SPATIAL-RESOLUTION IMPROVEMENT OF SSM I DATA WITH IMAGE-RESTORATION TECHNIQUES/

A space variant image restoration algorithm has been developed with th e aim of improving the spatial resolution of SSM/I (Special Sensor Mic rowave/Imager) passive microwave imagery. Due to the conical scanning of the instrument the relative geometry of the data samples changes ov er the scan. This change is accounted for here by using a space varian t point-spread-function in the restoration algorithm. Application of t his algorithm to a scene from the Weddell Sea results in an image with enhanced ice edge and coast definition. As a result ice concentration estimates near the edge agree more closely with higher resolution (op tical) data from AVHRR.