A Comparison Between Contour Elevation Data Sources for DEM Creation and Soil Carbon Prediction, Coshocton, Ohio

A raster and vector GIS was created for the North Appalachian Experimental Watershed (NAEW) from legacy (1960) 1:2,400‐scale contour maps. The intent of the study was to use terrain data for the spatial modeling of soil organic carbon. It was hypothesized that DEMs derived from these data would be more accurate and therefore more useful for terrain‐based soil modeling than those from USGS 1:24,000‐scale contour data. Central tasks for this study were to digitally capture the 1:2,400‐scale maps, convert digital contour data sources to raster DEMs at multiple resolutions, and derive terrain attributes. A flexible approach was adopted, using software outside of mainstream GIS sources where scientifically or practically advantageous. Elevation contours and streamlines were converted to raster DEMs using ANUDEM. DEMs ranging in resolution from 0.5–30 m were tested for accuracy against precision carrier‐phase GPS data. The residual standard deviation was 1.68 meters for the USGS DEM and 0.36 meters for the NAEW DEM. The optimal horizontal resolution for the NAEW DEM was 5 m and for the USGS 10 m. Five and 10 m resolution DEMs from both data sources were tested for carbon prediction. Multiple terrain parameters were derived as proxies for surficial processes. Soil samples (n = 184) were collected on four zero‐order watersheds (conventional tillage, no‐till, hay and pasture). Multiple least squares regressions (m.l.s.) were used to predict mass C (kg m^?2, 30 cm depth) from topographic information. Model residuals were not spatially autocorrelated. Statistically significant topographic parameters were attained most consistently from the 5 m NAEW DEM. However, topography was not a strong predictor of carbon for these watersheds, with r² ranging from 0.23 to 0.58.     

The effect of some upscaling procedures on the slope derived from digital elevation models

Digital elevation models (DEMs) and their derived parameters play an important role in geosciences. When upscaling, the influence of the upscaling procedure on the accuracy of DEMs' derived parameters has not been systematically studied. In this study, slope is taken as an example to explore the effect of upscaling procedure on the accuracy of DEMs' derived parameters. The meaning of upscaling is converting the data from finer resolution to coarser resolution. The two upscaling procedures of EES (elevation to elevation first, then elevation to slope) and ESS (elevation to slope first, then slope to slope) combined with four aggregation rules of maximum, mean, median, and minimum were used to obtain the slope result at the desired resolution in plain, hill, and mountain areas. From the experimental results, it can be concluded that the upscaling procedure significantly affected slope accuracy at the desired resolution. To obtain the slope result with higher accuracy during upscaling, it was recommended that the upscaling procedure of ESS combined with the mean or median aggregation rule was adopted whatever the terrain complexity. This study can be applied for the selection of upscaling procedure and aggregation rule in the upscaling of slope and it warns us to pay more attention to the upscaling procedure when obtaining the DEM‐derived parameters at multi‐resolutions.     

The Effect of DEM Raster Resolution on First Order, Second Order and Compound Terrain Derivatives

It is well known that the grid cell size of a raster digital elevation model has significant effects on derived terrain variables such as slope, aspect, plan and profile curvature or the wetness index. In this paper the quality of DEMs derived from the interpolation of photogrammetrically derived elevation points in Alberta, Canada, is tested. DEMs with grid cell sizes ranging from 100 to 5 m were interpolated from 100 m regularly spaced elevation points and numerous surface‐specific point elevations using the ANUDEM interpolation method. In order to identify the grid resolution that matches the information content of the source data, three approaches were applied: density analysis of point elevations, an analysis of cumulative frequency distributions using the Kolmogorov‐Smirnov test and the root mean square slope measure. Results reveal that the optimum grid cell size is between 5 and 20 m, depending on terrain com‐plexity and terrain derivative. Terrain variables based on 100 m regularly sampled elevation points are compared to an independent high‐resolution DEM used as a benchmark. Subsequent correlation analysis reveals that only elevation and local slope have a strong positive relationship while all other terrain derivatives are not represented realistically when derived from a coarse DEM. Calculations of root mean square errors and relative root mean square errors further quantify the quality of terrain derivatives.     

