Vertical accuracy assessment of open source digital elevation models under varying elevation and land cover in Western Ghats of India

Author(s):  
Swathi Shetty ◽  
P. C. Vaishnavi ◽  
Pruthviraj Umesh ◽  
Amba Shetty
2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. P. Kovalchuk ◽  
K. A. Lukianchuk ◽  
V. A. Bogdanets

The relief has a major impact on the landscape`s hydrological, geomorphological and biological processes. Many geographic information systems used elevation data as the primary data for analysis, modeling, etc. A digital elevation model (DEM) is a modern representation of the continuous variations of relief over space in digital form. Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are important source for prediction of soil erosion parameters. The potential of global open source DEMs (SRTM, ASTER, ALOS) and their suitability for using in modeling of erosion processes are assessed in this study. Shumsky district of Ternopil region, which is located in the Western part of Ukraine, is the area of our study. The soils of Shumsky district are adverselyaffected by erosion processes. The analysis was performed on the basis of the characteristics of the hydrological network and relief. The reference DEM was generated from the hypsographic data(contours) on the 1:50000 topographical map series compiled by production units of the Main Department of Geodesy and Cartography under the Council of Ministers. The differences between the reference DEM and open source DEMs (SRTM, ASTER and ALOS) are examined. Methods of visual detection of DEM defects, profiling, correlation, and statistics were used in the comparative analysis. This research included the analysis oferrors that occurred during the generation of DEM. The vertical accuracy of these DEMs, root mean square error (RMSE), absolute and relative errors, maximum deviation, and correlation coefficient have been calculated. Vertical accuracy of DEMs has been assessed using actual heights of the sample points. The analysis shows that SRTM and ALOS DEMs are more reliable and accurate than ASTER GDEM. The results indicate that vertical accuracy of DEMs is 7,02m, 7,12 m, 7,60 mand 8,71 m for ALOS, SRTM 30, SRTM 90 and ASTER DEMs respectively. ASTER GDEM had the highest absolute, relative and root mean square errors, the highest maximum positive and negative deviation, a large difference with reference heights, and the lowest correlation coefficient. Therefore, ASTER GDEM is the least acceptable for studying the intensity and development of erosion processes. The use of global open source DEMs, compared with the vectorization of topographic maps,greatly simplifies and accelerates the modeling of erosion processes and the assessment of the erosion risk in the administrative district.


Author(s):  
Hailu Zewde Abili

DEM can be generated from a wide range of sources including land surveys, Photogrammetry, and Remote sensing satellites. SRTM 30m DEM by The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), the Global Digital Elevation Model by Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance Radiometer (ASTER GDEM) and a global surface model called ALOS Worldview 3D 30 meter (AW3D30) by Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) are satellite-based global DEMs open-source DEM datasets. This study aims to assess the vertical accuracy of ASTER GDEM2, SRTM 30m, and ALOS (AW3D30) global DEMs over Ethiopia in the study area-Adama by using DGPS points and available accurate reference DEM data. The method used to evaluate the vertical accuracy of those DEMs ranges from simple visual comparison to relative and absolute comparisons providing quantitative assessment (Statistical) that used the elevation differences between DEM datasets and reference datasets. The result of this assessment showed better accuracy of SRTM 30m DEM (having RMSE of ± 4.63 m) and closely followed by ALOS (AW3D30) DEM which scored RMSE of ± 5.25 m respectively. ASTER GDEM 2 showed the least accuracy by scoring RMSE of ± 11.18 m in the study area. The second accuracy assessment was done by the analysis of derived products such as slope and drainage networks. This also resulted in a better quality of DEM derived products for SRTM than ALOS DEM and ASTER GDEM.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 939-960
Author(s):  
Rocky Talchabhadel ◽  
Hajime Nakagawa ◽  
Kenji Kawaike ◽  
Kazuki Yamanoi ◽  
Bhesh Raj Thapa

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 3482
Author(s):  
Evelyn Uuemaa ◽  
Sander Ahi ◽  
Bruno Montibeller ◽  
Merle Muru ◽  
Alexander Kmoch

Freely available global digital elevation models (DEMs) are important inputs for many research fields and applications. During the last decade, several global DEMs have been released based on satellite data. ASTER and SRTM are the most widely used DEMs, but the more recently released, AW3D30, TanDEM-X and MERIT, are being increasingly used. Many researchers have studied the quality of these DEM products in recent years. However, there has been no comprehensive and systematic evaluation of their quality over areas with variable topography and land cover conditions. To provide this comparison, we examined the accuracy of six freely available global DEMs (ASTER, AW3D30, MERIT, TanDEM-X, SRTM, and NASADEM) in four geographic regions with different topographic and land use conditions. We used local high-precision elevation models (Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), Pleiades-1A) as reference models and all global models were resampled to reference model resolution (1m). In total, 608 million 1x1 m pixels were analyzed. To estimate the accuracy, we generated error rasters by subtracting each reference model from the corresponding global DEM and calculated descriptive statistics for this difference (e.g., median, mean, root-mean-square error (RMSE)). We also assessed the vertical accuracy as a function of the slope, slope aspect, and land cover. We found that slope had the strongest effect on DEM accuracy, with no relationship for slope aspect. The AW3D30 was the most robust and had the most stable performance in most of the tests and is therefore the best choice for an analysis of multiple geographic regions. SRTM and NASADEM also performed well where available, whereas NASADEM, as a successor of SRTM, showed only slight improvement in comparison to SRTM. MERIT and TanDEM-X also performed well despite their lower spatial resolution.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoping Du ◽  
Huadong Guo ◽  
Xiangtao Fan ◽  
Junjie Zhu ◽  
Zhenzhen Yan ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-33
Author(s):  
Aqeel Abboud Abdul Hassan

Digital Elevation Model is a three-dimensional representation of the earth's surface, which is essential for Geoscience and hydrological implementations. DEM can be created utilizing Photogrammetry techniques, radar interferometry, laser scanning and land surveying. There are some world agencies provide open source digital elevation models which are freely available for all users, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) and others. ALOS, SRTM and ASTER are satellite based DEMs which are open source products. The technologies that are used for obtaining raw data and the methods used for its processing and on the other hand the characteristics of natural land and land cover type, these and other factors are the cause of implied errors produced in the digital elevation model which can't be avoided. In this paper, ground control points observed by the differential global positioning system DGPS were used to compare the validation and performance of different satellite based digital elevation models. For validation, standard statistical tests were applied such as Mean Error (ME) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) which showed ALOS DEM had ME and RMSE are -1.262m and 1.988m, while SRTM DEM had ME of -0.782m with RMSE of 2.276m and ASTER DEM had 4.437m and 6.241m, respectively. These outcomes can be very helpful for analysts utilizing such models in different areas of work.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document