A continental-scale mosaic of the Amazon Basin using JERS-1 SAR

In this paper, a methodology, example and accuracy assessment are given for a continental-scale mosaic of the Amazon River basin at 100 m resolution u sing the JERS-1 satellite, This unprecedented resource of L-band SAR data c ollected by JERS-1 during the low-flood season of the river amounts to a co llection of 57 orbits of the satellite and a total of some 1500 1 k x 1 kB images, Interscene overlap both in the along-track and cross-track directio ns allows common reference points to be used to correct individual scene ge olocation inaccuracies that have been derived from the satellite ephemeris, The set of common reference points is assembled into a matrix formulation that is used to solve for individual scene geometric offsets. By correcting for these offsets, each scene is placed within a global coordinate system, which can then be used as the basis for creating a final, visually seamles s mosaic. The methodology employed in this approach allows for a mathematic al foundation to be applied to the mosaicking process as well as providing a unique, traceable solution for correctly geolocating satellite imagery.