Statistical and operational performance assessment of multitemporal SAR image filtering

Multitemporal synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image filtering is a useful preprocessing step for many applications that require speckle reduction. Several multitemporal filters are now available with very different characteristics. In this paper, the performance of three multitemporal filters is assessed with respect to statistical and operational criteria. Statistical criteria include measures of bias, noise reduction, and preservation of both spatial and temporal information. Operational criteria evaluate the accuracy of manual detection of geographical features such as points, lines, and surfaces. This study was carried out with the help of ten photointerpreters. It uses a set of seven multitemporal SAR images from the European Remote Sensing 1 (ERS-1) satellite. It provides guidelines to select multitemporal filters according to the application and the subsequent processing.