Integration of ZY3-02 Satellite Laser
Altimetry Data and Stereo Images for
High-Accuracy Mapping
Guoyuan Li, Xinming Tang, Xiaoming Gao, Xia Wang, Wenfeng Fan, Jiyi Chen, and Fan Mo
Abstract
Integration of satellite laser altimetry data and stereo images
without ground control points (
GCPs
) is an attractive method
for global mapping. In this paper, we propose a new strategy
of integrating Ziyuan3-02 (
ZY3-02
) satellite stereo images and
laser altimetry data using a rigorous sensor model (
RSM
) with
laser ranging constraint under the synchronized and rational
function model (
RFM
) with laser elevation constraint under
the non-synchronized capture for high-accuracy mapping
without
GCPs
. Four experimental regions in China are selected
to validate the method. The results show that the
ZY3-02
satel-
lite laser altimetry data can be used to improve the elevation
accuracy of stereo images to better than 3.0 m without
GCPs
.
All of the conclusions are valuable for the development of
China’s next generation of surveying and mapping satellites.
Introduction
High-accuracy geo-location without ground control points
(
GCPs
) is the key aim of satellite remote sensing, which is very
important for global mapping and resource monitoring. The
ZY3-02
satellite was launched on 30 May 2016 with China’s
first experimental satellite laser altimeter to validate the
elevation control point collection and accuracy improvement
of stereo images without
GCPs
. Satellite stereo images and
laser altimetry data comprise two different types of mapping
sources. The former, namely high-resolution satellite images
(
HRSIs
), have been widely used and researched with a few
GCPs
(Grodecki and Dial, 2003; Tong
et al
.,2010; Teo,2011; Pablo,
2013; Pan, 2016); the latter, has rarely been implemented for
Earth observation, except for the Ice Cloud and Land Eleva-
tion Satellite (
ICEsat
), which carried the first laser altimeter,
the Geo-science Laser Altimeter System (
GLAS
), for monitoring
ice sheets, estimating biomass, and obtaining land elevation
control points (Abshire
et al
.,2005; Schutz
et al
.,2005; Cara-
bajal
et al
.,2010; Wang
et al
.,2011). However,
ICEsat
was just
loaded with a laser altimeter but not stereo cameras.
What’s more, although many satellite-based laser altim-
eters have been launched, including the Lunar Orbiter Laser
Altimeter (
LOLA
) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (
LRO
),
the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (
MOLA
) on the Mars Global
Surveyor (
MGS
), all of them just observe other planets rather
than the Earth. Therefore, the
ZY3-02
satellite maybe the first to
be able to observe the Earth using a laser altimeter and stereo
cameras synchronously.
For Earth observation, some researchers have focused on
the
ICEsat
laser data to improve the accuracy of
InSAR
or stereo
images. In order to measure the surface changes on Byrd
Glacier, Schenk
et al
. (2005) proposed a method of matching
the terrain features extracted from
ICEsat
laser altimetry data
and aerial or satellite images that depended on the terrain
characteristics and the density of laser points. DongChen
et
al
. (2009) combined the
GLAS
altimetry data and Advanced
Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (
AS-
TER
) stereo images in the Antarctic region to generate maps.
The method used the
GLAS
data as an elevation reference only
for medium-resolution satellite images (
MRSIs
). Wendleder
et al
. (2016) eliminated the long-wave height error of the
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (
SRTM
)
DSM
using the
ICEsat
laser altimeter points on flat and non-vegetated areas as a
control source, which has been applied for global mapping.
High-resolution global
DSMs
from
ALOS
PRISM
named
AW3D30
(denoting
ALOS
World 3D, 30 m) were generated by viewing
the
ICEsat
laser points as an elevation control (Takaku
et al
.,
2014). While the above papers considered
GLAS
data that were
not obtained at the same time as the InSAR or stereo images
as an elevation control, the
ZY3-02
satellite can capture laser
and stereo images synchronously. Moreover, the aim of the
ZY
3 series satellites is 1:50 000 scale mapping without
GCPs
,
so it is valuable to research and validate whether the laser
altimetry data from
ZY3-02
can improve the mapping accuracy
of stereo images without ground control data. Using
GLAS
data
of
ICEsat
as an elevation control to improve the elevation accu-
racy of the
ZY3-01
satellite stereo images by the rational func-
tion model (
RFM
) was validated in our preceding papers (Li
et al., 2016a, 2016b). In this paper, the combined adjustment
using
RFM
with laser elevation constraint or
RSM
with laser
ranging constraint is comprehensively implemented for
ZY3-02
satellite stereo images and laser altimetry data to improve the
elevation accuracy of stereo images without
GCPs
.
The organization of the rest of this paper is as follows. In
the next Section, the methodology of combining the
ZY3-02
satellite laser altimetry data and stereo images is proposed,
followed by the experimental data and material; next, the
results are described. The experimental results are discussed,
Guoyuan Li is with the Satellite Surveying and Mapping
Application Center, National Administration of Surveying,
Mapping and Geo-information, 1 Baishengcun Road, Beijing
100048, P. R. China, with the Jiangsu Center for Collaborative
Innovation in Geographical Information Resource
Development and Application, 1 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing
210023, P.R. China, and also with the School of Resource and
Environmental Science, Wuhan University. 129 Luoyu Road,
Wuhan 430079, P.R. China.
Xinming Tang is with the Satellite Surveying and Mapping
Application Center, National Administration of Surveying,
Mapping and Geo-information, 1 Baishengcun Road, Beijing
100048, P. R. China.
Xiaoming Gao, Xia Wang, Wenfeng Fan, Jiyi Chen, and Fan
Mo are with the Satellite Surveying and Mapping Application
Center, National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geo-
information, 1 Baishengcun Road, Beijing 100048, P. R. China.
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Vol. 84, No. 9, September 2018, pp. 569–578.
0099-1112/18/569–578
© 2018 American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing
doi: 10.14358/PERS.84.9.569
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
September 2018
569
