顾及数据特性的格网DEM分辨率计算

水平分辨率是格网DEM的决定性变量之一,直接决定着DEM对地形的逼近程度和地形参数计算、地学模拟的精度。基于地统计学理论和非参数密度估计方法,提出了地形宏观变异和微观变异相结合的DEM适宜分辨率计算方法。即首先按系列支撑对采样数据进行格网划分,形成具有不同尺度的支撑域;然后利用正则化理论,对高程点数据进行正则化变换,通过不同支撑上正则化变量的半变异函数分析,探索不同支撑尺度上的地形宏观变异规律,从而确定地形宏观变异的最佳支撑尺度;第三,在所确定的宏观变异最佳支撑尺度内,借鉴非参数密度估计中直方图的理论方法,从微观角度计算DEM适宜分辨率。最后通过陕北黄土高原的实际采样数据,对本文提出的方法进行了验证。     

Impact of sampling intervals on the reliability of topographic variables mapped from grid DEMs at a micro-scale

This paper explores the quantitative relation between the reliability of slope aspect, gradient, and form mapped from a gridded DEM and the sampling interval (SI) of elevations. Grid DEMs initially interpolated from digitised contours at 10 m were sampled to five other resolution levels. The topographic variables mapped at these SIs were compared with those at 10 m. It is found that the reliability of mapped slope aspect and form is not significantly affected by SI. By comparison, the reliability of slope gradient is more susceptible to SI, especially if it is derived from a gently rolling terrain. Around 90% of the variation in the mapped slope aspect and gradient are accounted for by the inaccuracy of DEMs. A lower percentage exists for slope form. The stability of the mapped topographic variables can be reliably predicted from SI and terrain complexity.     

Landform classification from a digital elevation model and satellite imagery

The Iranian Soil and Water Research Institute has been involved in mapping the soils of Iran and classifying landforms for the last 60 years. However, the accuracy of traditional landform maps is very low (about 55%). To date, aerial photographs and topographic maps have been used for landform classification studies. The principal objective of this research is to propose a quantitative approach for landform classification based on a 10-m resolution digital elevation model (DEM) and some use of an Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image. In order to extract and identify the various landforms, slope, elevation range, and stream network pattern were used as basic identifying parameters. These are extractable from a DEM. Further, ASTER images were required to identify the general outline shape of a landform type and the presence or absence of gravel. This study encompassed a relatively large watershed of 451 183 ha with a total elevation difference of 2445 m and a variety of landforms from flat River Alluvial Plains to steep mountains. Classification accuracy ranged from 91.8 to 99.6% with an average of 96.7% based upon extensive ground-truthing. Since similar digital and ASTER image information is available for Iran, an accurate landform map can now be produced for the whole country. The main advantages of this approach are accuracy, lower demands on time and funds for field work and ready availability of required data for many regions of the world.     

Uncertainty modeling and analysis of surface area calculation based on a regular grid digital elevation model (DEM)

In the field of digital terrain analysis (DTA), the principle and method of uncertainty in surface area calculation (SAC) have not been deeply developed and need to be further studied. This paper considers the uncertainty of data sources from the digital elevation model (DEM) and SAC in DTA to perform the following investigations: (a) truncation error (TE) modeling and analysis, (b) modeling and analysis of SAC propagation error (PE) by using Monte-Carlo simulation techniques and spatial autocorrelation error to simulate DEM uncertainty. The simulation experiments show that (a) without the introduction of the DEM error, higher DEM resolution and lower terrain complexity lead to smaller TE and absolute error (AE); (b) with the introduction of the DEM error, the DEM resolution and terrain complexity influence the AE and standard deviation (SD) of the SAC, but the trends by which the two values change may be not consistent; and (c) the spatial distribution of the introduced random error determines the size and degree of the deviation between the calculated result and the true value of the surface area. This study provides insights regarding the principle and method of uncertainty in SACs in geographic information science (GIScience) and provides guidance to quantify SAC uncertainty.     

A comparison of techniques for calculating gradient and aspect from a gridded digital elevation model

Abstract

Digital elevation data spaced on a regular 30 m grid were generated over a region of moderate topography in south-east Australia. Six algorithms for calculating gradient and aspect from these data were compared. General linear regression models and the third-order finite difference methods were the most accurate.     

