A new approach for the morphological segmentation of high-resolution satellite imagery

A new segmentation method based on the morphological characteristic of connected components in images is proposed. Theoretical definitions of morphological leveling and morphological spectrum are used in the formal definition of a morphological characteristic. In multiscale segmentation, this characteristic is formalized through the derivative of the morphological profile. Multiscale segmentation is particularly well suited for complex image scenes such as aerial or fine resolution satellite images, where very thin, enveloped and/or nested regions must be retained. The proposed method performs well in the presence of both low radiometric contrast and relatively low spatial resolution. Those factors may produce a textural effect, a border effect, and ambiguity in the object/background distinction. Segmentation examples for satellite images are given.