External quality control of Pléiades orthoimagery : part I : geometric benchmarking and validation of Pléiades-1A orthorectified data acquired over Maussane test site

The main objective of the present study is to assess whether Pléiades-1A sensor can be qualified for Control with Remote Sensing (CwRS) programs, specifically in Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) Controls image acquisition campaign. The benchmarking presented herein aims at: evaluating the usability of Pléiades-1A for the CAP checks through an estimation of its geometric (positional) accuracy, measuring the influence of different factors (angle of view, number of GCPs, orthorectification model) on the abovementioned accuracy. For that purpose, the External Quality Control of Pléiades-1A orthoimagery conforms to the standard method developed by JRC and follows a procedure already adopted in the validation of previous VHR products.