Cloud removal in remote sensing images using nonnegative matrix factorization and error correction

In the imaging process of optical remote sensing platforms, clouds are an inevitable barrier to the effective observation of sensors. To recover the original information covered by the clouds and the accompanying shadows, a nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) and error correction method (S-NMF-EC) is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a cloud-free fused reference image is obtained by a reference image and two or more low-resolution images using the spatial and temporal nonlocal filter-based data fusion model (STNLFFM). Secondly, the cloud-free fused reference image is used to remove the cloud cover of the cloud-contaminated image based on NMF. Finally, the cloud removal result is further improved by error correction. It is worth noting that cloud detection is not required by S-NMF-EC, and the cloud-free information of the cloud-contaminated image is maximally retained. Both simulated and real-data experiments were conducted to validate the proposed S-NMF-EC method. Compared with other cloud removal methods, the results demonstrate that S-NMF-EC is visually and quantitatively effective (correlation coefficients >= 0.99) for the removal of thick clouds, thin clouds, and shadows.