Digital Elevation Model (DEM)

Processing
Advanced Remote Sensing for Department of Mineral Resources of Thailand
Organized by GIS Application Center, AIT
18-19 September 2003
Dr. HONDA Kiyoshi
honda@ait.ac.th
Space Technology Applications and Research, School of Advanced Technologies
Technologies
Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand

Introduction
Digital Elevation Models or DEMs are increasingly becoming
the focus of attention within the larger realm of digital
topographic data due to the fundamental nature of the data,
and knowledge to the data they represent. The precision of
DEM in simulating the true terrestrial parameters of elevation,
slope and aspect improved significantly the quality and caliber
of knowledge in numerous applications in earth, environmental
and engineering sciences.
Researches/applications where quality topographic data are
needed benefited so much on the data that DEMs have
provided in the past, and still, in the future as DEM accuracy
and acquisition techniques are further improved, and become
cheaply available for the scientific and engineering community.

Lecture Outline
1. Overview of DEM
Why DEM is important
DEM Applications
Structure of DEM
How to produce DEM
ASTER DEM

2. DEM Processing
Removing sinks
Calculation of slope
Slope direction (Aspect)

Lecture Outline
Grid/Flow Accumulation
Stream Order

3. Application to flood
Runoff models, Lumped, Distributed
Unit hydrograph and its applications
Rationale Approach for peak runoff rate
Curve Number (CN) Method for runoff volume

4. Discussions

1. Overview of DEM

What is a DEM?
A DEM provides a digital representation of a portion of the
earth
earths surface terrain over a two dimensional surface
(UNEP/GRID)
A DEM is an ordered array of numbers that represents the
spatial distribution of elevations above some arbitrary
datums in the landscape (Meijerink et al., 1994)
A DEM is a digital file consisting of terrain elevations for
ground positions at regularly spaced horizontal intervals
(USGS definition)
Keyword: only elevation data

DEM vs. DTM

Digital Terrain Model (DTM) is a representation of terrain
information using discrete sampled digital values, like
slope, aspect, etc.
DEM only represents the elevation data.

Aerial Photograph

Watershed

Contour Lines

Sample of DEM

Digital Elevation Model

Why DEM is important?

DEM provides the basis in modeling and analysis of
spatiospatio-topographic information.

RESULTS

INPUT

SYSTEM

MODEL
OUTPUT

DEM Applications
Civil Engineering: cut and fill in road design, site planning,
volumetric calculations in dams and reservoirs etc.
Earth Sciences: for modeling, analysis and interpretation
of terrain morphology e.g. drainage basin delineation,
hydrological
runmodeling,
geomorphological
run-off
simulation and classification, geological mapping etc.
Planning and resource management:
site location,
support of image classification in RS, geometric and
radiometric correction in RS images, erosion potential
models, crop suitability studies, pollution dispersion
modeling etc.

Surveying and Photogrammetry:

Photogrammetry: in building high quality
contours, used in survey or photogrammetric data capture
and subsequent editing, orthophoto production, data
quality assessment and topographic mapping.
Military Applications: intervisibility analysis for battlefield
management, 33-D display for weapons guidance systems
and flight simulation, and radar line of sight analyses

3D Example for Military or Airline

Industry Applications

Structure of DEM

Line model => describes the elevation of terrain by contours (stored

as digital line graphs, DGLs),
DGLs), the x,y coordinate pairs along each
contours of specified elevation (see example)

GRID structure=>elevation
structure=>elevation data are stored in an array of grids.
Data structure of a GRID shares much similarity with the file
structure of computers: as two dimensional array (every point can
can
be assign to a row and column). This similarity of storage
structures, the topological relations between the data points are
are
recorded implicitly. THIS streamlines information processing and
and
algorithm development (see example)

Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN)=>a

(TIN)=>a network of interconnected
triangles with irregularly spaced nodes or observation points with
with
x,y coordinates and z values. Advantage over GRID is its ability
ability to
generate more information in areas of complex relief, and avoiding
avoiding
the problem of gathering a lot o redundant data from areas of
simple relief (see example)

Contour Lines

Grid DEM

TIN DEM

Delauney Triangulation

How to produce DEM?

Existing Contour Map
Aerial Photograph
Satellite
Optical Remote Sensing
SAR Synthetic Aperture Radar (Interferometry
(Interferometry))

Existing Contours
Procedure
Digitize
Scan
Label the contour lines
Assign contour ID
Label contour line by elevation
Create TIN: by triangulation
Create GRID/lattice: by interpolation, e.g. spline,
spline,
kriging etc.

Aerial Photograph
By photogrammetric methods based on stereo aerial
photography:
Using the relation between stereo parallax and object
elevation in the scene for orthogonal and central
projection imagery.