THE ACCURACY OF DIGITAL ELEVATION MODELS DERIVED FROM DIGITISED CONTOUR DATA

Although accuracy of digital elevation models (DEMs) can be quantified and measured in different ways, each is influenced by three main factors: terrain character, sampling strategy and interpolation method. These parameters, and their interaction, are discussed. The generation of DEMs from digitised contours is emphasised because this is the major source of DEMs, particularly within member countries of OEEPE. Such DEMs often exhibit unwelcome artifacts, depending on the interpolation method employed. The origin and magnitude of these effects and how they can be reduced to improve the accuracy of the DEMs are also discussed.     

基于栅格DEM的地形特征提取与分析

以陕北延安地区燕儿沟流域为实验样区,运用比较分析法和数理统计法进行基于栅格DEM的地形特征提取和分析,以及DEM分辨率对地形特征的影响,并计算和比较了地形特征的空间统计分布。研究表明:一个相对真实的DEM能够通过修改生成DEM的基本材料,以及对DEM进行再加工而获得。由于DEM分辨率的不同,由此得到的地形特征值(如坡度、地形指数、河网密度等)在统计特性上也会随之变化。随着DEM分辨率的降低,坡度减小,地形坦化,地形指数均值变大,流域总面积变大,子流域数量减少,河流总长度减小,河网密度降低。     

Exploring The Generation Of Digital Elevation Models From Same-Side Ers Sar Images: Topographic And Temporal Effects

This paper presents an attempt to explore the generation of digital elevation models (DEMs) by radargrammetry from same-side ERS-1/2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. Two ERS-1 and two ERS-2 C-band (wavelength 5·6 cm) SAR images along parallel descending orbits, acquired in 1996 and 1997, are used to form four stereopairs. The test area is western Hong Kong which is dominated by mountains/hills that are largely covered by evergreen-broadleaf trees. The stereopairs covering the same area but with different time intervals (varying from 16 days to 1·5 years) have an intersection angle of 4·5° and a relatively small overlap of 30% (30 km). In addition to the effect of topography, the effect of temporal correlation on the accuracy of the resulting DEMs is also analysed for the first time. From the experimental results obtained in this study, the following conclusions may be drawn: (a) with same-side ERS-1/2 SAR images, an accuracy of 30 to 35 m is achievable; (b) the accuracy of a resulting DEM degrades almost linearly with an increase in slope when the terrain slope is below 30°, and in the areas with slope over 30°, the accuracy of the DEM is significantly degraded and even becomes unacceptable; (c) the worst accuracy is obtained in the foreslope directions and the best accuracy is obtained in the backslope directions; (d) the time interval between two SAR images has no significant effect on the accuracy of the DEM in general; (e) the time interval between two SAR images has no significant effect on the reliability of image matching.     

Vertical accuracy evaluation of freely available latest high-resolution (30 m) global digital elevation models over Cameroon (Central Africa) with GPS/leveling ground control points.

Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) contain topographic relief data that are vital for many geoscience applications. This study relies on the vertical accuracy of publicly available latest high-resolution (30?m) global DEMs over Cameroon. These models are (1) the ALOS World 3D-30?m (AW3D30), (2) the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 1 Arc-Second C-Band Global DEM (SRTM 1) and (3) the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Global DEM Version 2 (ASTER GDEM 2). After matching their coordinate systems and datums, the horizontal positional accuracy evaluation was carried out and it shows that geolocation errors significantly influence the vertical accuracy of global DEMs. After this, the three models are compared among them, in order to access random and systematic effects in the elevation data each of them contains. Further, heights from 555 GPS/leveling points distributed all over Cameroon are compared to each DEM, for their vertical accuracy determination. Traditional and robust statistical measures, normality test, outlier detection and removal were used to describe the vertical quality of the DEMs. The test of the normality rejected the hypothesis of normal distribution for all tested global DEMs. Overall vertical accuracies obtained for the three models after georeferencing and gross error removal in terms of Root Mean Square (RMS) and Normalized Median Absolute Deviation (NMAD) are: AW3D30 (13.06?m and 7.75?m), SRTM 1 (13.25?m and 7.41?m) and ASTER GDEM 2 (18.87?m and 13.30?m). Other accuracy measures (MED, 68.3% quantile, 95% quantile) supply some evidence of the good quality of AW3D30 over Cameroon. Further, the effect of land cover and slope on DEM vertical accuracy was also analyzed. All models have proved to be worse in the areas dominated by forests and shrubs areas. SRTM 1 and AW3D30 are more resilient to the effects of the scattering objects respectively in forests and cultivated areas. The dependency of DEMs accuracy on the terrain roughness is evident. In all slope intervals, AW3D30 is performing better than SRTM 1 and ASTER GDEM 2 over Cameroon. AW3D30 is more representative of the external topography over Cameroon in comparison with two others datasets and SRTM 1 can be a serious alternative to AW3D30 for a range of DEM applications in Cameroon.     

