Uncertainty Analysis of Digital Elevation Models by Spatial Inference From Stable Terrain
The monitoring of Earth’s and planetary surface elevations at larger and finer scales is rapidly progressing through the increasing availability and resolution of digital elevation models (DEMs). Surface elevation observations are being used across an expanding range of fields to study to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IEEE
2022-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9815885/ |
| _version_ | 1811319866519453696 |
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| author | Romain Hugonnet Fanny Brun Etienne Berthier Amaury Dehecq Erik Schytt Mannerfelt Nicolas Eckert Daniel Farinotti |
| author_facet | Romain Hugonnet Fanny Brun Etienne Berthier Amaury Dehecq Erik Schytt Mannerfelt Nicolas Eckert Daniel Farinotti |
| author_sort | Romain Hugonnet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The monitoring of Earth’s and planetary surface elevations at larger and finer scales is rapidly progressing through the increasing availability and resolution of digital elevation models (DEMs). Surface elevation observations are being used across an expanding range of fields to study topographical attributes and their changes over time, notably in glaciology, hydrology, volcanology, seismology, forestry, and geomorphology. However, DEMs frequently contain large-scale instrument noise and varying vertical precision that lead to complex patterns of errors. Here, we present a validated statistical workflow to estimate, model, and propagate uncertainties in DEMs. We review the state-of-the-art of DEM accuracy and precision analyses, and define a conceptual framework to consistently address those. We show how to characterize DEM precision by quantifying the heteroscedasticity of elevation measurements, i.e., varying vertical precision with terrain- or sensor-dependent variables, and the spatial correlation of errors that can occur across multiple spatial scales. With the increasing availability of high-precision observations, our workflow based on independent elevation data acquired on stable terrain can be applied almost anywhere on Earth. We illustrate how to propagate uncertainties for both pixel-scale and spatial elevation derivatives, using terrain slope and glacier volume changes as examples. We find that uncertainties in DEMs are largely underestimated in the literature, and advocate that new metrics of DEM precision are essential to ensure the reliability of future land elevation assessments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T12:49:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-05f07df6da20441aacf403202c263d9d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2151-1535 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T12:49:51Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-05f07df6da20441aacf403202c263d9d2022-12-22T02:46:15ZengIEEEIEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing2151-15352022-01-01156456647210.1109/JSTARS.2022.31889229815885Uncertainty Analysis of Digital Elevation Models by Spatial Inference From Stable TerrainRomain Hugonnet0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0955-1306Fanny Brun1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6607-0667Etienne Berthier2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5978-9155Amaury Dehecq3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5157-1183Erik Schytt Mannerfelt4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9146-557XNicolas Eckert5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1880-8820Daniel Farinotti6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3417-4570LEGOS, Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, UPS, Toulouse, FranceIGE, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble INP, Grenoble, FranceLEGOS, Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, UPS, Toulouse, FranceLaboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zürich, Zürich, SwitzerlandLaboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zürich, SwitzerlandUniversité Grenoble Alpes, INRAE, UR ETNA, Grenoble, FranceLaboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zürich, SwitzerlandThe monitoring of Earth’s and planetary surface elevations at larger and finer scales is rapidly progressing through the increasing availability and resolution of digital elevation models (DEMs). Surface elevation observations are being used across an expanding range of fields to study topographical attributes and their changes over time, notably in glaciology, hydrology, volcanology, seismology, forestry, and geomorphology. However, DEMs frequently contain large-scale instrument noise and varying vertical precision that lead to complex patterns of errors. Here, we present a validated statistical workflow to estimate, model, and propagate uncertainties in DEMs. We review the state-of-the-art of DEM accuracy and precision analyses, and define a conceptual framework to consistently address those. We show how to characterize DEM precision by quantifying the heteroscedasticity of elevation measurements, i.e., varying vertical precision with terrain- or sensor-dependent variables, and the spatial correlation of errors that can occur across multiple spatial scales. With the increasing availability of high-precision observations, our workflow based on independent elevation data acquired on stable terrain can be applied almost anywhere on Earth. We illustrate how to propagate uncertainties for both pixel-scale and spatial elevation derivatives, using terrain slope and glacier volume changes as examples. We find that uncertainties in DEMs are largely underestimated in the literature, and advocate that new metrics of DEM precision are essential to ensure the reliability of future land elevation assessments.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9815885/Error propagationGeostatisticsRandomRemote sensingSurface heightSystematic |
| spellingShingle | Romain Hugonnet Fanny Brun Etienne Berthier Amaury Dehecq Erik Schytt Mannerfelt Nicolas Eckert Daniel Farinotti Uncertainty Analysis of Digital Elevation Models by Spatial Inference From Stable Terrain IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing Error propagation Geostatistics Random Remote sensing Surface height Systematic |
| title | Uncertainty Analysis of Digital Elevation Models by Spatial Inference From Stable Terrain |
| title_full | Uncertainty Analysis of Digital Elevation Models by Spatial Inference From Stable Terrain |
| title_fullStr | Uncertainty Analysis of Digital Elevation Models by Spatial Inference From Stable Terrain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Uncertainty Analysis of Digital Elevation Models by Spatial Inference From Stable Terrain |
| title_short | Uncertainty Analysis of Digital Elevation Models by Spatial Inference From Stable Terrain |
| title_sort | uncertainty analysis of digital elevation models by spatial inference from stable terrain |
| topic | Error propagation Geostatistics Random Remote sensing Surface height Systematic |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9815885/ |
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