10

p2
h=

p1

B f
p

1
1
h = hB hA = B f
pb pa
p : parallax

hA

hB

pa

pb

A
h

B
Relation between stereo parallax and object elevation

Stereo aerial photograph

11

Optical Satellite Remote Sensing

Satellite STEREO PAIR
A stereo pair is a set of two images of the same terrain
acquired from two different view angles. The view angles are
optimally adjusted to get maximum overlap.The relief
displacement from the stereo pair is used to extract third
dimension . This is done through computational based parallax
error between the images. Therefore the images should not
have undergone any manipulations such as geometric
corrections. Height information derived from stereo pairs is
more detailed than that derived from contour map.
http://www.nrsa.gov.in/engnrsa/services/stereo1.html

12

http://www.nrsa.gov.in/engnrsa/services/stereo1.html

SAR - Interferometry

13

RADAR Measurement

Geometry of Interferometric SAR

14

Processing chain for generation of interferometric fringes and coherence

Example of interferometric fringes with average coherence 0.5.

Rectified height model

Filtered interferometric fringes

Synthetic interferometric fringes

Existing height model

http://www.geo.unizh.ch/rsl/fringe96/papers/herland/

Example, Mapping Mayon Volcano,

Albay,
Albay, Philippines

15

Interferogram 1996

Phase unwrapped image 1996

Flattened Interferogram 1996

INSAR DEM with 160-meter cycle

16

3D image view using INSAR DEM

Shuttle Radar
Topography
Mission (SRTM)
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm

17

Topographic data improvement

18

Somewhere in Japan

Somewhere in Japan

19

ASTER DEM

Product Description
The ASTER Digital Elevation Model is a product that is generated from a
pair of ASTER Level 1A images. This Level 1A input includes bands 3N
(nadir) and 3B (aft-viewing) from the Visible Near Infra-Red telescope's
along-track stereo data that is acquired in the spectral range of 0.78 to
0.86 microns. ASTER DEMs can be generated either with or without
ground control points (GCPs). An Absolute DEM is created with GCPs
that are supplied by an end-user who has requested the product. These
DEMs have an absolute horizontal and vertical accuracy of up to 7
meters with appropriate GCPs and up to 10 meters without GCPs.
Alternatively, a Relative DEM can also be generated without GCPs.
These DEMs can be used to derive absolute slope and slope aspect
which is good up to 5 degrees over a horizontal distance of over 100
meters. ASTER DEMs are expected to meet map accuracy standards for
scales from 1:50,000 to 1:250,000.
These ASTER DEMs are produced upon customer requests made
through
the
On
Demand
Processing
Request
form
(http://e0ins02u.ecs.nasa.gov:10800). ASTER DEMs are unique in that
they are the only on-demand product that are archived in ECS. You may
search and order all previously requested DEM products through the
EOS Data Gateway (http://edcimswww.cr.usgs.gov/pub/imswelcome/).
http://edcdaac.usgs.gov/aster/ast14dem.html

20

EDG Data Set Name

ASTER Digital Elevation Model
Granule Shortname
AST14DEM
Data Set Characteristics
Area = ~60 km x 60 km
Image Dimensions = 2500 rows x 2500 columns
Input Image Resolution: 15 meters
Output Image Resolution: 30 meters
File Size = ~25 MB
Data Type = 32-bit real
Valid Ranges = (-)2,147,483,648 to (+)2,147,483,648
Vgroup Data Fields = 1

http://edcdaac.usgs.gov/aster/ast14dem.html

Sample of ASTER DEM

Adapted from Terrainmap.com

21

2. DEM Processing

DEM Processing
Removing Sinks
Calculation of Slope
Slope Direction (Aspect)
GRID Accumulation (Flow Accumulation)
Stream Order

22

Sink
Sinks are potholes in DEM. They can be natural in occurrence such
such as
ravine etc in the landscape but most likely they are errors in interpolation
interpolation
or data preparation/acquisition

Filled SINK

SINK

There are many algorithms available to fill the sink, e.g. Honda (1992)

Slope of a surface
r
z = ( 0,0,1)
r
n = ( a, b,1)

y
x

b y z = 0

rur
zn
cos = r uur =
zn

z
x
z
b=
y

a=

uur r r r
z n = z n cos

r
y = ( 0, y, z )

ax z = 0

r r
nx = 0
r r
ny = 0

r z z
,
,1
n =
x y

1
2

z z

+ +1
x y

2
2
1 cos 2
1

z z
tan =
=
+ + 1 1

2
2
cos
x y
z + z + 1
x y

r
x = ( x,0, z )

THEREFORE
2

z z
SlopeSurface =
+
x y

2
2

z + z
2
2
x y
z z
=
+1
+

2
2
x y
z z

x + y + 1

23

Slope

z
x
z
Slope y =
y

Slope in y

Slope in x
Re
su
lta
nt
Sl

op
e

Slope x =

SlopeR =

(Slope ) + (Slope )
2

For 3 x 3 pixels, the slope at the center pixel is calculated as:

as:

10

20

25

22

30

25

20

24

18

30 m

z 25 10 25 22 18 20
=
+
+
/ 3 = 0.0889
x 60 60 60
z 10 20 20 24 25 18
=
+
+
/ 3 = 0.0389
y 60 60 60

Slopee =

( 0.0889 ) + ( 0.0389 )
2

= 0.0967

24

Example of slope

Aspect
Aspect is expressed in degrees from north, clockwise, from 0 to 360. Due
north is 0, due east is 90, 180 is due south and 270 is due west.
west. 361 is
used to define flat surfaces such as water bodies.

y
b
z

r
n

tan =

a x
=
b y

x 180
= tan 1
y

x
a
if x and y = 0, then the aspect is flat,
otherwise, aspect=180+ .

