Integration of topographic correction in a pixel-based compositing algorithm in the Romanian Carpathians

Within geosciences, there is a growing interest in regional scale studies that encompass large areas. Remote sensing is a privileged tool for data acquisition to support such studies. Data-integration of information from various images remains a challenge. A major breakthrough is the development of image compositing techniques that aim at composing homogeneous images by sampling the most suitable pixel from various scenes. At present, it is not clear to which extent topographic correction is able to improve pixel-based composites. In this study, a pixel-based Minnaert correction was implemented on a pixel composite in the Romanian Carpathians to correct for topographic distortions. Visual results show that the shadowing effects are reduced in the corrected composites. Furthermore, the topographic correction resulted in more homogenous reflectance values across the study area.