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Digital elevation model (DEM) generation using the SAR interferometry technique

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Abstract

The development of satellite technology is rapidly increasing the evolution of remote sensing. Satellite images give extensive useful information about the land structure that is easily manageable in the process of generating true, high-speed information which allows the forecasting of future environmental and urban planning. Remote sensing comprises active and passive systems. Passive sensors detect natural radiation that is emitted or reflected by the object or surrounding area being observed. Active systems which produce their own electromagnetic energy and their main properties are their ability of collecting data in nearly all atmospheric conditions, day or night. These systems are frequently used to generate a digital elevation model (DEM) because they cover large areas. DEM supplies essential data for applications that are concerned with the Earth’s surface and DEMs derived from survey data are accurate but very expensive and time consuming to create. However, the use of satellite remote sensing to provide images to generate a DEM is considered to be an efficient method of obtaining data. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a new geodetic technique for determining earth topography. InSAR measurements are highly dense and they only give information in Line of Sight of Radar. In the study, interferograms were produced from the InSAR images taken by ERS satellites in 1992 and 2007 and we developed the methods to generate a DEM using the InSAR technique and present the results relating to Kayseri Province in Turkey. The accuracy of the DEM derived from the InSAR technique is evaluated in comparison with a reference DEM generated from contours in a topographical map.

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Acknowledgment

We are grateful for the financial support for all stages of this study from the Erciyes University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit under project numbers FBA-12-3749 and FBA-07-46. We would also like to thank Dr. Batuhan Osmanoglu for his assistance in the data evaluation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, Department of Geomatics, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey

    Abdurrahman Geymen

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  1. Abdurrahman Geymen
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Correspondence to Abdurrahman Geymen.

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Geymen, A. Digital elevation model (DEM) generation using the SAR interferometry technique. Arab J Geosci 7, 827–837 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-012-0811-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-012-0811-3

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