In underwater optical imaging applications, the strong scattering effect of particles in the water on reflected light often leads to poor imaging results. To address this issue, a pseudo-polarization de-scattering imaging method based on a single image is proposed, building on the foundation of underwater polarization difference imaging. By separating the spectral information of turbid underwater images, a pair of virtual orthogonal polarization images is constructed, which are then processed for polarization de-scattering to obtain a clear underwater image. Theoretical analysis and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the original images in complex underwater environments and under various distance conditions. Compared to the original images, the processed results show significant improvements in the following metrics: natural image quality evaluation (NIQE) increased by more than 50%, root mean square contrast (RMSC) increased by more than 1.5 times, and information entropy increased by more than 10%. Moreover, the enhancement effect of the method becomes more pronounced as the turbidity of the underwater environment increases. Additionally, compared to traditional underwater polarization de-scattering methods, the proposed method offers advantages such as fast processing speed and wide applicability.
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