A Posteriori Filtering Algorithms for Short-Exposure ERS Images, Spatially Invariant to Atmospheric Distortions

. Optical images of Earth remote sensing (ERS) are distorted by the surface layer of the turbulent atmosphere. To com-pensate for the atmospheric distortions it is suggested to utilize the algorithmic technologies of postdetector spatial filtering of the distorted image. The article proposes a solution to the problem of the a posteriori determination of the optical transfer function (OTF) from the remote sensing telescope-atmosphere system by its short-exposure image. The existing algorithms of a posteriori determination of the magnitude and phase estimates of the instantaneous OTF atmosphere-telescope are discussed and new ones are provided. Therewith, to assess the OTF module, it is proposed to define and use a statistically similar object as a reference, and for the evaluation of the phase of the OTF it is proposed to use the statistical averaging and the recursive reconstruction algorithm. According to the a posteriori obtained estimates of the magnitude and phase, the atmosphere-telescope OTF is formed, which is used to form the Wiener filter and spatial filtering atmospheric distortions of the captured image. The results of experiments confirming the theory are presented.