The aim of this paper is to estimate the effect of atmospheric contamination on SPOT satellite data for stereoscopic modelling by using data from the AVHRR instrument carried on the NOAA satellite series. This paper includes the development of an atmospheric correction algorithm for the visible spectral channel data from the AVHRR instrument, and an analysis of the atmospherically corrected AVHRR data from many successive days, bearing in mind that the SPOT data for stereoscopic modelling will be from two orbits which will be separated by several days.