Sea Spike Suppression Method Based on Optimum Polarization Ratio in Airborne SAR Images

Area of Science:

• Remote Sensing
• Oceanography
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Sea spikes in airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images cause significant interference in marine target detection and image interpretation.
• Existing methods lack effective sea spike suppression techniques for SAR imagery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a novel sea spike suppression method for airborne SAR images.
• To enhance the interpretability of SAR images and improve marine target detection capabilities.

Main Methods:

• A sea spike suppression method utilizing the optimum polarization ratio is developed.
• The method requires simultaneous acquisition of VV and HH dual-polarized SAR data.
• A difference image is generated to achieve sea spike suppression.

Main Results:

• The proposed method effectively suppresses sea spikes in airborne X-band SAR data.
• Contrast of ocean waves and oil spills in SAR images is improved.
• The false alarm rate for ship detection is reduced.

Conclusions:

• The optimum polarization ratio method offers an effective solution for sea spike suppression in airborne SAR.
• This technique enhances SAR image interpretability and aids in marine surveillance and target detection.