What does "image registration" achieve in remote sensing?

In remote sensing, image registration is a critical process that aligns multiple images to ensure that they correspond to the same geographical area. This alignment is essential for accurate comparison and analysis of data over time, especially when examining changes in land use, vegetation cover, or other temporal variations. By aligning images taken at different times or from different sensors, remote sensing analysts can effectively overlay and combine data from multiple sources, which enhances the overall interpretability and utility of the information.

This precise alignment allows for more accurate assessments and can significantly improve the quality of analysis, such as distinguishing between changes in the environment or detecting subtle differences in features that would be difficult to discern from unregistered images. The other answer choices do not accurately describe the purpose of image registration, as they address aspects like resolution, data processing speed, or 3D transformation, which are not directly related to the alignment function that image registration serves.