Analysis of X-SAR SRTM elevation data to estimate surface cover heights over land areas

Author

Weydahl, Dan J. ; Sagstuen, Jørn ; Dick, øystein ; Ronning, H. ; Hansen, Lindy

Author_Institution

Div. of Electron., Norwegian Defense Res. Establ., Kjeller, Norway

Volume

1

fYear

2003

fDate

21-25 July 2003

Firstpage

112

Abstract

We present the first results of the SRTM AO-038 project in Norway. The SRTM X-SAR elevation data are evaluated with respect to digital reference maps and surface cover types like agricultural fields, forest, lakes and infrastructure. Optical satellite images, aerial photos and field observations are used to aid in the analysis of the SRTM elevation data. The X-SAR SRTM DEM gave better elevation accuracies over many open agricultural areas as compared to the 1:50000 topographic DEM commonly used in Norway. The SRTM DEM gave surface cover elevations rather than ground elevations in areas of dense forest. These SRTM elevation offsets in forested areas may be used further to categorize the forest cover type.

Keywords

synthetic aperture radar; terrain mapping; topography (Earth); Norway; SRTM AO-038 project; X-SAR elevation data; aerial photos; agricultural fields; digital elevation model; digital reference maps; elevation accuracy; forest cover type; ground elevations; infrastructure; lakes; land areas; optical satellite images; surface cover elevations; surface cover heights; surface cover types; synthetic aperture radar; topographic DEM; Ellipsoids; Lakes; Land surface; Remote sensing; Rivers; Satellites; Sea surface; Surface fitting; Surface topography; Testing;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2003. IGARSS '03. Proceedings. 2003 IEEE International

Print_ISBN

0-7803-7929-2

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IGARSS.2003.1293695

Filename

1293695