Fractal behavior of sea SAR ERS-1 images

Fractal dimension of the sea surface is strictly related to its roughness, and may thus be helpful in determining the sea state, or where motion-damping oil spills are located. A possible way to determine the fractal dimension of the sea surface is that of performing a fractal analysis of remote sensing images, in particular satellite images, which have the advantage of observing a large area at one time. This paper aims to show the utility of fractal analysis of ERS-1 SAR images, and presents the results obtained by three different algorithms. The considered data was sensed by ERS-1 in the Mediterranean Sea at times and locations suitable for comparison with data coming from the Italian "Sistema Ondametrico Nazionale," an environmental measurement system including a number of buoys carrying accelerometers and communications instruments. The experimental results show some accordance between the buoy data and the ERS-1 fractal analysis outcome, but more data are required to provide statistical support to the conclusions.