DEM地形信息提取对比研究——以坡度为例

由于DEM数据本身多尺度因素,加之地形、地貌特征具有宏观性与区域分异性的特点,直接的信息提取往往很难达到预期的目的。利用DEM制作坡度图高效、省力,但其精度有很大的不确定性,同时DEM制作过程中的误差传播、转移对坡度信息的影响缺少系统的判断依据。选取位于陕北黄土高原上的两个不同地区作为实验样区,在不同DEM生产的基础上,以高精度的1∶10 000DEM为准值,通过对1∶5万和1∶1万DEM提取定量地形要素的叠合、比较与统计分析,探讨具有不同地貌类型的区域1∶5万DEM提取地形信息的精度及其统计意义上的数量百分比关系。     

不同比例尺DEM地形信息容量的探讨

本文以福建省11个地区作为实验样区,利用Python脚本进行批量提取地形因子,从中选取坡度、粗糙度两个地形因子,并引入信息论中的信息熵、自信息相关理论进行研究。以1∶10 000比例尺DEM提取的地形因子为真值,与1∶50 000比例尺DEM所提取的地形因子信息容量进行对比分析,研究两种比例尺DEM所提取的地形因子引起的信息容量的损失和纠正方法,以及通过线性回归分析寻找两种比例尺DEM的相同地形因子面积定量信息对应的转换公式。     

Assessment of freely available CartoDEM V1 and V1.1R1 with respect to high resolution aerial photogrammetric DEM in high mountains

The accuracy of DEMs shows wide variations from one terrain to another and it needs to be determined. This study evaluates NRSC (National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad, India) CartoDEM V1 and V1.1R1 with respect to resampled ADS80 DEM for parts of the Himalayas. Both the test DEMs were properly registered with reference to resampled ADS80 DEM and then individually subtracted to get the difference DEMs. Visual and statistical analyses were performed to assess the quality of the tested DEMs in terms of visible terrain and vertical accuracy. For calculating the accuracies in different terrain classes, slope and aspect maps were generated from the ADS80 DEM. Properly registered Landsat5 TM data were used for the development of the land cover map with four classes. The overall vertical accuracy measured for CartoDEM V1 was 269.9 m (LE90), while CartoDEM V1.1R1 showed huge improvement in the accuracy with 68.5 m (LE90).     

Fusion of high-resolution DEMs derived from COSMO-SkyMed and TerraSAR-X InSAR datasets

Voids caused by shadow, layover, and decorrelation usually occur in digital elevation models (DEMs) of mountainous areas that are derived from interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) datasets. The presence of voids degrades the quality and usability of the DEMs. Thus, void removal is considered as an integral part of the DEM production using InSAR data. The fusion of multiple DEMs has been widely recognized as a promising way for the void removal. Because the vertical accuracy of multiple DEMs can be different, the selection of optimum weights becomes a key problem in the fusion and is studied in this article. As a showcase, two high-resolution InSAR DEMs near Mt. Qilian in northwest China are created and then merged. The two pairs of InSAR data were acquired by TerraSAR-X from an ascending orbit and COSMO-SkyMed from a descending orbit. A maximum likelihood fusion scheme with the weights optimally determined by the height of ambiguity and the variance of phase noise is adopted to syncretize the two DEMs in our study. The fused DEM has a fine spatial resolution of 10 m and depicts the landform of the study area well. The percentage of void cells in the fused DEM is only 0.13 %, while 6.9 and 5.7 % of the cells in the COSMO-SkyMed DEM and the TerraSAR-X DEM are originally voids. Using the ICESat/GLAS elevation data and the Chinese national DEM of scale 1:50,000 as references, we evaluate vertical accuracy levels of the fused DEM as well as the original InSAR DEMs. The results show that substantial improvements could be achieved by DEM fusion after atmospheric phase screen removal. The quality of fused DEM can even meet the high-resolution terrain information (HRTI) standard.     

