Topodata: Brazilian full coverage refinement of SRTM data

This work presents the selection of a set of geostatistical coefficients suitable for a unified SRTM data refinement from 3″ to 1″ through kriging over the entire Brazilian territory. This selection aimed at data potential for geomorphometric derivations, given by the preservation of detailed geometric characteristics of the resulting digital elevation models (DEM), which are sensitive to refining procedures. The development contained a long-term experimentation stage, when data refinement through kriging was locally developed to support distinct regional projects, followed by a unified selection stage, where the acquired experience was applied to select a single and unified interpolation scheme. In this stage, the selected geostatistical models with promising performances were tested for unified refinement on 40 Brazilian areas with distinct geological settings. Tested areas encompass reliefs varying from mountainous to plain. The effects of data preparation were observed on the perception of patterns (texture and roughness), as well as of singularities (edges, peaks, thalwegs etc.). Results were evaluated mainly through the examination of shaded reliefs, transects and perspectives observed in different scales. Terrains with low slopes and small amplitudes had their DEM promptly affected by the refining methods, as opposed to mountainous terrains. The evaluation, unambiguously confirmed by all consulted interpreters, converged into a refining model with outstanding performance in all tested conditions.