Quantifying Heterogeneity in SAR Imagery With the Rényi Entropy

Quantifying heterogeneity in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data is critical for accurate geophysical interpretation and remote sensing applications. We propose a test statistic based on a nonparametric estimation of Rényi entropy to characterize return heterogeneity from SAR intensity data. The statistic is refined using bootstrap to improve its stability, size, and power. This approach enhances heterogeneity quantification by capturing scale-dependent variations and addressing data-driven uncertainty. Experimental results establish the robustness of the proposed method in distinguishing heterogeneity patterns.