Vertical accuracy assessment of open access digital elevation models: Bucaramanga-Colombia case study
Abstract
Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), are fundamental data that allow to represent topographic information continuously. They are widely used in various applications such as geoscience, and in the graphical representation of the landscape surface. Performing the analysis by using DEMs in which the real shape of the surface is adjusted, this would contribute significantly in obtaining their results as we would be approaching the actual occurrence of the object of study in the landscape. Currently, several global DEMs are freely available. However, various investigations have produced different results, so there are uncertainties as to which model is more appropriate for some areas. In that sense, the research was aimed at comparing the vertical accuracy of four DEMs in the city of Bucaramanga using central tendency statistical methods such as mean analysis, standard deviation and root mean squared error. As a result, the model that showed the best vertical accuracy was the one generated by the Advanced Land Observation Satellite program – Synthetic Aperture Radar and X-band Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, with a root mean squared error of 8.22 and 8.55 m respectively. Moreover, the one that best represented the shape of the landscape was the X-band Shuttle Radar Topography Mission X model.
Keyword : vertical uncertainty, digital surface model, accuracy assessment, Free DEM comparison
How to Cite
Aponte Saravia, J. (2022). Vertical accuracy assessment of open access digital elevation models: Bucaramanga-Colombia case study. Geodesy and Cartography, 48(1), 36–45. https://doi.org/10.3846/gac.2022.14266
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Wessel, B., Huber, M., Wohlfart, C., Marschalk, U., Kosmann, D., & Roth, A. (2018). Accuracy assessment of the global TanDEM-X Digital Elevation Model with GPS data. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 139, 171–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2018.02.017
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Yahaya, S. I., & Azzab, D. E. (2019). Vertical accuracy assessment of global digital elevation models and validation of gravity database heights in Niger. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 40(20), 7966–7985. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2019.1607982
Alganci, U., Besol, B., & Sertel, E. (2018). Accuracy assessment of different digital surface models. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 7(3), 114.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi7030114
American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. (2015). ASPRS positional accuracy standards for digital geospatial data. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 81(3), A1–A26. https://doi.org/10.14358/PERS.81.3.A1-A26
Dowling, T. I., Brooks, M., & Read, A. M. (2011, December). Continental hydrologic assessment using the 1 second (30 m) resolution Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission DEM of Australia. In 19th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation. Perth.
Emeis, S., & Knoche, H. R. (2009). Applications in meteorology. In T. Hengl & H. Reuter (Eds.), Developments in soil science: Vol. 33. Geomorphometry – concepts, software, aplications (pp. 603–622). Elsevier.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-2481(08)00026-3
Farr, T. G., Rosen, P. A., Caro, E., Crippen, R., Duren, R., Hensley, S., Kobrick, M., Paller, M., Rodriguez, E., Roth, L., Seal, D., Shaffer, S., Shimada, J., Umland, J., Werner, M., Oskin, M., Burbank, D., & Alsdorf, D. (2007). The shuttle radar topography mission. Reviews of Geophysics, 45(2), 1–33.
https://doi.org/10.1029/2005RG000183
Florinsky, I. (2016). Digital terrain modeling: A brief historical overview. In Digital terrain analysis in soil science and geology (2nd ed.). Elsevier Inc.
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804632-6.00001-8
Florinsky, I., Skrypitsyna, T., & Luschikova, O. (2018). Comparative accuracy of the AW3D30 DSM, ASTER GDEM, and SRTM1 DEM: A case study on the Zaoksky testing ground, Central European Russia. Remote Sensing Letters, 9(7), 706–714. https://doi.org/10.1080/2150704X.2018.1468098
German Space Agency. (2020a). Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM product. Retrieved December 2022, from https://geoservice.dlr.de/resources/licenses/srtm_xsar/DLR_SRTM_XSAR_ReadMe.pdf
German Space Agency. (2020b). The SRTM X-SAR digital elevation model. Retrieved December 2020, from https://geoservice.dlr.de/web/dataguide/srtm/#further_information_mission
González-Moradas, M., & Viveen, W. (2020). Evaluation of ASTER GDEM2, SRTMv3.0, ALOS AW3D30 and TanDEM-X DEMs for the Peruvian Andes against highly accurate GNSS ground control points and geomorphological-hydrological metrics. Remote Sensing of Environment, 237, 111509.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2019.111509
Grohmann, C. H. (2018) Evaluation of TanDEM-X DEMs on selected Brazilian sites: Comparison with SRTM, ASTER GDEM and ALOS AW3D30. Remote Sensing of Environment, 212, 121–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.04.043
Ibrahim Yahaya, S., & El Azzab, D. (2019). Vertical accuracy assessment of global digital elevation models and validation of gravity database heights in Niger. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 40(20), 7966–7985. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2019.1607982
Jelaska, S. D. (2009). Vegetation mapping applications. In T. Hengl & H. Reuter (Eds.), Developments in soil science: Vol. 33. Geomorphometry – concepts, software, aplications (pp. 481–496). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-2481(08)00021-4
Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (2021). U.S. releases enhanced shuttle land elevation data. California Institute of Technology. Retrieved January 2021 from https://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/
Li, Z., Zhu, C., & Gold, C. (2005). Digital terrain modeling: Principles and methodology. CRC Press.
