Enhancing Underwater Image Quality with Adaptive Gamma Correction, Retinex Sharpening, and NSST Fusion

In this paper, the emphasis is on a practical method to improve the underwater image that has been warped by scattering and foggy effects. Our technique uses a single-image approach and doesn't require any specialist equipment or under-standing of the underwater atmosphere or scene hierarchy. The degraded image is first white-balanced, and the output image is then processed twice in parallel. Adaptive dual gamma correction is one method that addresses color cast issues. Conversely, retinex sharpening is applied to the image to improve the features and edge details that are perceptible in the image. Using an efficient fusion technique called NSST Fusion, the gamma-corrected image and the retinex-improved image blend in the final stage. The final images will be assessed using the evaluation metrics UIQM, UCIQE” Entropy” and PCOI.