A method to derive texture-relief from ASTER bands 3N and 3B

Abstract

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) onboard the TERRA satellite generates a pair of bands from which a stereoscopic view can be derived. These bands, called 3N and 3B, correspond to the spectral range 0.78–0.86 μm. In this work, a method based on principal component analysis (PCA) was used to derive, from these bands, the texture-relief of the terrain. We compare our method with a digital elevation model (DEM) obtained from an algorithm that takes advantage of the stereoscopic view. Two examples are presented and discussed in detail.