• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.442-453
• /
• 2020

Underwater color images suffer from low visibility and color cast effects caused by light attenuation by water and floating particles. This study applied single image enhancement techniques to enhance the quality of underwater images and compared their performance with real underwater images taken in Korean waters. Dark channel prior (DCP), gradient transform, image fusion, and generative adversarial networks (GAN), such as cycleGAN and underwater GAN (UGAN), were considered for single image enhancement. Their performance was evaluated in terms of underwater image quality measure, underwater color image quality evaluation, gray-world assumption, and blur metric. The DCP saturated the underwater images to a specific greenish or bluish color tone and reduced the brightness of the background signal. The gradient transform method with two transmission maps were sensitive to the light source and highlighted the region exposed to light. Although image fusion enabled reasonable color correction, the object details were lost due to the last fusion step. CycleGAN corrected overall color tone relatively well but generated artifacts in the background. UGAN showed good visual quality and obtained the highest scores against all figures of merit (FOMs) by compensating for the colors and visibility compared to the other single enhancement methods.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.321-326
• /
• 2013

The modulation transfer function (MTF) is a widely used indicator in assessments of remote-sensing image quality. This MTF method is also used to restore information to a standard value to compensate for image degradation caused by atmospheric or satellite jitter effects. In this study, we evaluated MTF values as an image quality indicator for the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI). GOCI was launched in 2010 to monitor the ocean and coastal areas of the Korean peninsula. We evaluated in-orbit MTF value based on the GOCI image having a 500-m spatial resolution in the first time. The pulse method was selected to estimate a point spread function (PSF) with an optimal natural target such as a Seamangeum Seawall. Finally, image restoration was performed with a Wiener filter (WF) to calculate the PSF value required for the optimal regularization parameter. After application of the WF to the target image, MTF value is improved 35.06%, and the compensated image shows more sharpness comparing with the original image.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
• /
• v.2
• /
• pp.816-819
• /
• 2006

One of the most difficult parameters to measure in the sea is current speed and direction. Recently, efforts are being made to estimate the ocean current vectors by utilizing sequential satellite imageries. In this study, we attempted to estimated sea surface current vector (sscv) by using satellite ocean color imageries of SeaWifs around the Korean Peninsula. This ocean color image data has 1-day sampling interval and spatial resolution of 1x1 km. Maximum cross-correlation method is employed which is aimed to detect similar patterns between sequential images. The estimated current vectors are compared to the surface geostrophic current vectors obtained from altimeter of sea level height data. In utilizing the color imagery data, some limitations and drawbacks exist so that in warm water region where phytoplankton concentration is relatively lower than in cold water region, estimation of sscv is poor and unreliable. On the other hand, two current vector fields agree reasonably well in the Korean South Sea region where high concentration of chlorophyll-a and weak tide is observed. In the future, with ocean color images of shorter sampling interval by COMS satellite, the algorithm and methodology developed in the study would be useful in providing the information for the ocean current around Korean Peninsula.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.32-40
• /
• 2022

Underwater optical images face various limitations that degrade the image quality compared with optical images taken in our atmosphere. Attenuation according to the wavelength of light and reflection by very small floating objects cause low contrast, blurry clarity, and color degradation in underwater images. We constructed an image data of the Korean sea and enhanced it by learning the characteristics of underwater images using the deep learning techniques of CycleGAN (cycle-consistent adversarial network), UGAN (underwater GAN), FUnIE-GAN (fast underwater image enhancement GAN). In addition, the underwater optical image was enhanced using the image processing technique of Image Fusion. For a quantitative performance comparison, UIQM (underwater image quality measure), which evaluates the performance of the enhancement in terms of colorfulness, sharpness, and contrast, and UCIQE (underwater color image quality evaluation), which evaluates the performance in terms of chroma, luminance, and saturation were calculated. For 100 underwater images taken in Korean seas, the average UIQMs of CycleGAN, UGAN, and FUnIE-GAN were 3.91, 3.42, and 2.66, respectively, and the average UCIQEs were measured to be 29.9, 26.77, and 22.88, respectively. The average UIQM and UCIQE of Image Fusion were 3.63 and 23.59, respectively. CycleGAN and UGAN qualitatively and quantitatively improved the image quality in various underwater environments, and FUnIE-GAN had performance differences depending on the underwater environment. Image Fusion showed good performance in terms of color correction and sharpness enhancement. It is expected that this method can be used for monitoring underwater works and the autonomous operation of unmanned vehicles by improving the visibility of underwater situations more accurately.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.36-46
• /
• 2013

The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI), the first geostationary ocean color observation instrument launched in 2010 on board the Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite (COMS), has been generating the operational level 1 data. This study describes a methodology for creating the GOCI true color image and data processing software, namely the GOCI RGB maker. The algorithm uses a generic atmospheric correction and reprojection technique to produce the color composite image. Especially, the program is designed for educational purpose in a way that the region of interest and image size can be determined by the user. By distributing software to public, it would maximize the understanding and utilizing the GOCI data. Moreover, images produced from the geostationary observations are expected to be an excellent tool for monitoring environmental changes.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.46-54
• /
• 2020

