Spiral eddy detection using surfactant slick patterns and polarimetric SAR image decomposition techniques

Surfactant slicks are widely dispersed throughout the oceans. Current driven features, such as spiral eddies, can be made visible by associated slick patterns. In this study a combined algorithm using the Cloude-Pottier decomposition and the Wishart classifier is presented to produce accurate maps of slick patterns. The study then uses the classified slick patterns to detect spiral eddies. The competing background wave-field is eliminated. Satellite SAR instruments performing wave spectral measurements, or operating as wind scatterometers, regard the slicks as a measurement error-term. The maps produced by the algorithm facilitate the flagging of slick contaminated pixels within the image