ArcticDEM
ArcticDEM is an NGA-NSF public-private initiative to automatically produce a high-resolution, high quality, digital surface model (DSM) of the Arctic using optical stereo imagery, high-performance computing, and open source photogrammetry software.
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Overview
Purpose
The ArcticDEM project is a response to the need for high quality elevation data in remote locations, the availability of technology to process big data, and the need for accurate measurement of topographic change.
The producers did not intend for the final product as a single “eyes on” or edited product, but rather a collection of time-dependent elevation models and the infrastructure to process the flow of imagery from an ever-expanding constellation of satellites producing an ever-increasing volume of high-quality data.
Source
ArcticDEM data is constructed from in-track, high-resolution (~0.5 meter) imagery acquired by the DigitalGlobe constellation of optical imaging satellites and licensed through the NGA NextView contact.
The majority of ArcticDEM data was generated from the panchromatic bands of the WorldView-1, WorldView-2, and WorldView-3 satellites. A small percentage of data was also generated from the GeoEye-1 satellite sensor.
Domain
Upon completion, ArcticDEM will encompass all land area north of 60°N. In addition, coverage will include all territory of Greenland, the State of Alaska in entirety, and the Kamchatka Peninsula of the Russian Federation.
The project commences with Alaska and will continue to other regions in the Arctic on a continual basis. The ArcticDEM initiative is expected to create a comprehensive elevation model of the Arctic within the two-year term of the U.S. chairmanship of the Arctic Council, which began in April of 2015.
Processing
ArcticDEM data is generated by applying stereo auto-correlation techniques to overlapping pairs of high-resolution optical satellite images.
Using the Surface Extraction from TIN-based Searchspace Minimization (SETSM) software, developed by M.J. Noh and Ian Howat at the Ohio State University, stereopair images are processed to Digital Elevation Models using compute resources provided by the Blue Waters supercomputer located at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Output
Output DEM raster files are being made available as both “strip” files as they are output directly from SETSM and preserve the original source material temporal resolution, as well as mosaic files that are compiled from multiple strips that have been co-registered, blended, and feathered to reduce edge-matching artifacts.
The time-dependent nature of the strip DEM files allows users to perform change detection analysis and to compare observations of topography data acquired in different seasons or years. The mosaic DEM tiles are assembled from multiple strip DEMs with the intention of providing a more consistent and comprehensive product over larger areas.
Current Release
Release 6
ArcticDEM Release 6 completes the outstanding geographic regions of the ArcticDEM production domain. High resolution terrain data is now available for an additional 32% of the Arctic, including the Russian far eastern federal districts, European Russia, and Scandinavia north of 60°N latitude. Production enhancements include improved filtering to preserve coastlines and better resolve densely-forested areas that are subject to seasonal variation.
Release 6 adds 21,751 strip DEM components at 2 meter resolution to the ArcticDEM inventory, with an additional 2,875 mosaic tiles at 5 meter resolution.
RELEASE HISTORY
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RELEASE 1
- v1.0: Alaska
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RELEASE 2
- v1.0: Novaya Zemlya (Russia) and Franz Josef Land (Russia)
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RELEASE 3
- v2.0: Alaska, Novaya Zemlya (Russia), Franz Josef Land (Russia), Baffin Island (Canada), Svalbard (Norway), and Iceland
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RELEASE 4
- v2.0 Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia), Canadian archipelago islands within Nunavut and the Northwest Territories (Canada), Faroe Islands, and northern and western regions of Greenland
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RELEASE 5
- v2.0 Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Nunavut (Canada), Northern Siberia (Russia), and central and southeastern regions of Greenland
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RELEASE 6 (CURRENT)
- v2.0 Siberia (Russia), Scandinavia
ArcticDEM Strips
Strip DEM files correspond to the overlapping area of the input stereopair image swaths as they are collected by DigitalGlobe’s constellation of polar-orbiting satellites. Strip DEM dimensions will vary according to the satellite sensor that acquired the images and the off-nadir angle of collection. Most strips are between 16 km and 18 km in width, and 110 km and 120 km in length.
Strip DEM files are provided at 2-meter spatial resolution in 32-bit GeoTIFF format. Elevation units are meters and are referenced to the WGS84 ellipsoid. Strip DEM files include metadata text files describing the xyz offsets to filtered IceSAT altimetry data, although these translations have not been applied to the DEM files.
ArcticDEM Mosaic
Mosaicked DEM files are compiled from from the best quality strip DEM files which have been blended and feathered to reduce void areas and edge-matching artifacts. Filtered IceSAT altimetry data has been applied to the raster files to improve absolute accuracy.
