Stereo RADARSAT for Mapping Applications

RADARSAT stereoscopic images are evaluated for mapping applications in terms of planimetric and altimetric feature extraction. The first requirement is GCP collection with stereoscopic plotting. Using the monoscopic method, artificial parallaxes in GCP image co-ordinates will propagate through the entire extraction process. In fact, DEM accuracy can be improved by a factor of 20-40% when using stereo plotting. Accuracy of planimetric features (e.g. roads) extracted from a F1-F5 stereo pair is in the order of one resolution cell. Errors with 90% confidence are less than two resolution cells for DEMs extracted from nine stereo pairs (fine, standard, extended high). General guidelines are drawn for selecting a tradeoff between geometric and radiometric disparities and RADARSAT stereo pairs as a function of the relief.