Accuracy assessment of automatically derived digital elevation models from aster data in mountainous terrain

Abstract

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) aboard the Terra satellite was designed to generate along‐track stereo images. The data are available at low cost, providing a feasible opportunity for generating digital elevation models (DEMs) in areas where little or no elevation data are yet available. This study evaluates the accuracy of DEMs extracted from ASTER data covering mountainous terrain. For an assessment of the achieved accuracies in the Andean study site, comparisons were made to similar topographical conditions in Switzerland, where reference data were available. All raw DEMs were filtered and interpolated by the post‐processing tools included with PCI Geomatica, the software package used. After carefully checking the DEM quality, further post‐processing was undertaken to eliminate obvious artefacts such as peaks and sinks. Accuracy was tested by comparing the DEMs in the Swiss Alps to three reference models. The achieved results of the generated DEMs are promising, considering the extreme terrain. Given accurate and well‐distributed ground control points (GCPs), it is possible to generate DEMs with a root mean square (RMS) error between 15 m and 20 m in hilly terrain and about 30 m in mountainous terrain. The DEMs are very accurate in nearly flat regions and on smooth slopes with southern expositions: errors are generally within ±10 m in those cases. Larger errors do appear in forested, snow covered or shady areas and at steep cliffs and deep valleys with extreme errors of a few hundred metres. The evaluation showed that the quality of the DEMs is sufficient for enabling atmospheric, topographic and geometric correction to various satellite datasets and for deriving additional products.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr E. Meier, RSL for providing the DoSAR surface model and giving valuable advice on evaluating the DEMs; Sarmap s.a. for providing the ERS SAR surface model and the Swiss Federal Office for Topography for providing the DHM25 sheets 1168, 1286 and 1306 (© L+T (BD012163)). Many thanks go to the fieldwork team in Patagonia. It was conducted by Dr J. Lencinas, A. Siebert de Lencinas and staff of CIEFAP, Esquel. For assistance with ASTER‐specific questions Dr A. Kääb of the Department of Geography, University of Zürich and Dr P. Cheng of PCI Inc. were supportive. Special thanks are due to Dr K. Schmid.