全球DEM现状

全球DEM主要有SRTM DEM，Global TanDEM-X DEM，ASTER GDEM V2， ASTER GDEM第一版数据，SRTM3数据，GMTED2010数据，博客对其进行了简单说明，并给出了下载链接。这里主要介绍前两种数据。

1 SRTM DEM

To date, three official versions of the SRTM DEM have been released with incremental improvements. While SRTM version 2 addressed delineation of water bodies, and was distributed with a spatial resolution of 90m, version 3 provided a global dataset with 30m resolution and was void-filled.
Other alternative and improved versions have been produced by other institutions (e.g. CGIAR).

1.1 SRTM Data Products

The level of processing and the resolution of the data will vary by SRTM data set.
SRTM Non-Void Filled elevation data were processed from raw C-band radar signals spaced at intervals of 1 arc-second (approximately 30 meters) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). This version was then edited or finished by the NGA to delineate and flatten water bodies, better define coastlines, remove spikes and wells, and fill small voids. Data for regions outside the United States were sampled at 3 arc-seconds (approximately 90 meters) using a cubic convolution resampling technique for open distribution.
SRTM Void Filled elevation data are the result of additional processing to address areas of missing data or voids in the SRTM Non-Void Filled collection. The voids occur in areas where the initial processing did not meet quality specifications. Since SRTM data are one of the most widely used elevation data sources, the NGA filled the voids using interpolation algorithms in conjunction with other sources of elevation data. The resolution for SRTM Void Filled data is 1 arc-second for the United States and 3 arc-seconds for global coverage.
SRTM 1 Arc-Second Global elevation data offer worldwide coverage of void filled data at a resolution of 1 arc-second (30 meters) and provide open distribution of this high-resolution global data set. Some tiles may still contain voids. Users should check the coverage map in EarthExplorer to verify if their area of interest is available. Please note that tiles above 50° north and below 50° south latitude are sampled at a resolution of 2 arc-second by 1 arc-second.
下载地址：
https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/

1.2 NASADEM Products (下一个版本)

The NASADEM is the latest and most likely, last version. This is also the only update with complete re-processing of the data from radar echo and telemetry.
这个数据在原始数据的基础上加入了很多辅助数据：
NASA ICESat/Geoscience Laser Altimeter (GLAS) surface elevation measurements
DEM cells derived from stereo optical methods using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data from the NASA Terra satellite…等等。
特点主要在于全球覆盖、1弧度秒分辨率（30米）。
NASADEM is a significant improvement over the available three-arcsecond SRTM DEM primarily because it will provide a global DEM and associated products at one-arcsecond spacing. ASTER GDEM is available at one-arcsecond spacing but has true spatial resolution generally inferior to SRTM one-arcsecond data and has much greater noise problems that are particularly severe in tropical (cloudy) areas. At one-arcsecond, NASADEM will be superior to GDEM across almost all SRTM coverage areas, but will integrate GDEM and other data to extend the coverage. Meanwhile, DEMs from the German Tandem-X mission are being developed as part of a public-private partnership. However, these data must be purchased and are not redistributable. NASADEM will be the finest resolution, global, freely-available DEM products for the foreseeable future.

1.3 SRTM 90m Digital Elevation Database v4.1

The Consortium for Spatial Information (CGIAR-CSI) of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) is offering post-processed 3-arc second DEM data for the globe.
The SRTM 90m DEM’s have a resolution of 90m at the equator, and are provided in mosaiced 5 deg x 5 deg tiles for easy download and use. All are produced from a seamless dataset to allow easy mosaicing.
下载地址:
Official download interface (multiple 5 degree tiles): http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org/SELECTION/inputCoord.asp
Bulk download: Request here
Download interface in Chinese: http://srtm.datamirror.csdb.cn/search.jsp
Google Earth interface (1 and 5 degree tiles): http://www.ambiotek.com/srtm
Resampled data (250m, 500m, and 1 km): https://goo.gl/6sFVwC

1.4 SRTM X of DLR

What is the difference between the DEMs from the USA and the DEMs from Germany?
A: Two independent radar instruments were used in the SRTM mission: the U.S. SIR-C and the German-Italian X-SAR.

• SIR-C records in C-band at 2.2 GHz. These DEMs are coded following the DTED-1-Standard and have a resolution of 3 arcsec. The SIR-C-DEMs are also known as “90m DEMs”.
• X-SAR records in X-band at 8.8 GHz. The coding standard in this case is DTED-2; the resolution is 1 arcsec.

While NASA recorded the entire land surface with its radar system at an altitude precision of +/- ten meters, DLR generated for a smaller land area an elevation model with a precision of +/- six meters.
下载地址:
https://centaurus.caf.dlr.de:8443/eoweb-ng/template/default/welcome/entryPage.vm

1.5 精度问题

SRTM 的 高 程 基 准 采 用 EGM96(Earth GravitationalModel 96) 水准面 , 高程坐标单位为米 , 平面基 准 采 用 WGS84 大 地 基 准 、 平 面 坐 标采用 经 纬 度. SRTM 标 称 的 绝 对 高 程 精 度 为16m(LE90), 相对高程精度为 10m(LE90), 绝对平面精度为 20m(CE90), 相对平面精度为15m(CE90).

First assessments of SRTM accuracy reported overall errors of ~8m based on global GPS transects and point measurements. Relative accuracy, the ability to detect and map small scale changes on the surface elevation, was ~7m.

