Ms.

Janet Finlay, BA BSc January 3, 2017

GIS-GM Course Coordinator
Niagara College
135 Taylor Road
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
L0S 1J0

Dear Ms. Finlay,

RE: Deliverable 2: Stereoscope Usage, Elevation Estimates and Photogrammetry for GISC 9231 –

Introduction to Remote Sensing.

On behalf of SMI Geomatics and Drouin Environmental, please accept this document as submission of

deliverable 2: stereoscope usage, elevation estimates and photogrammetry for GISC 9231 – introduction to

remote sensing.

The purpose of the following assignment was to gain a basic understanding of stereoscopic aerial images

and their setup. Using the approximate and exact viewing method, to aerial images were analyzed. Each

image was marked for its principal point and conjugate principal point and a flight line was drawn.

Rudimentary photogrammetric calculations were also performed for the aerial images including relief

displacement and elevation calculations.

Should you have any concerns or if there are any questions, please contact me at your convenience via

email at winona.drouin@gmail.com or phone at (905)932-4534. I look forward to hearing from you.

Warm Regards,

Winona Drouin, B.Sc

Project Lead
49 Canal Bank Street
Welland, ON|
L3C 1P8
E: winona.drouin@gmail.com
P: (905)932-4534

W.D./s.i.
Enclosure: Deliverable 2: Stereoscope Usage, Elevation Estimates and Photogrammetry
Section A

Approximate Stereopair Viewing Method

a) What direction do you think the aircraft was flying when the photos were taken? Why? (4 marks)

The direction that the aircraft was travelling is north because the first photo Image 6080-61 was taken at

1:45:10 and the second image Image 6080-62 as taken at 1:45:15. This indicates that the airplane took a

photo then approximately 5 seconds later took another photo to the north.

b) Were both photos of the stereopair taken at the same time? Support your answer. (3 marks)

Both photos were taken at 1:45 however the seconds differ by 5. When viewing the clock on the aerial

photos, the first image 6080-61 shows a time of 1:45:10 and the second image 6080-62 shows a time of

1:45:15. This indicates that the photos were taking approximately 5 seconds apart.

c) Are these photographs ‘tilted’? Support your answer by defining a ‘tilted’ vertical aerial

photograph. (3 marks)

When viewing the spirit level on the images it can be concluded that they are both tilted because the inner

sphere is moved to the west. A tilted vertical aerial photograph is a photograph that is a sloping position to

a specific direction. Photographs can be heavily tilted which show a further will distance and less detail

than a photograph with a small tilt (Lillesand, Kiefer & Chipman, 2015; Niagara College, 2017).

Exact Stereopair Viewing Method

d) Discuss how the exact method set-up can help you answer question a) more readily. (4 marks)
The exact method set-up was initially performed by locating the fiducial marks (small targets on the side

of the photos that are installed within the camera). By connecting the fiducial marks, we were able to locate

the geometric centre (principal point) of the photo. The principal point was then marked on the other photo

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as the conjugate principal point. The second photo was then marked for it’s principal point and the original

photo was marked for its corresponding conjugate principal point. The points were then lined up and a line,

called the flight line, was drawn. As a result, the direction of the flight line tells us which direction the

aircraft was travelling.

The exact stereopair method is much simpler and easier to perform when determining direction of an

aircraft. The camera measurements on the side of the photo are often blurry and hard to read. This method

does not rely on those measurements and therefore is much easier to interpret.

Introductory Photogrammetry

e) What is the scale of the ‘vertical’ photographs that we have examined? We are told by the

imagery contractor that they recorded an altitude of 438 metres above the target at the time each

photo was taken (H’ = 438 m). They also report that the Zeiss metric camera has a focal length

of 182.5 mm (f = 182.5 mm). To undertake this calculation, refer to section 3.3 of Remote Sensing

and Image Interpretation, 6th Edition, (Lillesand, Kiefer and Chipman, Wiley, 2008).

The formula used in order to calculate the scale of the photograph is listed below.

