Optimal edge detection and edge localization in complex SAR images with correlated speckle

The authors develop optimal criteria for detection and localization of step edges in single look complex (SLC) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. By working on complex data rather than intensity images, they can easily take the speckle autocorrelation into account, obtain more accurate estimates of local mean reflectivities, and thus achieve better edge detection and edge localization than with operators known from the literature. Algorithms for the two-dimensional (2D) implementation of the methods are proposed, and some segmentation results are shown.