Reducing the grid orientation dependence of flow routing on square-grid digital elevation models

Topographical parameters derived from digital elevation models by employing flow routing algorithms may depend on the orientation of the square grid. Grid orientation dependence results from the insufficient isotropy of square grid and affects the flow directions and subsequent calculations based on flow routing. In this article, a systematic approach for analysing the rotational invariance of flow accumulation calculations is presented and applied. Computed flow accumulation maps are found to depend strongly on the grid orientation, especially if flow routing methods with low dispersion are used. It is also shown that isotropy of flow routing algorithms can be significantly improved by introducing a numerical parameter resulting in adjustable weighting for cardinal and diagonal directions in flow routing. The actual value of this parameter depends on the used flow routing method.     

Comparison of existing methods for building triangular irregular network,models of terrain from grid digital elevation models

Abstract

Triangulated irregular networks (TINs) are increasingly popular for their efficiency in data storage and their ability to accommodate irregularly spaced elevation points for many applications of geographical information systems. This paper reviews and evaluates various methods for extracting TINs from dense digital elevation models (DEMs) on a sample DEM. Both structural and statistical comparisons show that the methods perform with different rates of success in different settings. Users of DEM to TIN conversion methods should be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the methods in addition to their own purposes before conducting the conversion.     

Structural and topographic evolution of the central Transverse Ranges, California, from apatite fission-track, (U–Th)/He and digital elevation model analyses

Apatite fission‐track (FT) and (U–Th)/He analyses are used to constrain the low‐temperature thermal history of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains (SGM and SBM), which are part of the southern California Transverse Ranges. FT ages from 33 SGM samples range from 3 to 64 Ma. Helium ages, ranging from 3 to 43 Ma, were obtained from 13 of these samples: all of the He ages are the same or younger than their respective FT ages. FT ages from 10 SBM samples were older, ranging from 45 to 90 Ma. The FT and He data document at least three phases of cooling in the SGM, but only two in the SBM. Prior to ~7 Ma, the thermal history of the SGM appears to have been nearly identical to many of the core complexes in the Basin and Range of south‐eastern California: a major phase of cooling is indicated from ~60 to 40 Ma, with a more recent phase beginning at ~23 Ma and continuing until ~10 Ma. The similarity of this timing to that of core complexes suggests that the SGM also originated as a core complex, when the rocks were adjacent to the Chocolate–Orocopia Mountains, and that some of the range‐bounding faults were initially extensional. In the SBM, the two phases of cooling documented by the FT data occurred from ~65 to 55 Ma, and from ~18 Ma to the present. The timing on the second phase is very poorly constrained and, therefore, we do not speculate on the origin of the SBM. The most recent phase of cooling appears to have begun at ~7 Ma in the SGM, as the result of the onset of contractional deformation. A more accelerated phase of cooling may have begun at ~3 Ma. Distinct variations in the total amounts and rates of cooling between different fault‐bounded blocks within the SGM are documented since 7 Ma. We use these variations in cooling rates to calculate denudation rates, which are then compared to topographic characteristics for each structural block. These comparisons suggest that more rapid bedrock uplift in the eastern and southern part of the range has strongly affected the present‐day physiography. Despite a higher mean elevation, the SBM are much less dissected than the SGM, suggesting that the most recent phase of cooling and bedrock uplift began in the last 3 Myr, much later than the initiation of recent bedrock uplift in the SGM.     

A comparison of digital elevation models generated from different data sources

It can be challenging to accurately determine the topography of physically complex landscapes in remote areas. Ground-based surveys can be difficult, time consuming and may miss significant elements of the landscape. This study compares digital elevation models (DEMs) generated from three different data sources, of the physically complex Narran Lakes Ecosystem, a major floodplain wetland ecosystem in Australia. Topographic surfaces were generated from an airborne laser altimetry (LiDAR) survey, a ground-based differential GPS (DGPS) survey containing more than 20,000 points, and the 9″ DEM of Australia. The LiDAR- and DGPS-derived data generated a more thorough DEM than the 9″ DEM; however, LiDAR generated a surface topography that yielded significantly more detail than the DGPS survey, with no noticeable loss of elevational accuracy. Both the LiDAR- and the DGPS-derived DEMs compute the overall surface area and volume of the largest floodplain lake within the system to within 1% of each other. LiDAR is shown to be a highly accurate and robust technique for acquiring large quantities of topographic data, even in locations that are unsuitable for ground surveying and where the overall landscape is of exceptionally low relief. The results of this study highlight the potential for LiDAR surveys in the accurate determination of the topography of floodplain wetlands. These data can form an important component of water resource management decisions, particularly where environmental water allocations for these important ecosystems need to be determined.     

