Desktop Exploration of Remote Terrain (DERT)
Software tool that utilizes a virtual world to visualize and navigate NASA digital elevation models.
digital elevation model↗
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Results for “Digital Elevation Model”
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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A Digital Tectonic Activity Map of the Earth
The subject of neotectonics, covering the structures and structural activity of the last 5 million years (i.e., post-Miocene) is a well-recognized field, including "active tectonics," focussed on the last 500,000 years in a 1986 National Research Council report of that title. However, there is a cartographic gap between tectonic maps, generally showing all features regardless of age, and maps of current seismic or volcanic activity. We have compiled a map intended to bridge this gap, using modern data bases and computer-aided cartographic techniques. The maps presented here are conceptually descended from an earlier map showing tectonic and volcanic activity of the last one million years. Drawn by hand with the National Geographic Society's 1975 "The Physical World" map as a base, the 1981 map in various revisions has been widely reproduced in textbooks and various technical publications. However, two decades of progress call for a completely new map that can take advantage of new knowledge and cartographic techniques. The digital tectonic activity map (DTM), presented in shaded relief (Fig. 1) and schematic (Fig. 2) versions, is the result. The DTM is intended to show tectonism and volcanism of the last one million years, a period long enough to be representative of global activity, but short enough that features such as fault scarps and volcanos are still geomorphically recognizable. Data Sources and Cartographic Methods The DTM is based on a wide range of sources, summarized in Table 1. The most important is the digital elevation model, used to construct a shaded relief map. The bathymetry is largely from satellite altimetry, specifically the marine gravity compilations by Smith and Sandwell (1996). The shaded relief map was designed to match the new National Geographic Society world physical map (1992), although drawn independently, from the digital elevation model. The Robinson Projection is used instead of the earlier Van der Grinten one. Although neither conformal nor equal-area, the Robinson Projection provides a reasonable compromise and retains useful detail at high latitudes.
Lowman, Paul↗
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission: A Global DEM
Digital topographic data are critical for a variety of civilian, commercial, and military applications. Scientists use Digital Elevation Models (DEM) to map drainage patterns and ecosystems, and to monitor land surface changes over time. The mountain-building effects of tectonics and the climatic effects of erosion can also be modeled with DEW The data's military applications include mission planning and rehearsal, modeling and simulation. Commercial applications include determining locations for cellular phone towers, enhanced ground proximity warning systems for aircraft, and improved maps for backpackers. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) (Fig. 1), is a cooperative project between NASA and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense. The mission is designed to use a single-pass radar interferometer to produce a digital elevation model of the Earth's land surface between about 60 degrees north and south latitude. The DEM will have 30 m pixel spacing and about 15 m vertical errors.
Farr, Tom G.↗
Characteristics of Forests in Western Sayani Mountains, Siberia from SAR Data
This paper investigated the possibility of using spaceborne radar data to map forest types and logging in the mountainous Western Sayani area in Siberia. L and C band HH, HV, and VV polarized images from the Shuttle Imaging Radar-C instrument were used in the study. Techniques to reduce topographic effects in the radar images were investigated. These included radiometric correction using illumination angle inferred from a digital elevation model, and reducing apparent effects of topography through band ratios. Forest classification was performed after terrain correction utilizing typical supervised techniques and principal component analyses. An ancillary data set of local elevations was also used to improve the forest classification. Map accuracy for each technique was estimated for training sites based on Russian forestry maps, satellite imagery and field measurements. The results indicate that it is necessary to correct for topography when attempting to classify forests in mountainous terrain. Radiometric correction based on a DEM (Digital Elevation Model) improved classification results but required reducing the SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) resolution to match the DEM. Using ratios of SAR channels that include cross-polarization improved classification and
Ranson, K. Jon↗
Northern Great Plains Disasters: Using Earth Observations to Enhance Flood Monitoring on Tribal Lands in the Northern Great Plains
In 2019, the Great Plains experienced unprecedented catastrophic flooding. Large flood events are predicted to increase in frequency and severity, posing risks to communities in this region, particularly Tribal Nations. We used data from Sentinel-1 C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (C-SAR), imagery from the Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI), and digital elevation models (DEMs) from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) within Google Earth Engine to map historical floods in the region beginning in 2014 with particular attention to the Rosebud Sioux Reservation and the tribal lands of other Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance members. This historical mapping used C-SAR for a combined method approach with a Z-score algorithm in addition to an index for flooded short vegetation. We also developed a flood risk map by weighting different flood predictor variables according to flood risk literature. These variables included soil drainage from the Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO); elevation, slope, and Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) derived from digital elevation models; precipitation from Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS); land cover from the National Land Cover Database (NLDC); and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI). From the flood extent and risk maps, we identified widespread flooding in short vegetation (including cropland) and noted flood susceptibility in regions exhibiting high social vulnerability and low community resilience (FEMA indices). We created an ArcGIS Online StoryMap to share project background, results, and data. Additionally, we provided a written tutorial so partners may replicate the flood mapping for future flood events.
