Detection of ships using cross-correlation of split-look SAR images

One of the main problems in ship detection is the presence of sea clutter inherent to coherent imagery. A traditional approach to differentiate a target embedded in noise is to utilize the statistical property of the clutter with some success. In this paper, we propose a new technique of ship detection based on cross-correlating split-look SAR images. If the inter-look images consist of the correlated images of a ship and clutter, the degree of mutual correlation increases, and from the difference in correlation, the ship can be identified. Applying the present method to RADARSAT (Standard 1) images, we have found the minimum detectable size of ships is 62.6 m. The SAR data used in this application were acquired under fairly calm sea states, such that the ships can be identified by the naked eye. Thus, the method has not been tested in an extreme limit of high sea states, and remains as a further study.