Automatic extraction of lineament information from satellite images using digital elevation data

Using conventional visual interpretation in lineament analysis presents two main problems. The first is subjectivity, introduced because of the bias of various interpreters. The second problem is that lineaments detected from satellite images are constrained by the direction of the illumination source. Since lineament identification mainly involves recognition of diagnostic morphological features, the use of digital elevation can contribute significant information about these features. Further, in generating images using digital elevation data, the direction of illumination can easily be controlled. Thus, the use of digital elevation data offers the possibility of revealing features not apparent in regular satellite images.We discuss a sequential line detection method for extraction of linear features from digital elevation data. In this method, raw elevation data is used for generating shaded relief images using the Lambertian reflection model, wherein the illumination direction is controlled by the user. The Directional Segment Detection Algorithm (DSDA) is used for detecting linear topographic features in user-defined trends. Locational information about these linear features is stored in the computer as coordinate pairs amenable to editing and subsequent analysis. Finally, three-dimensional terrain models are generated by combining the digital elevation data and satellite images. The experiments were carried out using digital elevation data of southwest Japan and Landsat MSS data.     

Methods for calculating glacier area and length in a mountainous area based on remote-sensing data and a digital elevation model

In a mountainous region, the glacier area and length extracted form the satellite imagery data is the projected area and length of the land surface, which can’t be representative of the reality; there are always some errors. In this paper, the methods of calculating glacier area and length calculation were put forward based on satellite imagery data and a digital elevation model (DEM). The pure pixels and the mixed pixels were extracted based on the linear spectral un-mixing approach, the slop of the pixels was calculated based on the DEM, then the area calculation method was presented. The projection length was obtained from the satellite imagery data, and the elevation differences was calculated from the DEM. The length calculation method was presented based on the Pythagorean theorem. For a glacier in the study area of western Qilian Mountain, northwestern China, the projected area and length were 140.93 km2 and 30.82 km, respectively. This compares with the results calculated by the methods in this paper, which were 155.16 km2 and 32.11 km respectively, a relative error of the projected area and length extracted from the LandSat Thematic Mapper (TM) image directly reach to -9.2 percent and -4.0 percent, respectively. The calculation method is more in accord with the practicality and can provide reference for some other object’s area and length monitoring in a mountainous region.     

Comparison of methods to model the gravitational gradients from topographic data bases

A number of methods have been developed over the last few decades to model the gravitational gradients using digital elevation data. All methods are based on second-order derivatives of the Newtonian mass integral for the gravitational potential. Foremost are algorithms that divide the topographic masses into prisms or more general polyhedra and sum the corresponding gradient contributions. Other methods are designed for computational speed and make use of the fast Fourier transform (FFT), require a regular rectangular grid of data, and yield gradients on the entire grid, but only at constant altitude. We add to these the ordinary numerical integration (in horizontal coordinates) of the gradient integrals. In total we compare two prism, two FFT and two ordinary numerical integration methods using 1" elevation data in two topographic regimes (rough and moderate terrain). Prism methods depend on the type of finite elements that are generated with the elevation data; in particular, alternative triangulations can yield significant differences in the gradients (up to tens of Eötvös). The FFT methods depend on a series development of the topographic heights, requiring terms up to 14th order in rough terrain; and, one popular method has significant bias errors (e.g. 13 Eötvös in the vertical–vertical gradient) embedded in its practical realization. The straightforward numerical integrations, whether on a rectangular or triangulated grid, yield sub-Eötvös differences in the gradients when compared to the other methods (except near the edges of the integration area) and they are as efficient computationally as the finite element methods.     

