| Abstract: | Digital elevation models(DEMs) can be quickly and conveniently generated using very high resolution(VHR) satellite stereo images. Previous studies have evaluated and compared DEM accuracy based on VHR satellite stereo pairs collected by different satellite sensors. However, few studies analyzed the accuracy of a DEM based on stereo image pairs from a satellite with the same orbit and different orbits for a region with significant topographic fluctuations in the plateau area. Referring to former studies, this paper had two objectives: to generate a digital elevation model(DEM) and evaluate its horizontal and vertical accuracy over a plateau area with high relief; and to study the mapping capability of multiorbit and multitemporal stereo pair images in the plateau mountainous region. To achieve these objectives, we collected the 2015 Worldview-2 stereo image pair and another three World View-2 images acquired in 2013, 2014, and 2015. First, the 2015 DEM was obtained using a strict physical model based on along-track stereo image pairs, and the reliability of the DEM was verified with field data. Then, the images obtained in 2013, 2014, and 2015 were combined into different-orbit stereo image pairs, DEMs were produced using rational function models, and the DEMs were verified using field data and the 2015 DEM as standards. The results showed that the relief degree has a particular influence on the DEM, and the precision of the DEM decreases as the topographic relief increases. Off-nadir angles can also influence DEM accuracy, with a larger angle corresponding to a lower DEM accuracy. The research also shows that the DEM obtained from four sets of experiments meets the accuracy requirement of a 1:5,000 digital elevation map, digital line graphic(DLG), and digital orthophoto map(DOM). Among these four groups of DEMs, the one based on the 2015 stereo pairs with the same satellite achieved the highest precision. |
