Hydrographic Network Extraction from Radar Satellite Images using a Hierarchical Model within a Stochastic Geometry Framework

This report presents a two-step algorithm for unsupervised extraction of hydrographic networks from satellite images, that exploits the tree structures of such networks. First, the thick branches of the network are detected by an efficient algorithm based on a Markov random field. Second, the line branches are extracted using a recursive algorithm based on a hierarchical model of the hydrographic network, in which the tributaries of a given river are modeled by an object process (or a marked point process) defined within the neighborhood of this river. Optimization of each point process is done via simulated annealing using a reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. We obtain encouraging results in terms of omissions and overdetections on a radar satellite image.