Assessment of shuttle radar topographic mission performance over the Kuwait desert terrain

Kota S. Rao; Hala K. Al-Jassar

doi:10.1117/1.JRS.6.063504

5 March 2012 Assessment of shuttle radar topographic mission performance over the Kuwait desert terrain

Kota S. Rao, Hala K. Al-Jassar

Author Affiliations +

Funded by: European Space Agency (ESA)

Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, Vol. 6, Issue 1, 063504 (March 2012). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JRS.6.063504

Abstract

Forty-three digital elevation models (DEMs) of the Managesh oil field, Kuwait desert study area, are derived from 28 advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) images using radar interferometry (InSAR) technique. Weighted-average technique is used to reduce the noise in the integrated DEM. The final DEM is compared with DEM of Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and found to have a general agreement. The standard deviation (STD) of individual DEMs with reference to DEM of SRTM is in the range 10 to 40 m. The results indicate that the 90 m spatial resolution DEM of SRTM is noisier over the Managesh oil field as it shows drastic changes in elevations of neighboring pixels which is not expected for a plain desert like the Managesh oil field. Using mean filter, the noise level is estimated as one meter. The reasons for high noise in the DEM of SRTM may be due to uneven distribution of soil moisture leading to uneven penetration of microwaves. The results are in confirmation with the earlier investigators as explained in the text.

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Kota S. Rao and Hala K. Al-Jassar "Assessment of shuttle radar topographic mission performance over the Kuwait desert terrain," Journal of Applied Remote Sensing 6(1), 063504 (5 March 2012). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JRS.6.063504

Published: 5 March 2012

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