A novel approach for disaster monitoring: fractal models and tools

In this paper, we present a complete framework to support the monitoring of natural and man-made disasters by means of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. The fractal geometry is the most appropriate mathematical instrument in describing the irregularity of a natural observed scene, by means of few effective and reliable parameters. Therefore, fractal concepts can be used to model and identify geometrical changes that occurred in areas hit by disasters. We present an overall framework employing fractal-based models, algorithms, and tools to support the identification of natural area changes due to natural or man-made disasters. Such a framework includes an algorithm used to extract fractal parameters from a 2-D signal, a fractal interpolation tool, and a SAR raw-signal simulator. The combined use of these tools provides an innovative instrument for disaster monitoring applications. In this paper, we implement the fractal framework to obtain a relation between the fractal parameters of a SAR image and those of the relative imaged area. In addition, a case study is discussed, showing the potentiality of our framework for flooding detection. Index Terms--Change detection, fractals, synthetic aperture radar (SAR).