Adaptive Dynamic Range Reduction for SAR Images

Abstract:
The visualization of SAR images involves the mapping of high dynamic range amplitude values to gray levels for lower dynamic range display devices. This dynamic range reduction process determines the visibility of details in the displayed result. It is therefore an important part of SAR visualization systems. The problem of dynamic range reduction for SAR images is related to the tone mapping problem for optical images. Tone mapping is used to prepare high dynamic range optical images for display on lower dynamic range display devices. In this paper, we present new dynamic range reduction methods for SAR images. The methods are based tone mapping techniques. They are adaptive, improve the visibility of local details, and are suitable for use in interactive visualization systems.