Research on the Relationship between the Spatial Resolution and the Map Scale in the Satellite Remote Sensing Cartographies

Abstract

It is a key technology to select the optimal spatial resolution of the remote sensing imagery to achieve the accuracy of map scale in the process of drawing satellite remote sensing maps. In this paper, through investigating the relationship between pixel size, the minimum unit on the map, the image accuracy and the spatial resolution of images, the mathematical model of the optimal collocation relationship between the high space resolution and map scale has been put forward. And the feasibility of the model has been verified by a range of experiments. Introduction In the presence, the technology of getting remote sensing images is more and more mature, and the spatial resolution of image has been higher than before. The current spatial resolution of images by commercial satellites is up to 0.41m (WorldView-2), while the spatial resolution of images by spy satellites even reaches 0.1m (Key hole -12). For the spatial resolution of images by satellites, the hierarchical system has been formed, which can meet the requirements of cartography with different scales. The lower the spatial resolution of satellite images is, more macro is the reflected space contents, and the smaller the corresponding map scale is. In contrast, the higher the spatial resolution of satellite images is, more meticulous the reflected pace contents are, and larger the corresponding map scale is. Yang Qinghua [1] and other researchers have studied the influence of satellite data sources with different spatial resolution on map scale. And Gong Mingjie [2] and other researchers have discussed the relationship between the spatial resolution of images and the map scale. Although they all study the relationship between the spatial resolution of remote sensing images and the map scale, they all chose satellite images with medium or small scale and lower spatial resolution, which are no more suitable for the large scale map with high spatial resolution images. Through studying the relationships among the pixel size, the minimum unit on the map, the accuracy of images and the spatial resolution of images, the paper put forwards the mathematical model about the optimal collocation relationship between the high spatial resolution of images and the map scale, and verifies the feasibility of the model by a range of experiments.