Oil spill accidents at sea result in a wide range of damages, including the destruction of ocean environments and ecosystems, as well as human illnesses by the generation of harmful gases caused by phase changes in crude oil. When an oil spill occurs, an immediate initial action should be performed to minimize the potential damage. Existing studies have attempted to identify crude oil spillage by calculating the crude oil spill range using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite images. However, SAR cannot capture rapidly evolving events because of its low acquisition frequency. Herein, an algorithm for estimating an oil spill area from an image obtained using a digital camera is proposed. Noise that may occur in the image when it is captured is first eliminated by preprocessing, and then the image is analyzed. After analyzing the characteristics of the digital image, a strategy to binarize an image using the color, saturation, or lightness contained in it is adopted. It is found that the oil spill area can be readily estimated from a digital image, allowing for a faster analysis than any conventional method. The usefulness of the oil spill area measurement was confirmed by applying the developed algorithm to various oil spill images.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
• /
• 1999.11a
• /
• pp.390-395
• /
• 1999

Ocean Scanning Multispectral Imager (OSMI) is a payload on the Korean Multi-purpose SATellite (KOMPSAT) to perform worldwide ocean color monitoring for the study of biological oceanography KOMPSAT will be launched in the middle of November this year. The radiometric performance of OSMI is analyzed for various gain settings in the viewpoint of the instrument developer for OSMI calibration and application based on its ground performance measurement data for 8 primary spectral bands of OSMI. The radiometric response linearity and dynamic range are analyzed for the image radiometric calibration and the estimation of OSMI image quality for the ocean remote sensing area. The dynamic range is compared with the nominal input radiance for the ocean and the land. The noise equivalent radiance (NER) corresponding to the instrument radiometric noise is compared with the radiometric resolution of signal digitization (1-count equivalent radiance). The best gain setting of OSMI for ocean monitoring is recommended. This analysis is considered to be useful for the OSMI mission and operation planning, the OSMI image data calibration, and users' understanding about OSMI image quality.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.840-866
• /
• 2014

Visibility in underwater images is usually poor because of the attenuation of light in the water that causes low contrast and color variation. In this paper, a new approach for underwater image quality improvement is presented. The proposed method aims to improve underwater image contrast, increase image details, and reduce noise by applying a new method of using contrast stretching to produce two different images with different contrasts. The proposed method integrates the modification of the image histogram in two main color models, RGB and HSV. The histograms of the color channel in the RGB color model are modified and remapped to follow the Rayleigh distribution within certain ranges. The image is then converted to the HSV color model, and the S and V components are modified within a certain limit. Qualitative and quantitative analyses indicate that the proposed method outperforms other state-of-the-art methods in terms of contrast, details, and noise reduction. The image color also shows much improvement.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.154-159
• /
• 2002

Satellite remote sensing technology for ocean observation has evolved considerably in these last twenty years. Ocean color is one of the most important parameters of ocean satellite measurements. This paper describes a remote sensing of ocean color data project - Asian I-Lac Project; it also introduces several case studies using satellite images in the Asian waters. The Asian waters are related to about 30 Asian countries, representing about 60% of the world population. The project aims at generating long-term time series images (planned for 10 years from 1996 to 2006) by combining several ocean color satellite data, i.e., ADEOS-I OCTS and SeaWiFS, and some other sensors. Some typical parameters that could be measured include Chlorophyll- a (Chl-a), Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM), and Suspended Material (SSM). Reprocessed OCTS images display spatial variation of Chl-a, CDOM, and SSM in the Asian waters; a short term variability of phytoplankton blooms was observed in the Gulf of Oman in November 1996 by analyzing OCTS and NOAA sea surface temperature (SST)； Chl-a concentrations derived from OCTS and SeaWiFS have also been evaluated in coastal areas of the Taiwan Strait, the Gulf of Thailand, the northeast Arabian Sea, and the Japan Sea. The data system provides scientists with capability of testing or developing ocean color algorithms, and transferring images for their research. We have also analyzed availability of OCTS images. The results demonstrate the potential of long-term time series of satellite ocean color data for research in marine biology, and ocean studies. The case studies show multiple applications of satellite images on monitoring of coastal environments in the Asian Waters.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.135-143
• /
• 2000

Ocean Scanning Multispectral Imager (OSMI) is a payload on the Korean Multi-Purpose SATellite (KOMPSAT) to perform global ocean color monitoring for the study of biological oceanography. HOMPSAT was launched 21 December 1999. The radiometric performance of OSMI is analyzed for various gain settings in the viewpoint of the instrument developer for OSMI calibration and application based on its ground performance data measured before launch. The radiometric response linearity and dynamic range are analyzed and the dynamic range is compared with the nominal input radiance for the ocean and the land. The noise equivalent radiance (NER) corresponding to the instrument radiometric noise is compared with the radiometric resolution of signal digitization (1-count equivalent radiance). The best gain setting of OSMI for ocean monitoring is recommended. This analysis is considered to be useful for the OSMI mission and operation planning, the OSMI image data calibration, and users' understanding about OSMI image quality.