Evaluating and comparing performances of topographic correction methods based on multi-source DEMs and Landsat-8 OLI data

Topographic correction is a crucial and challenging step in interpreting optical remote-sensing images of extremely complex terrain environments due to the lack of universally suitable correction algorithms and digital elevation models (DEMs) of adequate resolution and quality. The free availability of open source global DEMs provides an unprecedented opportunity to remove topographic effects associated with remote-sensing data in remote and rugged mountain terrains. This study evaluated the performances of seven topographic correction methods including C-correction (C), Cosine C-correction (CC), Minnaert correction (M), Sun-canopy-sensor (SCS) correction (S), SCS+C-correction (SC), Teillet regression correction (TR), and the Terrain illumination correction model (TI) based on multi-source DEMs (local topographic map, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM filled-finished A/B and the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) global digital elevation model (GDEM) data sets) and Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) data using visual and statistical evaluation strategies. Overall, these investigated topographic correction methods removed topographic effects associated with Landsat-8 OLI data to varying degrees. However, the performances of these methods generally depend on the use of different DEMs and evaluation strategies. Among these correction methods, the SCS+C-correction performed best and was less sensitive to the use of different DEMs. The performances of topographic corrections based on free and open-access DEMs were generally better than or comparable to those based on local topographic maps. In particular, the topographic correction performance was greatly improved using the SRTM filled-finished B (FFB) data set with a resampling scheme based on the average value within a 3 x 3 pixel window. Nevertheless, further quantitative investigation is needed to determine the relative importance of DEMs and evaluation strategies used to select topographic correction methods.