Gerhard Brandstätter, Graz University of Technology, Austria

This paper describes the first stage of a study aiming to evaluate the potential and limitations of stereophotogrammetric and INSAR data for detailed topographic research in arctic deserts. Several different image processing techniques, including digital stereoplotting with Russian spaceborne KATE-200 photographs, photometric segmentation of stereophotographs and ERS-1/2-SAR interferogram differencing, have been tested and practically applied for topographic modelling of several large ice caps in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, Russian High Arctic. The stereophotographic, stereophotometric and interferometric data obtained were merged for the purpose of intercomparative analysis, quality control and methodological developments. Several new methodological variants of image processing have been proposed for the enhanced reconstruction of the ground surface in a relatively flat glacier terrain. The results of relative accuracy analysis are discussed.