相干斑抑制的ICA方法与分析

极化合成孔径雷达(synthetic aperture radar,SAR)图像为雷达图像中的信息处理和获取提供了更为便捷的途径。提出了基于独立分量分析(independent component analysis,ICA)的极化SAR图像相干斑抑制方法。该方法将极化SAR图像斑点噪声的乘积模型,变换为应用ICA的信号加噪模型。并且将HV/VV的比值图像,也作为ICA的输入数据。分别使用几种不同的ICA算法,得到了分别对应于HH、HV和VV极化的3幅降噪图像,并对结果进行了比较分析。实验结果表明,应用ICA算法可以有效地降低极化SAR图像的相干斑噪声,提高图像质量。     

Intelligent hybrid system for dark spot detection using SAR data

Synthetic Aperture Radars (SAR) are the main instrument used to support oil detection systems. In the microwave spectrum, oil slicks are identified as dark spots, regions with low backscatter at sea surface. Automatic and semi-automatic systems were developed to minimize processing time, the occurrence of false alarms and the subjectivity of human interpretation. This study presents an intelligent hybrid system, which integrates automatic and semi-automatic procedures to detect dark spots, in six steps: (I) SAR pre-processing; (II) Image segmentation; (III) Feature extraction and selection; (IV) Automatic clustering analysis; (V) Decision rules and, if needed; (VI) Semi-automatic processing. The results proved that the feature selection is essential to improve the detection capability, keeping only five pattern features to automate the clustering procedure. The semi-automatic method gave back more accurate geometries. The automatic approach erred more including regions, increasing the dark spots area, while the semi-automatic method erred more excluding regions. For well-defined and contrasted dark spots, the performance of the automatic and the semi-automatic methods is equivalent. However, the fully automatic method did not provide acceptable geometries in all cases. For these cases, the intelligent hybrid system was validated, integrating the semi-automatic approach, using compact and simple decision rules to request human intervention when needed. This approach allows for the combining of benefits from each approach, ensuring the quality of the classification when fully automatic procedures are not satisfactory.     

A novel multi-scale level set method for SAR image segmentation based on a statistical model

To overcome the problems of large data volumes and strong speckle noise in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, a multi-scale level set approach for SAR image segmentation is proposed in this article. Because the multi-scale analysis of SAR images preserves their highest resolution features while additionally making use of sets of images at lower resolutions to improve specific functions, the proposed method is useful for removing the influence of speckle and, at the same time, preserving important structural information. The Gamma distribution is one of the most commonly used models employed to represent the statistical characteristics of speckle noise in a SAR image and it is introduced to define the energy functional. Moreover, based on the multi-scale level set framework, an improved multi-layer approach is introduced for multi-region segmentation. To obtain a fast and more accurate result, a novel threshold segmentation result is used to represent the initial segmentation curve. The experiments with synthetic and real SAR images demonstrate the effectiveness of the new method.     

多区域SAR图像分割的改进水平集方法

由于合成孔径雷达（SAR）图像易受相干斑噪声的影响,光学图像的分割方法并不适用于SAR图像,更不能获得精确的分割结果对比,因此,首先基于GA^0统计模型定义能量映射函数以代替像素值进行后续处理,减小相干斑的影响;其次,使用水平集算法对处理后的图像进行分割处理,选用了一种形式更为简单的水平集函数,并可以较容易地推广到多区域SAR图像分割情况。实验结果表明,该方法可以减少相干斑噪声对SAR图像分割过程的不良影响,具有较好的准确性。     

A novel method for speckle noise reduction and ship target detection in SAR images

It is very difficult to detect small targets when the scattering intensity of background clutter is as strong as the targets and the speckle noise is serious in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. Because the scattering of man-made objects lasts for a longer time than that of background clutter in azimuth matching scope, it is much easier for man-made objects to produce strong coherence than ground objects. As the essence of SAR imaging is coherent imaging, the contrast between targets and background clutter can be enhanced via coherent processing of SAR images. This paper proposes a novel method to reduce speckle noise for SAR images and to improve the detected ratio for SAR ship targets from the SAR imaging mechanism. This new method includes the coherence reduction speckle noise (CRSN) algorithm and the coherence constant false-alarm ratio (CCFAR) detection algorithm. Real SAR image data is used to test the presented algorithms and the experimental results verify that they are feasible and effective.     

基于多小波域SOT结构的SAR图像去噪与压缩算法*

合成孔径雷达（SAR）图像固有的相干斑噪声严重影响了SAR图像的判读和进一步压缩处理,提出一种在多小波域将空间方向树（SOT）去噪与压缩相结合的SAR图像压缩算法。首先利用SOT对高频子带的多小波系数进行软阈值去噪,滤除相干斑噪声;然后采用改进的多级树集合分裂（SPIHT）算法编码形成嵌入式码流。利用大量的机载SAR图像对该算法进行了仿真验证,实验结果表明采用该算法进行SAR图像压缩提高了重建图像的PSNR,同时对相干斑噪声进行了有效的抑制。     