Anna Ballasiotes↗
Characterization of ASTER GDEM Elevation Data over Vegetated Area Compared with Lidar Data
Current researches based on areal or spaceborne stereo images with very high resolutions (less than 1 meter) have demonstrated that it is possible to derive vegetation height from stereo images. The second version of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTER GDEM) is a state-of-the-art global elevation data-set developed by stereo images. However, the resolution of ASTER stereo images (15 meters) is much coarser than areal stereo images, and the ASTER GDEM is compiled products from stereo images acquired over 10 years. The forest disturbances as well as forest growth are inevitable in 10 years time span. In this study, the features of ASTER GDEM over vegetated areas under both flat and mountainous conditions were investigated by comparisons with lidar data. The factors possibly affecting the extraction of vegetation canopy height considered include (1) co-registration of DEMs; (2) spatial resolution of digital elevation models (DEMs); (3) spatial vegetation structure; and (4) terrain slope. The results show that accurate co-registration between ASTER GDEM and the National Elevation Dataset (NED) is necessary over mountainous areas. The correlation between ASTER GDEM minus NED and vegetation canopy height is improved from 0.328 to 0.43 by degrading resolutions from 1 arc-second to 5 arc-seconds and further improved to 0.6 if only homogenous vegetated areas were considered.
vegetation canopy↗
Assessment of Required Accuracy of Digital Elevation Data for Hydrologic Modeling
The effect of vertical accuracy of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) on hydrologic models is evaluated by comparing three DEMs and resulting hydrologic model predictions applied to a 7.2 sq km USDA - ARS watershed at Mahantango Creek, PA. The high resolution (5 m) DEM was resempled to a 30 m resolution using method that constrained the spatial structure of the elevations to be comparable with the USGS and SIR-C DEMs. This resulting 30 m DEM was used as the reference product for subsequent comparisons. Spatial fields of directly derived quantities, such as elevation differences, slope, and contributing area, were compared to the reference product, as were hydrologic model output fields derived using each of the three DEMs at the common 30 m spatial resolution.
HYDROLOGIC MODELS↗
New Constraints on the Volatile Deposit in Mercury’s North Polar Crater, Prokofiev
There is strong evidence from multi-wavelength, multi-instrument observations and thermal models for the presence of ice and other volatiles in Mercury’s north polar permanently shadowed regions (PSRs)[1-6]. Ground-based radar measurements identified bright regions in some polar craters interpreted to be water ice on or near the surface[1]. The MESSENGER spacecraft found that some radar-bright deposits appeared bright in the optical and near-infrared while others appeared dark[4-6]. The bright regions were interpreted to be exposed surface ice while the dark regions were hypothesized to be complex organic volatile lag deposits overlaying buried ice[3]. One example of the former is in the 112 km diameter crater, Prokofiev, for which the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) acquired broadband images while in Sun shadow but illuminated by scattered light from the crater walls[5]. These images revealed a relatively high-albedo region spatially correlated with the PSR. Subsequent work[7] found a small offset between the boundary of the radar-bright region and that of the PSR predicted by an illumination model based on the polar digital elevation model (DEM)from the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA). Such an offset, if true, could have implications for the ice properties and its delivery and destruction mechanisms. However, the low resolution (1 km/pix) of the polar MLA DEM precluded a definitive conclusion. In the present work, we build new higher-resolution topographic, illumination, and thermal models of Prokofiev to place stronger constraints on its PSR and volatile deposits. We also study the MLA reflectance data in this crater to quantitatively estimate the ice abundance.
