Single-look SAR images and detection of sea dark areas

In this paper we present a novel approach for the detection of low backscatter areas and areas with strong scatterers in marine SLC SAR images. The approach is based on the use of the three parameters of the generalized K probability density function. This speckle model embodies the Rayleigh scattering scene, which is descriptor of scenes dominated by Bragg scattering, the Rice scattering scene, which is descriptor of areas in which a dominant scatter is present, and the K-distribution, which is descriptor of non-Gaussian signal statistic which normally characterize the sea echo from free-area illuminated by an high-resolution radar. A large data-set of ERS 1/2 SLC SAR images, provided by the ESA under the CAT-1 Project C1P-2769, is employed. Results show the effectiveness of the approach.