SAR Image Quality Assessment and Indicators for Vessel and Oil Spill Detection

Satellite-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is progressively becoming an operational asset for maritime monitoring applications. The services based on this technology rely on a level of image quality that, if not entirely fulfilled, may result in compromising the performance and accuracy of the intended application. Nonetheless, it is not always clear how to quantitatively measure the SAR image quality level from the delivered products. This paper discusses today's most relevant quality issues of satellite SAR images related to maritime applications. It introduces a set of quantitative measures that can be estimated from satellite images used in operational applications, not only to verify the conformity of the delivered image with respect to product specifications but also to assess how well the image can serve the application. To that end, the concept of “application suitability” is introduced, defined in relation to the specific application of interest. The focus is on oil spill detection and ship detection.