Quality Assessment of Digital Elevation Models in a Treeless High-Mountainous Landscape
A Case Study from Mount Aragats, Armenia
Abstract
Global Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are widely employed in geoarchaeology. Usually, their adequacy for particular landscapes is not tested. We assessed 30m-resolution-DEMs (ASTER, SRTM, ALOS, EU-DEM, NASADEM, NEXTMap) with local precision datasets. Our results reveal considerable differences (ASTER unsuitable for the region, NEXTMap and EU-DEM fit most closely to our reference model). This outcome does not necessarily apply to all similar regions. It rather stresses the need for a check of DEMs’ quality in any given study area, and it encourages the use of detailed topographic visualisations of DEMs in absence of suitable reference data.
Submitted: Jan. 15, 2021 | Accepted: May 5, 2021 | Published June 30, 2021 | Language: en
Keywords GIS • Comparison • Spatial analysis • 30m resolution DEMs • Evaluation • Landscape archaeology • RMSE
Subtags Geo-referenced data Monuments Technology Communication Analysis 3d data Modelling Visualisation Environment
Copyright © 2021 Pavol Hnila, Julia Elicker. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/mag/2724-3923/2021/03/003