Resolutional Analysis of Multiplicative High-Frequency Speckle Noise Based on SAR Spatial De-Speckling Filter Implementation and Selection

Abstract

Due to the inherent characteristics of the electromagnetic wave scattering phenomenon, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images are directly degraded by high-frequency multiplicative speckle (HMS) noise, which makes image de-speckling filter application and selection a challenge. In this regard, an adverse effects analysis of the HMS under implementation of seven different spatial de-speckling filters on a reference SAR image is considered in this paper. The investigation includes the formulation of the backscattered data and the HMS based on the pixel statistics and their distribution as an image noise behavioral analysis method. The resulting complex behavioral model is used for HMS power spectral density (PSD) function modeling. This paper also includes HMS system resolution effects analysis on the raw data generation (RDG) and the received frequency profile (RFP). An objective quality assessment procedure was also carried out to investigate both the de-speckled image resolution and the spatial filter evaluation in the presence of the HMS. As a result, the simulations verify that speckles are embedded within the high-frequency parts of the raw data, directly affecting the spatial resolution and the image resolution with non-specific patterns. The results also show that no spatial de-speckling filter consistently outperforms others, and their implementation is completely dependent on the texture, the system parameters, and their evaluation index. As a novel approach, HMS spectral behavioral modeling within the filtered images, as well as the proposed spatial de-speckling filter evaluation methods, are the proper techniques for optimum filter selection and specific purpose applications. The results are very helpful for remote sensing image restoration and data preservation when dealing with SAR images with a less fine resolution, such as ice-covered areas, coastal change detection, vegetation texture detection, geological structures mapping, and so forth. The SAR system resolution analysis is completed based on inversed problem solution (IPS) and with the help of a hybrid-domain image formation algorithm (IFA).