基于数字高程模型的混合流向算法

从数字高程模型提取的汇水网络和汇水区等信息是分布式水文模型及应用分析的基础参数,基于地表汇水模拟的算法是提取该类信息的主要方法,其中,水流方向的确定对提取结果有着直接的影响。单流向算法因其易于实现、易于确定上游汇水区等特性,得到了广泛应用,然而单流向算法在坡度平缓区域会产生不自然的平行径流,能模拟地表水流分散径流特点的多流向算法可以在一定程度上避免此问题,但多流向算法使得不同区域的汇水单元可能存在交叉。本文结合两类流向算法各自的优点和适用性,设计实现了一种混合流向算法,以期在不同的地形条件下模拟得到更加合理的水流分配。首先,使用基于模板的形态检测方法,在给定阈值的基础上,对数字地形进行了分类,DEM被划分为山谷、山脊、鞍部、缓坡和陡坡5类。对陡坡、山谷和山脊区域运用单流向算法;对缓坡和鞍部区域采用多流向算法确定径流方向并进行水量分配。本文选取了黄土地貌和中低山丘陵的两个流域作为研究区,利用并采用了30 m和90 m两个分辨率的DEM。本文研究将混合流向算法与现有其他算法的结果进行比较。相比于多流向算法,该算法结果中的分散效应受到明显的抑制,相比于单流向算法,非自然的平行径流也大幅减少。同时,混合流向算法在较大分辨率DEM上（30 m）改进效果更加明显。     

Measuring the accuracy of contour interpolated digital elevation models

Digital elevation models (DEM) are becoming increasingly important as tools in hydrological research and water resources management. Since error and uncertainty are inherently associated with spatial data, a complete evaluation of a DEM is of utmost importance before it is put into subsequent analysis. The present paper offers an innovative approach for quality assessment of contour interpolated DEMs of different resolutions. Five most frequently cited interpolation methods viz., TIN with linear interpolation, Inverse Distance Weighing, Thin Plate Spline, Ordinary Kriging and TOPOGRID were selected for gridding of contours at five different resolutions i.e., 30m, 45m, 60m, 75m and 90m. In order to compare the quality of interpolated DEMs, a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of inter-polated DEMs for their vertical, horizontal and shape accuracy were carried out. It was found that different interpolation methods produced DEMs with different levels of artifacts. The analyses of vertical accuracy suggested that the variations were not pronounced in nature. However, the quantitative comparisons for horizontal and shape accuracy showed that there was a high level of disparity with significant differences among the interpolated DEMs.     

坡度随水平分辨率变化及其空间格局研究

以黄土丘陵沟壑区的县南沟流域为研究区,基于1∶1万地形图,利用ANUDEM软件生成5m到200m分辨率DEM,并利用Arc/Info中计算坡度的方法提取了各种分辨率的坡度。研究表明,随着DEM分辨率的降低,单个样点坡度值表现出不确定性,但同一坡度级所有栅格点的坡度均值呈现一定的规律性,低坡度段表现为先升高后降低,中坡度段呈现微弱变化,陡坡度段呈现对数降低趋势;沟沿线上坡度值呈比较剧烈的下降趋势、分水线和流水线上坡度缓慢下降。     

DEM精度检查中等高线回放的量化方法

目前数字高程模型(DEM)精度检查中广泛采用等高线回放方法,以目视检查方式进行,定性为主。基于集合论引进了一种量化方法,即层次等高线差异栅格分析法,用于描述等高线回放的平面位置变形量。实验证明此方法不仅可视化效果好,其量化指标有助于定位DEM误差,包括粗差;也适合对不同DEM内插方法精度评定的对比分析。     

A practical method for SRTM DEM correction over vegetated mountain areas

Digital elevation models (DEMs) are essential to various applications in topography, geomorphology, hydrology, and ecology. The Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) DEM data set is one of the most complete and most widely used DEM data sets; it provides accurate information on elevations over bare land areas. However, the accuracy of SRTM data over vegetated mountain areas is relatively low as a result of the high relief and the penetration limitation of the C-band used for obtaining global DEM products. The objective of this study is to assess the performance of SRTM DEMs and correct them over vegetated mountain areas with small-footprint airborne Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) data, which can develop elevation products and vegetation products [e.g., vegetation height, Leaf Area Index (LAI)] of high accuracy. The assessing results show that SRTM elevations are systematically higher than those of the actual land surfaces over vegetated mountain areas. The mean difference between SRTM DEM and Lidar DEM increases with vegetation height, whereas the standard deviation of the difference increases with slope. To improve the accuracy of SRTM DEM over vegetated mountain areas, a regression model between the SRTM elevation bias and vegetation height, LAI, and slope was developed based on one control site. Without changing any coefficients, this model was proved to be applicable in all the nine study sites, which have various topography and vegetation conditions. The mean bias of the corrected SRTM DEM at the nine study sites using this model (absolute value) is 89% smaller than that of the original SRTM DEM, and the standard deviation of the corrected SRTM elevation bias is 11% smaller.     

