Representing backscatter fluctuations with a PDF convolution equation, and its application to study backscatter variability in side-scan sonar images


Neil C. Mitchell

Image histograms are useful for revealing the relative proportions of geological components in a scene, but these proportions are commonly obscured by the variability caused by signal fading (image speckle). This variability can potentially be reduced by deconvolution because a scene's PDF is related to the Rayleigh log-PDF and PDF of backscatter strengths via a convolution integral. A simple deconvolution algorithm is demonstrated by separating a submarine lava flow from its adjacent sediments in a side-scan sonar image histogram.

Mitchell, N. C., "Representing backscatter fluctuations with a PDF convolution equation, and its application to study backscatter variability in side-scan sonar images", IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 33, 1328-1331, 1995.


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