城市化水平与城市化速度的关系探讨——中国城市化速度和城市化水平饱和值的初步推断

从城市化水平的Logistic方程出发,推导出如下关系式:城市化速度最快时期的城市化水平=城市化水平的饱和值÷2,最大城市化速度=城乡人口增长率差×城市化水平的饱和值÷4。对概念的定义和方法的应用给出了限定和说明。借助美国1790¹960年的城乡人口普查数据验证了上述推导结果。利用上述关系分析了中国的城市化水平数据,结论是:2005年前后城市化速度达到峰值,由此判断中国的城市化水平饱和值为80%左右;2005年之后,中国的城市化水平增长速度在理论上应该减缓,在实际工作中不宜继续推动加速过程。     

Free satellite imagery and digital elevation model analyses enabling natural resource management in the developing world: Case studies from Eastern Indonesia

Decentralization of governance and natural resource management is an ongoing process in many parts of Africa and Asia. Natural resource management requires spatial land resource data for planning. However, currently the financial and human capacity for natural resource mapping, monitoring and modelling remains low in local governments. In this context, this paper explores how new opportunities provided by the increasing availability of free satellite imagery, digital elevation data and open source spatial analysis software, can be applied by local government and NGOs to conduct sophisticated natural resource mapping and modelling in ways that meet their needs and incorporates local knowledge. Reported are cases of a local government using free geospatial data and GIS software to improve evidence‐based natural resource management in the developing world with a focus on raster data applications for satellite image analysis and terrain modelling. It is argued that, through removing barriers to uptake, such applications provide a means of decentralizing landscape analysis skills to improve local natural resource management. This hypothesis is supported through examples of a local government applying these tools in eastern Indonesia, and within this context barriers to wider adoption are explored.     

Inferring erosional resistance of bedrock units in the east Tennessee mountains from digital elevation data

Measures of local relief, regional relief, and slope were calculated from digital elevation models (DEMs) for 50 bedrock units in the Ridge and Valley and Blue Ridge provinces of Tennessee. Each of these measures was normalized and the three were then averaged to produce the erosional resistance index (ERI). Bedrock units with higher ERI values include coarse clastics, intermediate clastics, and metaplutonics. Units with lower values include shales, limestones, limestones plus dolostones, and carbonates plus fine clastics. Dolostones tend to have intermediate values. The calculated ERI values were compared with subjective ratings by a geologist with decades of field experience in east Tennessee. Generally, the agreement between the two ratings was good, the most glaring exception being several shales with improbably high ERI values. These turned out to be thin units cropping out beneath very hard sandstones, allowing them to stand higher and steeper than would otherwise be possible. A systematic method for detecting such erroneously high ERI values is suggested. Inspection of a drainage map superimposed on the geology map shows that in a given area, streams tend to flow on rock units with the lowest ERI values. In addition, statistical analysis shows that bedrock units with the lowest ERI values are, on average, almost three times closer to the nearest stream and six times as likely to have streams flowing on them than are units with highest values. Further, the effect of ERI on stream location is strongest for streams with drainage areas between 1 and 30 km². Thus, small streams appear to be subject to greater lithologic control than are larger streams.     

资源约束下的三元函数区域增长模式

区域经济动力学的核心问题是区域增长,本文将资源要素引进生产函数,建立了资源约束下的三元区域增长模式,研究揭示:(1)模式不仅可以较好地模拟区域发展的不同阶段,还可以较客观地描写、预测区域发展与环境资源等区域因素的关系;(2)在区域经济(区域社会生产)这个经济“大木桶”里,起到主要约束作用的因素是资源,而不是通常备受关注的资金或管理因素;(3)资源指数越小越有利于区域资本的积累和社会生产总量的增加。     

Resolution and accuracy of terrain representation by grid DEMs at a micro-scale

This paper examines the impact of DEM resolution on the accuracy of terrain representation and of the gradient determined. The DEMs of three terrain types with diverse complexities were constructed from digitizing contours and then kriging. The accuracy (RMSE) of the DEMs was regressed against contour density (D) and DEM resolution (S) at six resolution levels. It is found that RMSE may be expressed as (7.274 1.666S)D/1000 with an R value of 0.9659. The representation accuracy decreases moderately at an intermediate resolution, but sharply at coarse resolutions for all three terrain types. Resolution reduction profoundly affects the gradient determined from the DEM. While exerting little influence on mean gradient, resolution significantly affects the standard deviation of gradient, especially for a simple terrain. The results obtained in this study may be used to determine the DEM resolution that is appropriate to the accuracy requirements of a particular user.