Original paper
Characterization of Arctic Surface Morphology by Means of Intermediated TanDEM-X Digital Elevation Model Data
Ullmann, Tobias; Büdel, Christian; Baumhauer, Roland
Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, Supplementary Issues Volume 61 Supplementary Issue 1 (2017), p. 3 - 25
published: Apr 1, 2017
DOI: 10.1127/zfg_suppl/2016/0332
ArtNo. ESP023106101001, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the TanDEM-X Mission (TDX) is the first InSAR de- rived elevation model that offers a pan-Arctic coverage: This data are likely to become the standard for applications that deal with the area-wide characterization and classification of periglacial – respectively Arctic – surface morphology, topography, or hydrography. The final global DEM dataset will offer so far unrivaled vertical and horizontal accuracies and a geometric resolution of approximately twelve meters. The contribution highlights the high quality of the elevation data: A comparison of TDX intermediate DEM data of the Mackenzie Delta Region and laser altimeter data of NASA's ICEsat mission indicated that the mean vertical difference between both datasets was about +0.25 meter, with a standard deviation of 1.5 meter and a Root Mean Square Error of 1.4 meter. The study exemplarily highlights the positive impact of Non-Local Means filtering on the removal of small scale topographic variations caused by the speckle effect. The data were found to be of high value for the recognition and identification of mesoscale and upper microscale landform features. However, the spatial resolution was insufficient to characterize features of the micro topography, such as ice wedge polygons, or hummocky ground.
Keywords
radar • digital elevation model • surface morphology • arctic • dem • tandem-x • sar