Automatic cloud-free image generation from high-resolution multitemporal imagery

The aim of this paper is to document the automatic reconstruction of clouds and their cast shadows for the generation of spontaneous cloud-free images from high-resolution multitemporal images. To apply the proposed technique, a cloud-free reference image, which has the same position as a target image acquired at a different time, is required. First, the cloud region in the target image is detected based on integration of thick and peripheral cloud candidate regions. Next, the detected cloud region is restored using the pixel values of the target image by considering their location relative to the reference images. Finally, the pixel values of the restored image are separately normalized to the values of the reference image to generate a natural-looking cloud-free image. Multitemporal KOMPSAT-2 high-resolution images are used to construct study sites for evaluation of the proposed method in diverse cloud-cover cases. The experimental results show that the proposed method can automatically generate cloud-free images from high-resolution multitemporal images with reasonable qualitative and quantitative performance.