The use of the Coherent MapDrift technique for SAR image focusing on the sea surface

The paper presents the results of applying the Coherent MapDrift (CMD) autofocusing technique to a low reflectivity sea surface. Theoretical investigation shows that the CMD technique works much better than other techniques for highly homogeneous areas and also in the case of a low SNR. The research on real life application of CMD on real life recorded data shows that the method works very well for sea regions providing very accurate estimates of the platform along-track velocity. The proposed technique can be used for SAR imaging of sea surfaces, e.g. for pollution detection and also to estimate vessel movement parameters at open sea motion without ground reference.