Landsat-7 ETM+ orthoimage coverage of Canada

Abstract

The Centre for Topographic Information (CTI) of Natural Resources Canada is currently producing a complete set of cloud-free orthoimages covering the Canadian land mass using data from the Landsat-7 satellite (under a project called Ortho-7). The project is being undertaken in partnership with GeoConnections, the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS), provincial and territorial agencies, and other federal government departments. In addition to financial support, partners are providing topographic control data to assist in producing orthoimages of high quality and accuracy. The creation of a national coverage with Landsat-7 orthoimages will provide an up-to-date fundamental geospatial framework for Canada. These products will serve as an excellent reference for map updating, and their geometric integrity will facilitate data integration from other map and image sources. The inherent information content of the imagery will also serve as a rich baseline for characterizing the Canadian land mass. Image acquisition for this initiative began in 1999 and will continue until complete coverage of Canada is obtained (scheduled for completion in 2004). Of the estimated 750 scenes required to cover the Canadian land mass, 400 images have already been identified as suitable for production. The primary criterion is that the imagery must be cloud and haze free. The ortho-correction is being done in partnership with Canadian industry and is proceeding as scheduled. This note is intended to provide details about the Landsat-7 orthoimage data specifications, production, and delivery model.