𝑓
𝑆= (Lillesand, Kiefer and Chipman, 2015)
𝐻′

f = 182.5mm

H’ = 438m

0.1825𝑚
𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒 =
438𝑚
438𝑚
1 =
0.1825𝑚

1: 2400

Through inserting the data into the formula given, we can see that the scale of the photo that was taken from

438 meters above the terrain by a camera with a focal length of 182.5 mm is 1:2400.

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Section B

Relief Displacement in the Grimsby Area

1. If the camera focal length was 6 inches and the flying height was 6,500 feet, what was the ‘average

scale’ for the airphoto 72019-90? Show your calculations. (4 marks)

f=6 inches

H’=6,500 ft

6500 𝑓𝑡 ∗ 12 = 78, 000 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠

6 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠
𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒 =
78000 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠
78000 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠
1=
6 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠

1: 13000

Through converting the measurements into the same units and then inserting them into the formula given,

a scale of 1:13 000 is calculated, based on a camera focal length of 6 inches and a flying height above the

terrain of 6 500 feet.

2. Using the topographic map (30M/4h), draw the air photo 72019-90 boundaries atop the map,

defining the Area of Interest (AOI). Find the lowest and highest points in the AOI. Label these

points on a print-out of the topographic map to be attached to your report. Using these two

points, calculate the minimum and maximum scales for the airphoto (hint: use S = f/(H-h). Again,

show your calculations. (6 marks)

f=0.1524m

H=1981.2m

h=270m

0.1524𝑚
𝐿𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒 =
1981.2𝑚 − 270𝑚

3
 1: 11228 𝑜𝑟 1: 11000

0.1524𝑚
𝐻𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒 =
1981.2𝑚 − 640𝑚

1: 8800

Using the topographic map the minimum and maximum scales were calculated. The minimum scale for the

air photo was found to be 1:11,000 and the maximum scale of the air photo was 1:8,800.

3. Locate the following point on the airphoto (using the topographic map):

a.) Intersection of the CN railway and Maple Avenue,

Label this point on the topographic map. Again, using 72019-90 calculate the amount of relief

displacement at the point using d = rh/H. Comment on the ‘sensitivity’ of this technique with respect

to measurement error (ie., for every mm of measurement difference, how much relief displacement

do you get?). Comment on this observation and what it might mean for accurately estimating object

elevations. Show all calculations. (6 marks)

r = 0.089mm

h = 290m

H = 1981.2mm

𝑟ℎ
𝐷=
𝐻
0.089𝑚𝑚 ∗ 290𝑚
=
1981.2𝑚𝑚

= 0.01303𝑚

The relief displacement at the intersection of the CN railway and Maple Avenue was calculated to be

0.01303m.

Miscalculations can cause a difference in results by a factor of .15mm. If person measures incorrectly, could

result in an inaccurate calculation. Therefore, if we increase r, D increases by .15mm and if we decrease r,

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D decreases by .15mm. Although this may not seem like a large amount, dealing with distances on the

ground can become greatly affected. This result comes from adding one mm to the measurement and

recalculating. Conversely, we also subtract one mm from the measurement and see the new result. When

we are discussing measurements to the mm accuracy, it is very easy to get errors when measuring and this

will affect the result.

𝑟ℎ
𝐷=
𝐻
0.088𝑚𝑚 ∗ 290𝑚
=
1981.2𝑚𝑚

= 0.01288𝑚

4. From the topographic map, one can see that Mountain Road and Russ Street (south of the

escarpment) ‘line up’ exactly with roads north of the escarpment. Do they line-up exactly on

each airphoto? Why or why not? (4 marks)

When viewing Russ Street on the air photo 91, it appears to line up. However Mountain Road and many

other roads do not line up exactly when viewing each airphoto. This is because of the angle and tilt distortion

caused within the escarpment. The escarpment shows huge variation in elevation which shows up spatially

unaligned on the air photos. The change in elevation between the top and bottom of the escarpment is

substantial enough to affect the way in which it appears in the photo.

