851
Fig. 9
Slope measurement for a topographic slope scanned
from opposite directions
Substituting h from equation (7) gives:
_ Ap Ap
^ a _ L2tg Q 1 + L2tg Q 2 - APtg 0 ^ Lltg 0 1 + Lltg0 2 + APtg0 x (J)
The parallax difference AP and the slope length LI or L2 can be measured.
Depression angles can be calculated from the flying height and ground range
towards the end of the shadow. A small error will be introduced when the shadow
does not lie in the reference plane.
McCOY (1967) has worked this out for slant range representation. From the fore
going it can be seen that from stereo imagery, relative altitude differences can be ob
tained by approximation. Moreover, slope measurements can be made in lines
perpendicular to the flight direction. For conversion of these apparent slopes to
true slopes not perpendicular to the scan direction, a conversion nomogram can
be used (fig. 10). Between apparent slope and true slope the following relation
exists:
tg /$ = sin y tg a
in which /5 is the apparent slope, a the true slope, and y the angle between
strike and scan direction.