SREL Reprint #2006
Relative accuracy of rectifications using coordinates determined from maps and the global positioning system
Allen E. Cook and John E. Pinder III
Remote Sensing and Geomatics Unit, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29801
Abstract: Global positioning systems (GPS) that use code phase receivers have the potential for providing more accurate coordinates for ground control points (GCPs) than do 7.5-minute quadrangle maps. To evaluate the effect of the greater accuracy of GPS in determining coordinates for satellite image, GCP coordinates were measured on maps and by GPS techniques and were then used to rectify Landsat Thematic Mapper, SPOT multispectral, and SPOT panchromatic images from the same area. There were major differences between rectifications using map and GPS coordinates. For Thematic Mapper data, 24 percent of the values assigned to pixels in the rectification performed using map coordinates differed from the values assigned to the same pixels in the rectification performed using the GPS coordinates. For SPOT multispectral and SPOT panchromatic images, the percentage of pixels with different assignments were greater than 40 percent. The improvements in accuracy when using the GPS data were substantial for even the relatively large Thematic Mapper pixels and warrant the use of GPS where position accuracy is essential.
SREL Reprint #2006
Cook, A.E. and J.E. Pinder, III. 1996. Relative accuracy of rectifications using coordinates determined from maps and the global positioning system. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 62:73-77.
This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).