Elevation Measurements in the St. Catharines CBD

1. Using the stereopair (set-up using the exact method) that was used in Deliverable 9231-D2 (6080-

61 and 6080-62), and referring to the file “Points for Elevation Estimates - Questions 1 to 4

(JPEG)”, and noting that the point demarked as K has a known elevation of h K = 108.9 metres

above sea level, and the aerial platform was at a height of H = 438 metres above datum, calculate

the following:

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 a. The elevation of point A (hA) by measuring the parallax between the known point and the

parallax between point A on each airphoto.

H=438m

Hk=108.9m

𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑥 @ 𝐴 = 21𝑚𝑚 − (−59𝑚𝑚)

= 80𝑚𝑚

𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑥 @ 𝐾 = 64𝑚𝑚 − (−13𝑚𝑚)

= 77𝑚𝑚

(𝑝𝑎 − 𝑝𝑘)(𝐻 − ℎ𝑘)

𝐻𝑎 = ℎ𝑘 +
𝑝𝑎

(80𝑚𝑚 − 77𝑚𝑚)(438𝑚 − 108.9𝑚)

= 108.9𝑚 +
80𝑚𝑚

(3𝑚𝑚)(329.1𝑚)
= 108.9𝑚 +
80𝑚𝑚

= 121.2𝑚

The elevation of point A (Ha) was calculated to be 121.2m.

b. The elevation of point B (hB) by measuring the parallax between the known point and the

parallax between point B on each airphoto.

H=438m

Hk=108.9m

𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑥 @ 𝐵 = −10𝑚𝑚 − (−89𝑚𝑚)

= 79 𝑚𝑚

𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑥 @ 𝐾 = 64𝑚𝑚 − (−13𝑚𝑚)

= 77𝑚𝑚

6
 (𝑝𝑎 − 𝑝𝑘)(𝐻 − ℎ𝑘)
𝐻𝑎 = ℎ𝑘 +
𝑝𝑎

(79𝑚𝑚 − 77𝑚𝑚)(438𝑚 − 108.9𝑚)

= 108.9𝑚 +
79𝑚𝑚

(2𝑚𝑚)(329.1𝑚)
= 108.9𝑚 +
79𝑚𝑚

= 117.2 𝑚

The elevation of point B (Ha) was calculated to be 117.2m.

Again, comment on the ‘sensitivity’ of this technique with respect to measurement error (ie., for

every mm of parallax measurement error, how much change in elevation do you get?). Comment

on this observation and what it might mean for accurately estimating object elevations. Show all

calculations.

The sensitivity can be calculated by simply increasing the parallax measurement by one mm and

recalculating. Using the first part as an example, we can increase the parallax of point A to be 81 mm and

recalculate.

H=438m

Hk=108.9m

(𝑝𝑎 − 𝑝𝑘)(𝐻 − ℎ𝑘)

𝐻𝑎 = ℎ𝑘 +
𝑝𝑎

(81𝑚𝑚 − 77𝑚𝑚)(438𝑚 − 108.9𝑚)

= 108.9𝑚 +
81𝑚𝑚

(4𝑚𝑚)(329.1𝑚)
= 108.9𝑚 +
81𝑚𝑚

= 125.2 𝑚

7
 By increasing the parallax measurement by one mm, the elevation increases from 121.2 m to 125.2 m,

or an increase of 4 meters. Going the other way and decreasing by one mm as seen in part b, the

elevation decreases to 117.2 m, or down four meters. Mismeasurements on the map can lead to 4

meter swings in the results.

References

Lilesand, Kiefer and Chipman. 2015. Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation. 7th Edition. Courier-

Westford. ISBN: 978-1-118-34328-9. pp. 146-217. Accessed on October 2017.

Niagara College. 2017. Week 2 introduction lecture. GISC 9231 Introduction to Remote Sensing. Niagara-

on-the-Lake, Ontario. Accessed on October 2017.

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Appendix

Figure 1. Left image of stereopair, St. Catherines CBD.

9
Figure 2. Right image of stereopair, St. Catharines CBD.

10
Figure 3. Image 72019_91.

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Figure 4. Image 72019_90.

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Figure 5. Topographic map (30M/4H).

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