Mosaicked DEM files are distributed in 50 km x 50 km sub-tiles. Mosaicked DEMs are provided at 5-meter spatial resolution in 32-bit GeoTIFF format. Elevation units are meters and are referenced to the WGS84 ellipsoid.
STATISTICS
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TILES
- 2,462
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SUB-TILES
- 9,036
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AREA
- 22,590,000 km2
DOWNLOAD
ArcticDEM Tile Index (Esri Shapefile)
Documentation
Refer to these guides for official ArcticDEM information& citation.
Explore Data
ArcticDEM Explorer
Esri has developed an online web mapping application to explore ArcticDEM data. The full-resolution ArcticDEM strips and mosaics are presented in this web map to quickly preview and explore the elevation data. With this web map, users can visualize the ArcticDEM data, preview the spatial coverage, and download simple exports.
The ArcticDEM Explorer is the best way to preview the datasets if no GIS or remote sensing software is available or you simply want to explore the entire dataset quickly.
Bulk Download
Use the links below to browse the directory for the entire ArcticDEM dataset. Refer to the documentation to see the directory structure, naming schemes, and download contents.
HTTP: http://data.pgc.umn.edu/elev/dem/setsm/ArcticDEM
FTP: ftp://ftp.data.pgc.umn.edu/elev/dem/setsm/ArcticDEM
Users familiar with the GNU Wget utility can use the following commands to batch download ArcticDEM data.
Please note, the first two commands will download the entire archive, which is over 50 TB for geocells and 2 TB for mosaics. Use the subdirectory examples to limit your download.
2-meter strips
wget -r -N -nH -np -R index.html* --cut-dirs=3 http://data.pgc.umn.edu/elev/dem/setsm/ArcticDEM/geocell
5-meter MOSAIC TILES
wget -r -N -nH -np -R index.html* --cut-dirs=3 http://data.pgc.umn.edu/elev/dem/setsm/ArcticDEM/mosaic
2-meter strips (subdirectory example)
wget -r -N -nH -np -R index.html* --cut-dirs=3 http://data.pgc.umn.edu/elev/dem/setsm/ArcticDEM/geocell/v2.0/n55e155
5-meter MOSAIC TILES (subdirectory example)
wget -r -N -nH -np -R index.html* --cut-dirs=3 http://data.pgc.umn.edu/elev/dem/setsm/ArcticDEM/mosaic/v2.0/15_27
Windows users may have to add “wget” to PATH in Environment Variables.
GIS Layers
ArcticDEM can be accessed via web mapping services provided by Esri. The raster elevation data (strips and tiles) are served via an Esri Image Service. We also provide an Esri ArcGIS Online Feature Service for the ArcticDEM mosaic tile scheme (no raster elevation included in this).
The GIS layers can be used directly in desktop GIS software. The links below provide URLs to the web services and instructions for how to add and use the data in ArcGIS. Visit the ArcGIS Online item page(s) to download connection files or the indexes in many GIS formats (Esri shapefile, GDB, etc.). For other GIS software packages, consult the documentation.
ArcGIS Online Item: http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=db38a951a2b643478a942ab22cd78fc6
ImageService URL: http://elevation2.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/Polar/ArcticDEM/ImageServer
Esri Help: Using an ImageService
Press
Video
Podcasts
Articles
- Gogeomatics Canada: CCMEO’s Elevation Data Revolution: Part 2 ArcticDEM development (4/4/2018)
- AGU EOS: Map Provides High-Resolution Look at Nearly Entire Arctic Region (10/24/2017)
- NGA Pathfinder Magazine: Mapping the Arctic from the sky (8/21/2017)
- Esri Blog: Arctic Elevation updated with new, high-resolution data (6/6/2017)
- ArcticDEM Project has now mapped more than 65 percent of the Arctic (6/2/2017)
- White House: New elevation map details Alaska like never before (9/1/2016)
- NSF, NGA release first unclassified digital elevation models of Alaska (9/1/2016)
- University of Minnesota-led project releases 3-D elevation maps of Alaska for White House Arctic Initiative (9/1/2016)
- National Geographic: Alaska has finally been mapped as precisely as Mars (9/1/2016)
- Blue Waters supercomputer used to create 3D elevation models for White House Arctic Initiative (9/1/2016)
- NSF, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency support development of new Arctic Maps (9/2/2016)
- Esri: GIS makes the picture clearer on climate change (9/6/2016)