Vertical accuracy assessment of freely available digital elevation models over low-lying coastal plains

The frequency of coastal flood damages is expected to increase significantly during the twenty-first century as sea level rises in the coastal floodplain. Coastal digital elevation model (DEM) data describing coastal topography are essential for assessing future flood-related damages and understanding the impacts of sea-level rise. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTER GDEM) are currently the most accurate and freely available DEM data. However, an accuracy assessment specifically targeted at DEMs over low elevation coastal plains is lacking. The present study focuses on these areas to assess the vertical accuracy of SRTM and ASTER GDEM using Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite, Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (ICESat/GLAS) and Real Time Kinematic (RTK) Global Positioning System (GPS) field survey data. The findings show that DEM accuracy is much better than the mission specifications over coastal plains. In addition, optical remote sensing image analysis further reveals the relationship between DEM vertical accuracy and land cover in these areas. This study provides a systematic approach to assess the accuracy of DEMs in coastal zones, and the results highlight the limitations and potential of these DEMs in coastal applications.     

Determination of the Current System on Isopycnal Surface Between Mindanao and New Guinea from GDEM

1 .INTRODUCTIONThewesternequatorialPacific ,particularlythesouthernmostPhilippineSea ,wascalled“watermasscrossroads”byFineetal.(1 994 )duetotheconfluencethereofseveralwatermassesfromhigherlatitudesofbothhemispheres (Wyrtki,1 96 1 ;Fineetal.,1 994 ) .Fineetal.(1 994 )de picted (Fig .1 )majorcurrentsintheIndonesianregion .AfterencounteringthewesternboundaryalongthePhilippinecoast,theNorthEquatorialCur rent (NEC)bifurcatesintothenorthwardflowingKuroshioandthesouthwardflowingMindanao…     

SRTM1 DEM与ASTER GDEM V2数据的对比分析

本文以山西省为实验区,基于ICESat/GLA14测高数据对SRTM1 DEM和ASTER GDEM V2数据的垂直精度进行了对比,分析了其在坡度、土地利用类型和地貌类型中的误差分布情况,并基于地形剖面方法分析了2种DEM数据在地形表达上的差异。研究结果表明：① 在垂直精度上,SRTM1 DEM数据要明显高于ASTER GDEM V2数据,其绝对误差均值分别为4.0 m和7.8 m,标准偏差分别为6.0 m和10.7 m,均方根误差分别为6.1 m和10.7 m。② 这2种DEM数据的精度受坡度影响严重,随坡度值的升高误差增大;SRTM1 DEM的绝对误差均值、标准偏差和均方根误差在水田最小,在林地最大,而ASTER GDEM V2的这3种误差在居民用地最小,在林地最大;SRTM1 DEM 和ASTER GDEM V2的绝对误差均值、标准偏差和均方根误差在平原地区最小,在大起伏山地最大。③ 在平原和台地地区,ASTER GDEM V2数据高程值有异常波动,SRTM1 DEM在起伏山地存在对山谷过高估计。总体上,SRTM1 DEM比ASTER GDEM V2对地形的表达准确,与ICESat/GLA14对地形的描述基本相一致。     

Morphometric analysis of aeolian bedforms in the Namib Sand Sea using ASTER data

The ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) has made elevation data at 30 m spatial resolution freely available, enabling reinvestigation of morphometric relationships derived from limited field data using much larger sample sizes. These data are used to analyse a range of morphometric relationships derived for dunes (between dune height, spacing, and equivalent sand thickness) in the Namib Sand Sea, which was chosen because there are a number of extant studies that could be used for comparison with the results. The relative accuracy of GDEM for capturing dune height and shape was tested against multiple individual ASTER DEM scenes and against field surveys, highlighting the smoothing of the dune crest and resultant underestimation of dune height, and the omission of the smallest dunes, because of the 30 m sampling of ASTER DEM products. It is demonstrated that morphometric relationships derived from GDEM data are broadly comparable with relationships derived by previous methods, across a range of different dune types. The data confirm patterns of dune height, spacing and equivalent sand thickness mapped previously in the Namib Sand Sea, but add new detail to these patterns. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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 (<1 m) 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 the state-of-the-art global elevation data-set developed by stereo images. However, the resolution of ASTER stereo images (15 m) 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 the accurate coregistration between ASTER GDEM and 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-second and further improved to 0.6 if only homogenous vegetated areas were considered.     

基于ASTER GDEM数据的青藏高原东部山区地形起伏度分析

以青藏高原东部山区为研究区,基于高空间分辨率的ASTER GDEM数据,通过AML语言编程调用ArcGIS中用于邻域分析的focal函数,计算不同邻域尺度单元下地形起伏度。研究表明:邻域尺度单元大小对地形起伏度计算至关重要,起伏度值先随邻域尺度单元面积增大而快速增大,当邻域尺度单元面积达一定阈值后,其增大速度开始减缓并趋于平稳,且在增速减慢过程中存在一明显拐点,即最佳邻域尺度单元。通过高差显著性变化检验法,确定最佳邻域尺度单元为5.0625km2,据此制作地形起伏度分级图,发现研究区自西北向东南地形起伏度逐步增加,地势以中度起伏(200～500m)为主。     

基于MapGIS的土方量估算

应用Google Earth中提取的DEM,SRTM,以及ASTER-GDEM 3种公开免费使用的DEM数据,将这3种数据进行格式转换、坐标转换等预处理后,在MapGIS中对某一给定范围及处理高程的区域进行了挖填方估算,对原始DEM和设计DEM均实现了可视化显示。本文为各种工程项目设计阶段的工程量快速概算提供了指导意义。     

GDEM数据格式转换

目前,GDEM数据是覆盖范围较广、分辨率较高的全球数字高程模型数据。它为诸多涉及地理信息的学科和领域提供了精确的地形信息。本文通过对ASTER GDEM数据的Geo TIFF格式的分析与研究,实现了从GeoTIFF数据格式向Arc GIS的grid格式及NSDTF_DEM格式数据的转换,并实现了Virtuo Zo_DEM,CNSDTF_DEM,grid三种DEM数据的相互转换,最后基于Surfer软件对GDEM数据进行了应用实验。     

基于RTK的高程数据对比分析

以内蒙古扎赉特旗吉日根林场为研究区,通过采集区内高精度的RTK高程数据作为参考,比较区域内的Google Earth、SRTM-1和ASTER GDEM V2高程数据的垂直精度。研究结果表明,Google Earth和ASTER GDEM V2数据在地形起伏度小的区域有明显抖动。坡度与地貌不同时,SRTM-1数据的绝对均值误差、标准差和均方根误差均较小。相较而言,SRTM-1表达地形更为准确,和采集的RTK实验点基本相同。     

Seasonal Variability in the Kuroshio Extension Current System

Based on the GDEM hydrographic data with a resolution of 0.5°×0.5°, the current system (Kuroshio south of Japan and Kuroshio Extension east of Japan) is determined by using the P-Vector Method, and its seasonal variability is investigated. The Kuroshio Meander south of Japan, the two lee-wave meanders in the Kuroshio Extension and the bifurcation of the Kuroshio Extension are properly presented. The path of the Kuroshio Meander, the position of the second (east) meander in the Kuroshio Extension and the bifurcation of the Kuroshio Extension display evident seasonal variation.