Superresolution in imagery arising from observation through anisoplanatic distortion

The possibility of obtaining spatial frequency information normally excluded by an aperture has been surmised, experimentally obtained in the laboratory, and observed in processed real world imagery. This opportunity arises through the intervention of a turbulent mass between the stationary wide-area object of interest and the short exposure, imaging instrument, but the frequency information is aliased, and must be de-aliased to render it useful. We present evidence of super-resolution in real-world surveillance imagery that is processed by hierarchical registration algorithms. These algorithms have been enhanced over those we previously reported. We discuss these enhancements and give examples of the use of the algorithm to gain information about the turbulence. To further reinforce the presence of super-resolution we present two methods for creating imagery warped by Kolmogorov turbulent phase screens, so that the results can be confirmed against true images.

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