Michael K Barker↗
Visualization of Elevation Models and Remote Sensing Imagery for Tectonic Analysis
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission is generating digital elevation models (DEMs) at 30 meters resolution and satellites such as Ikonos now acquire one-meter resolution imagery.
visualization elevation models remote sensing SRTM↗
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission: A Global DEM
Digital topographic data are critical for a variety of civilian, commercial, and military applications. Scientists use Digital Elevation Models (DEM) to map drainage patterns and ecosystems, and to monitor land surface changes over time.
Digital↗
Climate Change Adaptation Activities at the NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center, FL., USA
In 2010, the Office of Strategic Infrastructure and Earth Sciences established the Climate Adaptation Science Investigators (CASI) program to integrate climate change forecasts and knowledge into sustainable management of infrastructure and operations needed for the NASA mission. NASA operates 10 field centers valued at $32 billion dollars, occupies 191,000 acres and employs 58,000 people. CASI climate change and sea-level rise forecasts focus on the 2050 and 2080 time periods. At the 140,000 acre Kennedy Space Center (KSC) data are used to simulate impacts on infrastructure, operations, and unique natural resources. KSC launch and processing facilities represent a valued national asset located in an area with high biodiversity including 33 species of special management concern. Numerical and advanced Bayesian and Monte Carlo statistical modeling is being conducted using LiDAR digital elevation models coupled with relevant GIS layers to assess potential future conditions. Results are provided to the Environmental Management Branch, Master Planning, Construction of Facilities, Engineering Construction Innovation Committee and our regional partners to support Spaceport development, management, and adaptation planning and design. Potential impacts to natural resources include conversion of 50% of the Center to open water, elevation of the surficial aquifer, alterations of rainfall and evapotranspiration patterns, conversion of salt marsh to mangrove forest, reductions in distribution and extent of upland habitats, overwash of the barrier island dune system, increases in heat stress days, and releases of chemicals from legacy contamination sites. CASI has proven successful in bringing climate change planning to KSC including recognition of the need to increase resiliency and development of a green managed shoreline retreat approach to maintain coastal ecosystem services while maximizing life expectancy of Center launch and payload processing resources.
plant communities↗
Automatic DEM Generation Using Magellan Stereo Data
The Magellan radar instrument collected a large volume of radar stereo images during its two years of operation. In order to make full use of this data an automatic means of generating digital elevation models is required. Because of Magellan's unique orbital geometry and radar image formation algorithm a number of modifications to the standard stereo processing scheme are required. This paper outlines a stereo algorithm suitable for Magellan data.
magellan radar images radar stereo images digital ↗
Landslide Runout Analysis Using Remote Sensing for Lower and Upper Barun Lakes
Landslides are recognized as common triggers of glacial lake outburst floods in high mountain regions, but the remoteness of dangerous glacial lakes makes monitoring and disaster management very difficult. Using a very high resolution digital elevation model produced from a series of stereo satellite images, we simulate debris flows and rock avalanche runout around two very dangerous lakes in high mountain Nepal. We constrain particularly likely sources of these slope failures to simulate 79,800 potential debris flows and rock avalanches of volumes ranging from 1,000 m3 to 1,000,000 m3. This allowed us to identify zones in and around dangerous glacial lakes that are most exposed to landslide runout hazards, along with the most frequent source areas that produced landslides that may run into either of the two glacial lakes. Although our empirical-statistical model presented limitations that numerical models attempt to overcome, our probabilistic approach combined with a very high resolution DEM may shed new light on how to identify sources and impact areas of debris flows and rock avalanches that may cascade into downstream disasters.
landslides↗
Radar and Lidar Radar DEM
Using radar and lidar data, the aim is to improve 3D rendering of terrain, including digital elevation models (DEM) and estimates of vegetation height and biomass in a variety of forest types and terrains. The 3D mapping of vegetation structure and the analysis are useful to determine the role of forest in climate change (carbon cycle), in providing habitat and as a provider of socio-economic services. This in turn will lead to potential for development of more effective land-use management. The first part of the project was to characterize the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission DEM error with respect to ICESat/GLAS point estimates of elevation. We investigated potential trends with latitude, canopy height, signal to noise ratio (SNR), number of LiDAR waveform peaks, and maximum peak width. Scatter plots were produced for each variable and were fitted with 1st and 2nd degree polynomials. Higher order trends were visually inspected through filtering with a mean and median filter. We also assessed trends in the DEM error variance. Finally, a map showing how DEM error was geographically distributed globally was created.
