Wavelet Based SAR Speckle Reduction and Image Compression

This paper evaluates the performance of the recently published wavelet based algorithm for speckle reduction of SAR images. The original algorithm, based on the theory of wavelet thresholding due to Donoho and Johnstone, has been shown to improve speckle statistics. In this paper we give more extensive results based on tests performed at Lincoln Laboratory (LL). The LL benchmarks show that the SAR imagery is signiicantly enhanced perceptually (Figs. 3 and 4). Although the wavelet processed data results in an increase in the number of natural clutter false alarms (from trees etc.) an appropriately modiied CFAR detector (i.e., by clamping the estimated clutter standard deviation (Eqn. 3)) eliminates the extra false alarms (Fig. 7). The paper also gives preliminary results on the performance of the new and improved wavelet denoising algorithm based on the shift invariant wavelet transform. By thresholding the shift invariant discrete wavelet transform we can further reduce speckle to achieve a perceptually superior SAR image with ground truth information signiicantly enhanced. Preliminary results on the speckle statistics of this new algorithm is improved over the classical wavelet denoising algorithm. Finally, we show that the classical denoising algorithm as proposed by Donoho and Johnstone and applied to SAR has the added beneet of achieving about 3:1 compression with essentially no loss in image delity.