Low-resolution color images are often digitally merged with higher-resolution black-and-white images to provide greater spatial detail.

In this example featuring a detailed look at a Wyoming gas field, the false-color infrared band composite with 30 meter resolution (1) is merged with a black-and-white image having 15 meter resolution (2), resulting in a color image product that has 15 meter spatial detail (3). Before merging, a set of image-to-image “tie points” must be selected so that the color and black-and-white images can be closely registered. This registration process is similar to the georeferencing technique described in Step 3.