Effect of sensor modelling methods on computation of 3-D coordinates from Cartosat-1 stereo data

The orbital and the rational polynomial coefficients (RPC) models are the two most commonly used models to compute a three-dimensional coordinates from an image stereo-pair. But it is still confusing that with the identical user provided inputs, which one of these two models provides more accurate digital elevation model (DEM), especially for mountainous terrain. This study aimed to find out the answer by evaluating the impact of used models on the vertical accuracy of DEM extracted from Cartosat-1 stereo data. We used high-accuracy photogrammetric DEM as the reference DEM. Apart from general variations in statistics, surprisingly in a few instances, both the DEMs provided contrasting results, thus proving the significance of this study. The computed root mean square errors and linear error at 90% (LE90) were lower in case of RPC DEM for various classes of slope, aspect and land cover, thus suggesting its better relative accuracy.     

Creating high-resolution bare-earth digital elevation models (DEMs) from stereo imagery in an area of densely vegetated deciduous forest using combinations of procedures designed for lidar point cloud filtering

For areas of the world that do not have access to lidar, fine-scale digital elevation models (DEMs) can be photogrammetrically created using globally available high-spatial resolution stereo satellite imagery. The resultant DEM is best termed a digital surface model (DSM) because it includes heights of surface features. In densely vegetated conditions, this inclusion can limit its usefulness in applications requiring a bare-earth DEM. This study explores the use of techniques designed for filtering lidar point clouds to mitigate the elevation artifacts caused by above ground features, within the context of a case study of Prince William Forest Park, Virginia, USA. The influences of land cover and leaf-on vs. leaf-off conditions are investigated, and the accuracy of the raw photogrammetric DSM extracted from leaf-on imagery was between that of a lidar bare-earth DEM and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission DEM. Although the filtered leaf-on photogrammetric DEM retains some artifacts of the vegetation canopy and may not be useful for some applications, filtering procedures significantly improved the accuracy of the modeled terrain. The accuracy of the DSM extracted in leaf-off conditions was comparable in most areas to the lidar bare-earth DEM and filtering procedures resulted in accuracy comparable of that to the lidar DEM.     

基于填挖方分析的DEM精度评价模型

针对DEM高程中误差评价指标的不足,提出了一种基于填挖方分析的DEM精度评价模型以及计算方法,将DEM填挖方误差E_c定义为待评价DEM与参考DEM在同一区域的三维体积差异和与该区域面积之商。探究了DEM填挖方误差和DEM分辨率R以及地形平均坡度S之间的关系,得到DEM填挖方误差的定量估算模型为E_c=0.004 8·R·S。实验表明,模型估算精度达95.85%以上。该模型为在不同地形条件下,确定满足限差要求的DEM分辨率提供了依据。     

Satellite derived digital elevation model and terrain parameters — generation,accuracy assessment and validation

Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and their derivatives are routinely exploited for a wide range of planning and engineering applications such as land reclamation, calculation of cut-and-fill requirements for earth works or to determine other relevant geomorphological landscape parameters. The advent of computer (digital) manipulation of elevation data has opened up great possibilities for studying the geometry of our land surface in relation to physical factors such as climate, vegetation, soils and geology. This paper is concerned with the generation, testing and validation of DEM and its derived terrain parameters viz., contours, drainage pattern etc. using IRS-1C stereo pair over a part of Alwar district, Rajasthan, India. In particular, it reports on the results achieved using indigenously developed stereo - processing software along with standard GIS and terrain analysis package to derive DEM and associated terrain parameters of the study area. The results are encouraging when compared with Survey of India topographical maps at 1:50,000 scale in terms of point to point accuracy of DEM, data quality evaluation of orthoimage and higher order drainage delineation.