TOWARDS GLOBAL HUMAN SETTLEMENT CHARACTERIZATION EXPLOITING MULTI-SCALE OPTICAL AND SAR DATA FUSION

摘要

This work is devoted to the presentation of a novel decision level data fusion algorithm for the purpose of urban area extraction. A variety of urban maps from SAR as well optical EO data with spatial resolutions ranging between 12 and 75 meters are combined in order to produce accurate urban area extractions of the Chinese 'Megacities' of Beijing and Guangzhou. To that aim image weights are determined based on the assumption that the usability and reliability of EO data products depends on the intended scale of analysis as well as on the fact that their sensor-specific advantages and limitations are strongly connected to the environmental characteristics of the area under investigation. Results show that improved built-up area extractions can be achieved with the proposed method.