Stereo Radargrammetry With Radarsat-2 in the Canadian Arctic

A digital elevation model (DEM) is generated using a Radarsat-2 (R-2) high-resolution stereo pair acquired over challenging icefields and fjords site in the Canadian Arctic (80% of ice-covered areas and almost 50% of > 40 degrees slopes). The stereo DEM was produced using a new hybrid radargrammetric model, which did not need any reference cartographic data. The accuracy of the stereo DEM was quantified with a topographic 1959 DEM and Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) data, over and outside the icefields and as a function of slope. The method could be applied to ice-covered areas with 1-sigma 25- or 18-m accuracy over less than 30 degrees or 5 degrees slopes, respectively. In addition, a systematic elevation lowering of around 10 m computed between 1959 DEM and recent elevation data (R-2 and ICESat) could be due to icefield wastage over the last 50 years.