Volumetric Obscurance as a New Tool to Better Visualize Relief from Digital Elevation Models
The use of digital elevation models (DEMs) has become much more widespread in recent years, thanks to technological developments that facilitate their creation and availability. To exploit these data, a set of processing techniques has been developed to reveal the characteristic structures of the re...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/4/941 |
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| author | Tanguy Rolland Fabrice Monna Jean François Buoncristiani Jérôme Magail Yury Esin Benjamin Bohard Carmela Chateau-Smith |
| author_facet | Tanguy Rolland Fabrice Monna Jean François Buoncristiani Jérôme Magail Yury Esin Benjamin Bohard Carmela Chateau-Smith |
| author_sort | Tanguy Rolland |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The use of digital elevation models (DEMs) has become much more widespread in recent years, thanks to technological developments that facilitate their creation and availability. To exploit these data, a set of processing techniques has been developed to reveal the characteristic structures of the relief. This paper presents a new method based on the volumetric approach, and two derivatives. These methods are evaluated on three DEMs at different resolutions and scales: a freely accessible DEM from JAXA DEM covering part of North-East Tanzania, a DEM corresponding to rock art in Siberia, and a DEM of an archaeological Bronze Age funeral structure. Our results show that with the volumetric approach, concave and convex areas are clearly visible, with contrast marking slope breaks, while the overall relief is attenuated. Furthermore, the use of volume reduces the impact of noise, which can occur when processing is based on sky visibility (e.g., sky-view factor or positive openness) or second derivatives. Finally, the volumetric approach allows the implementation of a vertical exaggeration factor, the result of which will enhance the particular characteristics of the landscape. The present study comes with a standalone executable program for Windows, a QGIS plugin, and the scripts written in Python, including GPU compute capability (via CUDA) for faster processing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:08:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-07000cdd433b47d0a4fe54f7d172188c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:08:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-07000cdd433b47d0a4fe54f7d172188c2023-11-23T21:54:31ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-02-0114494110.3390/rs14040941Volumetric Obscurance as a New Tool to Better Visualize Relief from Digital Elevation ModelsTanguy Rolland0Fabrice Monna1Jean François Buoncristiani2Jérôme Magail3Yury Esin4Benjamin Bohard5Carmela Chateau-Smith6ARTEHIS, UMR CNRS 6298, Université de Bourgogne–Franche Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, Bat. Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, FranceARTEHIS, UMR CNRS 6298, Université de Bourgogne–Franche Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, Bat. Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, FranceBiogéosciences UMR CNRS 6282, Université de Bourgogne–Franche Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, Bat. Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, FranceMusée d’Anthropologie préhistorique de Monaco, 56 bis, boulevard du Jardin exotique, 98000 Monte Carlo, MonacoKhakassian Research Institute for Language, Literature and History, 23, Shchetinkina Street, 655017 Abakan, RussiaCadoles, 29 bis rue de l’Arquebuse, 21000 Dijon, FranceCPTC, EA4178, Université de Bourgogne–Franche Comté, 4, boulevard Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, FranceThe use of digital elevation models (DEMs) has become much more widespread in recent years, thanks to technological developments that facilitate their creation and availability. To exploit these data, a set of processing techniques has been developed to reveal the characteristic structures of the relief. This paper presents a new method based on the volumetric approach, and two derivatives. These methods are evaluated on three DEMs at different resolutions and scales: a freely accessible DEM from JAXA DEM covering part of North-East Tanzania, a DEM corresponding to rock art in Siberia, and a DEM of an archaeological Bronze Age funeral structure. Our results show that with the volumetric approach, concave and convex areas are clearly visible, with contrast marking slope breaks, while the overall relief is attenuated. Furthermore, the use of volume reduces the impact of noise, which can occur when processing is based on sky visibility (e.g., sky-view factor or positive openness) or second derivatives. Finally, the volumetric approach allows the implementation of a vertical exaggeration factor, the result of which will enhance the particular characteristics of the landscape. The present study comes with a standalone executable program for Windows, a QGIS plugin, and the scripts written in Python, including GPU compute capability (via CUDA) for faster processing.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/4/941digital elevation model (DEM)relief mappingvisualizationvolumetric approachdata processing |
| spellingShingle | Tanguy Rolland Fabrice Monna Jean François Buoncristiani Jérôme Magail Yury Esin Benjamin Bohard Carmela Chateau-Smith Volumetric Obscurance as a New Tool to Better Visualize Relief from Digital Elevation Models Remote Sensing digital elevation model (DEM) relief mapping visualization volumetric approach data processing |
| title | Volumetric Obscurance as a New Tool to Better Visualize Relief from Digital Elevation Models |
| title_full | Volumetric Obscurance as a New Tool to Better Visualize Relief from Digital Elevation Models |
| title_fullStr | Volumetric Obscurance as a New Tool to Better Visualize Relief from Digital Elevation Models |
| title_full_unstemmed | Volumetric Obscurance as a New Tool to Better Visualize Relief from Digital Elevation Models |
| title_short | Volumetric Obscurance as a New Tool to Better Visualize Relief from Digital Elevation Models |
| title_sort | volumetric obscurance as a new tool to better visualize relief from digital elevation models |
| topic | digital elevation model (DEM) relief mapping visualization volumetric approach data processing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/4/941 |
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