Automated Iceberg Detection Using High-Resolution X-Band SAR Images
Frost A, Ressel R, Lehner S (2016)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2016
Journal
Book Volume: 42
Pages Range: 354-366
Journal Issue: 4
DOI: 10.1080/07038992.2016.1177451
Abstract
In northern latitudes, icebergs frequently cross shipping routes and impair marine traffic. To improve ship routing, we explore the capabilities of an algorithm that detects and charts icebergs from images provided by the German radar satellite TerraSAR-X. TerraSAR-X is in a near-polar orbit, equipped with an active X-Band radar antenna and, thus, allows monitoring the ocean and frozen waters regardless of cloud cover and darkness. The algorithm we apply is based on the iterative censoring constant false alarm rate (IC-CFAR) detector, which has proven its usefulness for terrestrial target detection already. Unlike the standard approach, we not only estimate statistical properties of open water intensities expressed by a probability density function, but also search for recurring patterns (i.e., waves). This allows discriminating icebergs from most false alarms that arise from rough sea and strong winds. Experiments carried out with a series of HH-polarized TerraSAR-X Stripmap images acquired between 2012 and 2015 confirm that, due to consideration of wave pattern during image processing, the false alarm rate is reduced by a factor of 3.
Involved external institutions
Germany (DE)How to cite
APA:
Frost, A., Ressel, R., & Lehner, S. (2016). Automated Iceberg Detection Using High-Resolution X-Band SAR Images. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing, 42(4), 354-366. https://doi.org/10.1080/07038992.2016.1177451
MLA:
Frost, Anja, Rudolf Ressel, and Susanne Lehner. "Automated Iceberg Detection Using High-Resolution X-Band SAR Images." Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing 42.4 (2016): 354-366.
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