| Abstract: | The Overseas Surveys Directorate (OSD) of the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain (OS) has experimented with using SPOT I HRV data for topographic line mapping at 1:100 000 scale in the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR). Results of these tests indicate that sufficient accuracy to support 1:100 000 scale mapping with a 40 m contour interval is possible but that the compilation of detail is incomplete. More emphasis on field completion and verification is required than with traditional techniques to maintain a standard 1:100 000 scale mapping specification. Costs of mapping large areas can be significantly reduced but savings are yet to be made in providing ground control. OSD has acquired expertise and hardware in a new mapping process, not to replace traditional mapping systems but to complement them under appropriate conditions. OSD has developed sufficient confidence in the use of SPOT to commit itself to mapping approximately 25 000 square kilometres of north east Yemen Arab Republic. |
