Spectral processing for the extraction of fractal parameters from SAR data

In this paper a fractal based processing for the analysis of SAR images of natural surfaces is presented. Its definition is based on a complete direct imaging model developed by the authors. The application of this innovative algorithm to SAR images makes possible to obtain a complete map of the fractal dimension of the observed scene. The retrieving is based on the estimation of the power spectrum of the SAR amplitude image. In the last section of the paper a parametric study on simulated SAR images is presented, aimed, on the one hand, to the validation of the theoretical results, and, on the other hand, to the identification of the optimal values for parameters involved in the estimation process in different situations of practical interest.