Optimum texture analysis of SAR images

This paper demonstrates the importance of texture in SAR image interpretation. Initilly, a simulated annealing technique for despeckling SAR images is outlined. This yield an optimum estimate of the underlying image cross-section. On attempting to apply the method to distinguishing virgin forest from clearings in the Amazon rain forest, we find that the information is not carried in the intensity itself but in the image texture. We discuss the choice of texture estimator that conveys the maximum amount of information and apply the simulated annealing technique to this optimum texture image. We demonstrate that the two categories (forest/clearing) are now almost completely separated with a low misclassification rate. Finally, we examine the sensitivity of the method to the SAR resolution and show that the texture would generally not be visible in an ERS1 image at the conventional incidence angle whereas it could just be with the maximum available incidence angle.