Underwater Image Quality Enhancement using Multiscale Image Fusion

Underwater images offer a valuable resource for studying marine life and seafloor environments. However, underwater photography often suffers from poor visibility and color distortions caused by light absorption and scattering, resulting in degraded image quality. The scattering of light also reduces color contrast, and the presence of underwater organisms further complicates image enhancement efforts. To address these challenges, our proposed method utilizes a systematic approach to enhance underwater images. The technique involves color balancing, gamma correction, and sharpening, followed by multiscale image fusion to obtain the desired output. By comparing different sharpening techniques, this study intends to enhance degraded images and produce clearer, more vivid representations of the underwater scene. By applying two stretching models, the lighting issues are addressed and balance color contrast is attained in the photos, resulting in clearer and more vibrant images.