Abstract
The primary objective of the TanDEM-X mission is the generation of a global, consistent, and high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) with unprecedented global accuracy. The goal is achieved by exploiting the interferometric capabilities of the two twin SAR satellites TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X, which fly in a close orbit formation, acting as an X-band single-pass interferometer. Between December 2010 and early 2015 all land surfaces have been acquired at least twice, difficult terrain up to seven or eight times. The acquisition strategy, data processing, and DEM calibration and mosaicking have been systematically monitored and optimized throughout the entire mission duration, in order to fulfill the specification. The processing of all data has finally been completed in September 2016 and this paper reports on the final performance of the TanDEM-X global DEM and presents the acquisition and processing strategy which allowed to obtain the final DEM quality. The results confirm the outstanding global accuracy of the delivered product, which can be now utilized for both scientific and commercial applications.
Highlights
Digital elevation models are of fundamental importance for a large variety of scientific and commercial applications
Looking at each subset separately, we start with the generic geocells which are not covered by ice or forest and which contain approximately 10 million validation points
Looking at the forest only case, the evaluation of the validation points shows a mean height deviation of 0.57 m and an absolute height accuracy again 90% linear error of 2.33 m. As this height difference is TanDEM-X height minus ICESat height, the positive mean height difference of 0.57 m over forested land means that the laser-based system of ICESat was able to penetrate the forest canopy until the ground, while the mean phase center of the radar-based TanDEM-X system is located close to the canopy
Summary
Digital elevation models are of fundamental importance for a large variety of scientific and commercial applications. The primary source of elevation data on an almost global scale has been provided by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), characterized by a spatial resolution of 30 m between 56° South latitude and 60° North latitude (Farr et al, 2007). With the main goal of acquiring a global and consistent DEM with unprecedented accuracy, the TanDEM-X mission (TerraSARX add-on for Digital Elevation Measurements) opens a new era in spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) (Krieger et al, 2007, 2013). Images have been nominally acquired in bistatic configuration, where one satellite transmits and both simultaneously receive the backscattered signal from the Earth’s surface. This enables the acquisition of highly accurate interferograms, which do not suffer from temporal and atmospheric decorrelation
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