Precision in geodetic correction of TM data as a function of the number, spatial distribution,and success in matching of control points: a simulation

Abstract

The sources of error affecting geodetic correction of TM data have been enumerated in NASA specifications and cited in the research literature. A useful typology of these errors is the geometric errors remaining after applying systematic correction data and those errors arising from the location, generation, and application of ground control points. The relative magnitudes of the effects of these errors are studied via a simulation of the geodetic rectification process which is constructed such that operationalized (quantified) forms of errors are the simulation parameters. The kernel of this simulation is a rectification procedure called GED (geodetic error determination) which uses control point distortion data to adjust the orbit/attitude data, which in turn is used to adjust transformations between the satellite focal plane and the ground. Errors associated with base map digitization and control point generation produce the greatest impact on rectification. In the absence of such errors few control points are needed to geodetically correct the data close to National Map Accuracy Standards for 1:24,000 series maps. Evenness in the distribution of control points is not critical.