基于GA的SAR图像中主干道路提取

从高分辨率合成孔径雷达(SAR)图像中提取道路及其他线性特征已成为目前遥感图像信息提取研究的热点。由于高分辨率SAR图像中，目标背景复杂，同时由于受相干斑噪声的影响，因此很难直接从原始图像数据中提取道路特征。为了能够从背景复杂，受斑点噪声干扰的高分辨率SAR图像中准确提取道路，提出了一种利用遗传算法提取主干道路的方法。该方法利用模糊C均值聚类法对滤波后的SAR图像进行无监督聚类，首先将图像分为林地、建筑物、道路等基本类，并将道路类像素从图像中分离出来，使问题得到简化；然后根据道路类像素的隶属度和道路像素灰度值的均匀特性来建立具体的道路模型；最后利用遗传算法搜索全局最优道路。实验结果表明，该方法可以很好地从SAR图像中提取各种主干道路。     

改进卷积神经网络SAR图像去噪算法

合成孔径雷达（SAR）通常会被一种称为散斑的乘性噪声干扰，这使得图像的解释变得困难。为解决这一问题，提出一种改进卷积神经网络SAR图像去噪方法。对图像进行下采样再对下采样子图像进行卷积提取特征，这可以有效扩大感受野提高去噪效率；为了减少梯度消失问题和提高模型去噪性能，网络又引入了跳跃连接和残差学习策略；利用仿真和实测数据对网络进行测试与评估，实验结果表明提出的方法具有良好的去噪效果和较高的计算效率，对比其他去噪方法，该方法不仅去噪效果好，而且效率更高。     

基于MAR模型的SAR图像的聚类分割

合成孔径雷达（SAR）图像中的斑点噪声是SAR图像处理困难的主要原因,如何抑制斑点噪声及图像处理一直是SAR图像研究的热点。根据SAR图像的成像机理,采用能够描述不同尺度（分辨率）下固有特性的多尺度自回归（MAR）模型,提出一种有效的多尺度抑制斑点噪声和分割方法。首先对SAR图像多分辨率序列建立MAR模型,然后依据模型对SAR图像抑制斑点噪声,重构,最后用Ward聚类分割方法对SAR图像进行分割、比较。     

基于Contourlet域主成分分析的SAR图像去噪

相干斑噪声是合成孔径雷达图像所固有的,并且严重降低了图像的可编译性,影响了后续图像分割,特征提取,目标分类和识别等工作.因此,SAR图像的相干斑去除问题一直是SAR图像应用研究的重要问题之一.针对SAR图像噪声去除问题,提出了一种基于Contourlet多尺度分解域主成分分析的SAR图像去噪新方法,并且简要归纳了已有的SAR图像去噪方法.方法首先对源图像进行Contourlet分解,在不同频段的子带图像中,利用主成分分析方法进行能量保持,用重构图像来进行子带去噪,最后通过Contourlet逆变换得到去噪之后的图像.在SAR图像上的实验结果表明,方法不仅较好地保持了图像的纹理和细节特征,且信噪比也较高.     

一种基于Hausdorff 度量的多传感器图像配准方法

描述了一种基于Hausdorff 度量的合成孔径雷达和光学图像配准方法。首先用基于低帽滤波的方法提取待配准图像的闭合轮廓。然后对较长的轮廓进行Hausdorff 度量初匹配, 并对初匹配的结果使用轮廓中心的相对距离比直方图聚束检测法进行一致性检测。最后, 在得到正确的闭合轮廓对后, 使用最小二乘法计算图像的变换参数。考虑到雷达图像的相干斑噪声以及多传感器图像成像时间造成的变形, 多传感器图像提取的轮廓会有一定的差别。而Hausdorff 度量对误差有很好的容忍性, 因此本方法可以对多传感器图像进行配准。     

基于惩罚系数自适应修正的SAR图像滤波新算法

合成孔径雷达(SAR)图像存在较强的相干斑点噪声,严重地影响了地物信息的提取与SAR图像的应用效果。提出了一种新的SAR图像斑点噪声滤波算法,该算法以一种基于膜模型的M arkov随机场的近似最优迭代滤波算法(TSPR)为基础,考虑了邻域空间关系对势能函数的影响,并通过在迭代过程中自适应修正惩罚系数,来达到更好的斑点噪声滤波效果。通过对含不同强度斑点噪声的退化图像的对比试验结果来看,该算法在提高处理后图像的信噪比方面,能够取得较TSPR算法更佳的效果。     

改进的基于结构检测的SAR图像去斑方法

合成孔径雷达图像固有的相干斑噪声严重降低了图像的可解译程度,影响了后续目标检测、分类和识别等应用.因此,SAR图像的相干斑抑制问题一直是SAR图像应用的重要课题之一.一个理想的去斑算法应该在平滑的同时保持图像的边缘等细节不受损失,目前存在各种各样的算法,但没有一种方法能够完美的满足这一要求.为此该文提出了一种改进的结构检测的SAR图像去斑算法.利用概率迭代方法分割图像并检测边缘,结合强点检测图,将SAR图像标为结构区和非结构区,在非结构区域内进行Lee滤波以平滑噪声,对结构区直接保留原值,获得了非常好的去斑效果.利用RADARSAT实测图像进行实验,并对实验结果作充分分析,证明了本算法的有效性.