remote sensing↗
PRODEM: An Annual Series of Summer DEMs (2019 through 2022) of the Marginal Areas of the Greenland Ice Sheet
Surface topography across the marginal zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet is constantly evolving in response to changing weather, season, climate, and ice dynamics. However, current digital elevation models (DEMs) for the ice sheet are usually based on data from a multi-year period, thus obscuring these changes over time. Here we present four 500 m resolution summer DEMs (PRODEMs) of the Greenland Ice Sheet marginal zone for 2019 through 2022. The PRODEMs cover the marginal zone from the ice edge to 50 km inland, hence capturing all Greenland outlet glaciers. Each PRODEM is based on data fusion of CryoSat-2 radar altimetry and ICESat-2 laser altimetry using regionally varying kriging of elevation anomalies relative to ArcticDEM. The PRODEMs are validated using leave-one-out cross-validation, and PRODEM19 is further validated against an external data set, showcasing their ability to correctly represent surface elevations within the associated spatially varying prediction uncertainties. We observe a general lowering of surface elevations during the 4-year PRODEM period, but the spatial pattern of change is highly complex and with annual changes superimposed. The PRODEMs enable detailed studies of the marginal ice sheet elevation changes. With their high spatio-temporal resolution, the PRODEMs will be of value to a wide range of researchers and users studying ice sheet dynamics and monitoring how the ice sheet responds to changing environmental conditions. PRODEMs from summer 2019 through 2022 are available at https://doi.org/10.22008/FK2/52WWHG (Winstrup, 2024), and we plan to annually update the product henceforth.
Digital Elevation Models↗
Converting Topographic Maps into Digital Form to Aid in Archeological Research in the Peten, Guatemala
The purpose of my project was to convert a topographical map into digital form so that the data can be manipulated and easily accessed in the field. With the data in this particular format, Dr. Sever and his colleagues can highlight the specific features of the landscape that they require for their research of the ancient Mayan civilization. Digital elevation models (DEMs) can also be created from the digitized contour features adding another dimension to their research.
Aldrich, Serena R.↗
Spectral analysis of the gravity and topography of Mars
New spherical harmonic models of the gravity and topography of Mars place important constraints on the structure and dynamics of the interior. The gravity and topography models are significantly phase coherent for harmonic degrees n less than 30 (wavelengths greater than 700 km). Loss of coherence below that wavelength is presumably due to inadequacies of the models, rather than a change in behavior of the planet. The gravity/topography admittance reveals two very different spectral domains: for n greater than 4, a simple Airy compensation model, with mean depth of 100 km, faithfully represents the observed pattern; for degrees 2 and 3, the effective compensation depths are 1400 and 550 km, respectively, strongly arguing for dynamic compensation at those wavelengths. The gravity model has been derived from a reanalysis of the tracking data for Mariner 9 and the Viking Orbiters, The topography model was derived by harmonic analysis of the USGS digital elevation model of Mars. Before comparing gravity and topography for internal structure inferences, we must ensure that both are consistently referenced to a hydrostatic datum. For the gravity, this involves removal of hydrostatic components of the even degree zonal coefficients. For the topography, it involves adding the degree 4 equipotential reference surface, to get spherically referenced values, and then subtracting the full degree 50 equipotential. Variance spectra and phase coherence of orthometric heights and gravity anomalies are addressed.
Bills, Bruce G.↗
New Geologic Map of the Scandia Region of Mars
We have begun work on a sophisti-cated digital geologic map of the Scandia region (Fig. 1) at 1:3,000,000 scale based on post-Viking image and to-pographic datasets. Through application of GIS tools, we will produce a map product that will consist of (1) a printed photogeologic map displaying geologic units and relevant modificational landforms produced by tectonism, erosion, and collapse/mass wasting; (2) a landform geoda-tabase including sublayers of key landform types, attributed with direct measurements of their planform and to-pography using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) altimetry data and High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) digital elevation models (DEMs) and various image datasets; and (3) a series of digital, reconstructed paleostratigraphic and paleotopographic maps showing the inferred distribution and topographic form of materi-als and features during past ages
Tanaka, K. L.↗