Comparative Study for the (DEM) Generation from the Radar Satellite Data & the Topographic Maps.

Radar satellite images are considered as a new and useful data sources for different remote sensing applications. One of the benefits of this technology is the ability to obtain images night and day under all weather conditions (clouds, haze, fog,…). It can also penetrate the surface of the Earth to some extent under certain conditions (soil moisture and surface roughness). It could also be used to produce the digital elevation model (DEM) for certain area by processing a couple of images obtained from two different angles. These DEM ’s have many uses, among the most important are the following: - Giving a lot of information about the geomorphology of the Earth’s surface. - Cut and fill problems in road design and other civil engineering projects. - Planning for locations and dams. - Computing slope and aspect maps to assist prediction of erosion hazards. - As a background for displaying thematic information such as natural Earth’s surface, soil types, and vegetation. Therefore, this research conducts a comparative study for the DEM generation from the Canadian Radarsat Satellite data, north gulf of Suez area. An evaluation and assessment of the advantages (benefits) and disadvantages (drawbacks) in general and in comparison with the DEM generated from the topographic maps will be performed. In return, a lot of experiences will be gained by the research team using this kind of recent data.