Martha, T. R., Kerle, N., Jetten, V., van Westen, C. J., & Kumar, K. V. (2010). Characterising spectral, spatial and morphometric properties of landslides for semi-automatic detection using object-oriented methods. Geomorphology, 116(1–2), 24–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2009.10.004
Mölg, N., Ceballos, J. L., Huggel, C., Micheletti, N., Rabatel, A., & Zemp, M. (2017). Ten years of monthly mass balance of conejeras glacier, colombia, and their evaluation using different interpolation methods. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 99(2), 155–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/04353676.2017.1297678
Mukul, M., Srivastava, V., Jade, S., & Mukul, M. (2017). Uncertainties in the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) heights: Insights from the Indian Himalaya and Peninsula. Scientific Reports, 7, 41672. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep41672
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (2015). The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) collection user guide. Retrieved June 2015, from https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/documents/179/SRTM_User_Guide_V3.pdf
O’Loughlin, F. E., Paiva, R. C., Durand, M., Alsdorf, D. E., & Bates, P. D. (2016). A multi-sensor approach towards a global vegetation corrected SRTM DEM product. Remote Sensing of Environment, 182, 49–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2016.04.018
Rodríguez, E., Morris, Ch. S., & Belz, J. E. (2006). A Global assessment of the SRTM performance. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 72(3), 249–260. https://doi.org/10.14358/PERS.72.3.249
Sánchez Rodríguez, L. (2003). Determinación de la superficie vertical de referencia para Colombia [Master’s Thesis]. Technische Universitat Dresden. https://www.igac.gov.co/sites/igac.gov.co/files/modelogeoidalgeocol2004:pdf
Sanchez Rodriguez L. (2004). Aspectos Prácticos de la Adopción del Marco Geocéntrico Nacional de Referencia MAGNA SIRGAS como datum oficial de Colombia (Tech. Rep.). Subdirección de Geografía y Cartografía. Instituto Geografico Agustin Codazzi. https://www.igac.gov.co/sites/igac.gov.co/files/aspectospracticos.pdf
Sharma, A., Tiwari, K., & Bhadoria, P. (2010). Vertical accuracy of digital elevation model from Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission – a case study. Geocarto International, 25(4), 257–267. https://doi.org/10.1080/10106040903302931
Tadono, T., Ishida, H., Oda, F., Naito, S., Minakawa, K., & Iwamoto, H. (2014). Precise global DEM generation by ALOS PRISM. ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 2(4), 71–76. https://www.aw3d.jp/wp/wp-content/themes/AW3DEnglish/technology/doc/pdf/technology_03.pdf
Tadono, T., Takaku, J., Ohgushi, F., Doutsu, M., & Kobayashi, K. (2017). Updates of ‘AW3D30’ 30 M-MESH global digital surface model dataset. In IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) (pp. 5656–5657). https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS.2017.8128290
Takaku, J., Tadono, T., & Tsutsui, K. (2014). Generation of high-resolution global DSM from ALOS PRISM. ISPRS Annals of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing & Spatial Information Sciences, 2(4), 243–248. https://www.aw3d.jp/wp/wp-content/themes/AW3DEnglish/technology/doc/pdf/technology_02.pdf
Vaka, D. S., Kumar, V., Rao, Y., & Deo, R. (2019, July). Comparison of various DEMs for Height accuracy assessment over different terrains of India. In IGARSS 2019 – 2019 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (pp. 1998–2001). Yokohama, Japan. https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS.2019.8898492
Wechsler, S. P. (2007). Uncertainties associated with digital elevation models for hydrologic applications: A review. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 11(4), 1481–1500. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-11-1481-2007
Wessel, B., Huber, M., Wohlfart, C., Marschalk, U., Kosmann, D., & Roth, A. (2018). Accuracy assessment of the global TanDEM-X Digital Elevation Model with GPS data. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 139, 171–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2018.02.017
Wilson, J. P., & Gallant, J. C. (Eds.) (2000). Terrain analysis: Principles and applications. Wiley.
Yahaya, S. I., & Azzab, D. E. (2019). Vertical accuracy assessment of global digital elevation models and validation of gravity database heights in Niger. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 40(20), 7966–7985. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2019.1607982