A method and system is provided for obtaining data indicative of at least one characteristic of a continuous medium or at least one localized target located within a predetermined volume of space. The system includes a sensor configuration and a processing circuit. The sensor configuration includes a plurality of sensors for acquiring a plurality of signals from the continuous medium or the target(s). The plurality of sensors have centers spatially separated from each other in at least one spatial dimension. The processing circuit is configured for obtaining data indicative of the characteristic or characteristics of the medium or the target by calculating a plurality of powered weighted increments using the plurality of signals acquired by the sensor configuration and by using a plurality of models for relating the plurality of powered weighted increments to the characteristic or characteristics of the medium or the target. The selected characteristics of the medium or the target can be estimated with better accuracy and temporal and/or spatial resolution than is possible with prior art correlation function, spectra, and structure function-based methods and systems. In contrast to prior art methods and systems, the invention is not sensitive to signal contaminants with large temporal scale such as ground and sea clutter, and is not sensitive to low frequency external interference. The invention is capable of estimating various characteristics of the medium or target, for example, size, shape, visibility, speed, direction of the motion, and rates of changes of the above characteristics.