Digital surface model generation from CORONA satellite images

Digital surface models (DSMs) are used for various analyses in environmental science, e.g. for erosion and water studies. Aerial photos and maps, which are necessary for the extraction of DSMs, often do not exist due to financial or political reasons. This situation can be also encountered in Morocco and, in particular, a test area of the international research project IMPETUS was used in this study. Therefore, stereo satellite images of CORONA have been used, as they allow DSM generation, have a ground resolution of 1.83 m, reasonable price (US$12-18 per filmstrip of 188 X 14 km) and large coverage (especially of Asia and eastern Europe). The software program ERDAS IMAGINE OrthoBASE Pro was used to generate DSMs automatically from CORONA satellite images with best vertical accuracy of about 10 m and planimetric accuracy of about 3 m. These DSMs could afterwards be used to generate orthoimages, e.g. for mapping change detection and generating thematic maps or land use classifications. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.