Remote Sensing analysis and DEM extraction for geomorphological characterization of Zailiskiy Alatau region (Kazakhstan)

The focus of the thesis is to study the potentials and limitations of remote sensing data for landcover mapping and geomorphological characterization at regional scale of a poorly investigated mountain region located in Kazakhstan. For this purpose, various medium resolution satellite products, mainly optical multispectral imagery, and Digital Elevation Models (DEM) were used and processed with different techniques. Overall, the research consists of three main parts. The first part is dedicated to the surface characterization into various classes. This helps to understand what type of area is and it gives a schematic overview. The second part discusses geomorphological studies, focusing on the description and classification of landforms (geometric shape, topologic attributes, and internal structure), on the dynamical processes characterizing their evolution and existence, and on their relationships to and associations with other forms and processes. Finally, the last part is about extraction of Digital Elevation Models from optical satellite imagery. The aim of this study is to analyze the accuracy of a DEM created with photogrammetric techniques from stereoscopic pairs of medium-resolution ASTER L1A satellite images.