A new merging method and its spectral and spatial effects

A new SVR (Synthetic Variable Ratio) merging method is described which reproduces the spectral characteristics of an original multispectral image and spatial information of a panchromatic image with higher resolution very well. Different TM bands and SPOT pan images in two different large urban areas were used as test data to assess the new SVR method. The spectral and spatial effects of the new SVR method were assessed by using visual and graphical methods and the results were compared with those of the IHS (Intensity, Hue, Saturation) and PCS (Principal Component Substitution) methods. The results show that the spectral effect of the SVR method is the best of the three merging methods. The spatial effect of the SVR method is the same as that of the other two methods.