文献中对NASADEM的精度进行了初步评估：A fit with a slope of 1.0 was found and a small bias of about 10cm. The final RMS error was 2.3m which is significantly better than the original assessments

国内外众多机构和学者已经对全球范围 SRTM 数据精度开展了广泛的 研 究 和 验 证 , 结 果 表 明 ,SRTM 的 高程精度与地形类型存在较强的相关性 , 在高程较小的平坦地区其高程精度较高 , 中误差甚至可以优于 ２~６m，而在山地 、 高山地等高程起伏较大区域 的 精 度 相 对 较 差 , 但 也 至 少 优 于 其 标 称精度。

2 TanDEM-X DEM

The German high-resolution radar satellites TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X have been acquiring interferometric SAR data over the last 4 years for the TanDEM-X mission. From the acquired data a homogeneous and highly accurate global DEM is being generated.
目前精度、覆盖率和分辨率等方面的验证结果都好于预期。
This global DEM is specified with 2 m relative height accuracy at a 12 m posting.

The relative height accuracy of final DEMs from Tan-DEM-X are specified to meet a linear point-to-point accuracy of 2 m (4 m) with a 90% confidence level for flat (steep) terrain within a geocell. It has been shown in this paper that 14,963 out of the available 15,154 geocells thus processed fulfill the relative height accuracy speci-
fication.
The final DEM product shall demonstrate an absolute height accuracy of no more than 10 meter with a 90% linear error. It has been shown in this paper that the available DEM reach a level of absolute height accuracy on the order of one meter using more than 12 million ICESat validation points.

And finally, the TanDEM-X data set is specified with a global data coverage of at least 97% over land. It has been shown that the TanDEM-X DEM data currently exceeds this with an extremely low void percentage of 0.08% of the thus far processed geocells which corre-sponds to a data coverage of over 99.9% and well above
the mission requirement.

Starting from February 2016 TanDEM-X mission is dedicated to HDEM acquisitions for even higher accuracies products and to acquisitions for further DEM improvements. Thanks to the still high availability of resources and good performance of the two satellites, the mission is planned to continue for the next few years.
目前没有公开下载，不过可以申请。

3 精度评价

评价方法：
主要有两种：与已知（高）精度的DEM数据进行比对；利用GPS测量点进行检查。

评价标准：
关注的点主要有：resolution, coverage, and accuracy。

The quality of a DEM can be quantified by the following accuracy parameters: absolute horizontal, absolute vertical, and relative vertical accuracy. The horizontal accuracy represents the accuracy ofthe planimetric coordinates (latitude and longitude). The absolute vertical accuracy encloses all effects of systematic and random errors in elevation. The relative height accuracy is important for derivative products using the local differences between neighboring elevation values, for instance slope, aspect calculations and drainage networks. It incorporates only the random errors and within a given area should be much better than the absolute vertical accuracy.

LE90和 CE90是美国摄影测量界常用的高程和平面精度表示方法 , 表示90％的高程和平面误差不超过精度数值.
the accuracy Circular Error 90% (CE90) and Least Error (LE90) horizontal to vertical accuracy, means that the position error does not exceed the value of the base map accuracy with 90% confidence level.
CE90 and LE90 value obtained by the following formula:
CE90 = 1.5175 x RMSEr
LE90 = 1.6499 x RMSEz
** RMSE = Root Mean Square Error at position
SRTM 标 称 的 绝 对 高 程 精 度 为16m(LE90), 相对高程精度为10m(LE90), 绝对平面精度为20m(CE90), 相对平面精度为15m(CE90)。 将其换算为我国常用的以中误差形式表达的几何精度 , 则SRTM标称的绝对高程精度为10m(１σ),相对高程精度为6m(１σ), 绝对平面精度为12m(１σ), 相对平面精度为9m(１σ)。

注意：
精度与地形特点有关，如果是InSAR方式得到的数据，还与地物特点有关。
There are several factors that affect the accuracy of DEM, for instance, the resolution and the shape of the earth’s surface.
In forested areas, the coherence estimation is artificially deteriorated due to volume decorrelation and consequently the relative height accuracy is also deteriorated

4 其他

global measurements of topography from the ICESat’s Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS).
The ICESat/GLAS, a spaceborne laser altimeter, acquired about 1.9 billion measurements between 2003 and 2009. It recorded full return waveforms enabling measurements of elevation as well as forest canopy height within its 70 meter footprint. The altimeter provided discrete measurements along its orbit track every 172m in cloud-free conditions and with separations of tens of kilometers between tracks. Nonetheless, the large amount of data proved sufficient to cover all SRTM’s elevation measurements. Thus, GLAS data is the ideal dataset to assess and even improve the SRTM DEM.

TanDEM-X data数据处理中也用到了该数据。
Wecklich C, Gonzalez C, Braeutigam B, et al. Height Accuracy and Data Coverage Status of the Global TanDEM-X DEM[C]//EUSAR 2016: 11th European Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar, Proceedings of. VDE VERLAG GmbH, 2016: 1-4.
这篇文献中是这样评价TanDEM数据的：
The absolute height accuracy of the TanDEM-X data will be globally validated using the ICESat points that have not already been utilized in the calibration process to evaluate the difference between ICESat and TanDEM-X data。
我的疑问是ICESat的精度本身有多高呢？文中确实提到在某些区域，这样的精度评价是不合适的。因为the TanDEM-X radar system penetrating much deeper into the ice sheet than the Laser based ICESat system.

5 参考文献

https://earthdata.nasa.gov/community/community-data-system-programs/measures-projects/nasadem
http://www.cgiar-csi.org/data/srtm-90m-digital-elevation-database-v4-1
http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/
http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10081/151_read-19509/year-all/#/gallery/24516
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_720f853f0101c4a5.html