Precise Global DEM Generation by ALOS PRISM

Abstract. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) generated the global digital elevation/surface model (DEM/DSM) and orthorectified image (ORI) using the archived data of the Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM) onboard the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS, nicknamed "Daichi"), which was operated from 2006 to 2011.

PRISM consisted of three panchromatic radiometers that acquired along-track stereo images. It had a spatial resolution of 2.5 m in the nadir-looking radiometer and achieved global coverage, making it a suitable potential candidate for precise global DSM and ORI generation. In the past 10 years or so, JAXA has conducted the calibration of the system corrected standard products of PRISM in order to improve absolute accuracies as well as to validate the high-level products such as DSM and ORI.

In this paper, we introduce an overview of the global DEM/DSM dataset generation project, including a summary of ALOS and PRISM, in addition to the global data archive status. It is also necessary to consider data processing strategies, since the processing capabilities of the level 1 standard product and the high-level products must be developed in terms of both hardware and software to achieve the project aims. The automatic DSM/ORI processing software and its test processing results are also described.