25

Example of aspect

Slope/flow direction
8

2
3

4
5

Determine the steepest descent from

the 8 possible directions

26

Example flow direction

Flow accumulation
watershed

Flow direction
vector

27

Example flow accumulation

Example delineated watershed

28

Stream Order
1

1
1

1
2 2

2
2

1
1

2
3

Strahler Ordering

Example of Stream Network

29

2. Applications to Flood

Application to Flood
The Hydrologic Cycle and Runoff
RainfallRainfall-Runoff Models
Lumped, Distributed Model
Rationale Approach for peak runoff rates
CN Method for runoff volume
Unit hydrograph, definitions and applications

30

Hydrologic Cycle
From Maidment (1993)

Hyetograph and hydrograph

From Chow et al. (1988)

31

RAINFALL-RUNOFF MODELS
MODEL

INPUT

e.g. CN
MethodOUTPUT
SYSTEM

Lumped Model

average slope
RESULTS
average
CN value
etc.

Distributed Model
2D (e.g. Mike 21)

2D

3D

MODEL
a SYSTEM
3D (e.g.
MikeofSHE)

Advantages/Disadvantages
Lumped
- easy to calculate
- can
cant evaluate all possible
scenarios
Distributed
- powerful in scenario analyses e.g
setting of boundary conditions etc.
- computational time is high
- parameterization is difficult

32

Peak Runoff Rate

Rate of rainfall and runoff

Rainfall rate, i

C=q/i

I
0.77
Tc =q 0.0195L
= 0.0028CiA
Sg 0.385

Peak runoff rate

3/s
the peak
runoff
Q rate, mmin
Tcq- time
of concentration,
runoff coefficient
LC
maximum
length of flow, m
i

rainfall
intensity,
mm/h
Sg watershed gradient,
m/m
A watershed area, ha

Tc

Time

Rational Method

Curve Number (CN) Method

CN=f(landuse
CN=f(landuse,, AMC)

Rainfall

f(CN)

Excess
rainfall

Pe = P Ia Fa
P
Ia
Runoff

Fa

Pe

Abstraction
Deep infiltration

33

Runoff Volume
The hypothesis of the
SCS method is that the
ratios of the two actual
(Fa, Pe) and the potential
quantities (S, P-Ia) are
equal

Precipitation rate

Fa
P
= e
S P Ia

P = Pe + Ia + Fa

Pe
Ia

Continuity
Equation

P total precipitation
Pe excess rainfall
Ia initial abstraction
Fa continuing abstraction
S potential maximum retention

Fa
Time

SCS-CN Method

Depth of Runoff
Pe =

(P I )

P Ia + S

Ia = 0.2S
Therefore:

Pe =

(P I )

P + 0.8S

34

Cumulative direct Runoff (in)

CN=100
impervious and
water surfaces

U
10 rban
0%

Go
o

Fo

re
st

Cumulative Rainfall (in)

Graphical Solution of the SCS runoff Equation

CN(II)

Group A: Deep sand, deep loess, aggregated silts

Group B: Shallow loess, sandy loam
Group C: Clay loams, shallow sandy loam, soils low in organic
content and soils usually high in clay
Group D: Soils that swell significantly when wet, heavy plastic clays
and certain saline soils.

35

S=

1000
10 (inches)
CN(II)

Classification of antecedent moisture classes for the

SCSSCS-CN method
AMC Group
I
II
III

Total 5-day antecedent rainfall (in)

Dormant Season
Growing Season
Less than 0.5
Less than 1.4
0.5-1.1
1.4-2.1
Over 1.1
Over 2.1

CN(I) =

4.2CN(II)
10 0.058CN(II)

CN(III) =

23CN(II)
10 + 0.13CN(II)

Precipitation=4.5 inches

DEM
Forest, 55%
CN=77

From RS

Agriculture,
30%
CN=88

Residential,
15%
CN=79

CNWatershed=80.6

S=(1000/80.6)10=2.41 inches
Pe=(4.5=(4.50.2*2.41)2/(4.5+0.8*2.41)
=2.51 inches
Ia=0.2*2.41=0.482
=0.2*2.41=0.482 inch

36

Time Distribution of SCS Abstraction

Fa =

S ( P Ia )

P Ia

P Ia + S

Differentiating and noting that Ia and S are constants

dFa
S2 dP dt
=
2
dt ( P Ia + S)
dP/
dP/dt rainfall intensity

CN=80, S=2.50, Ia=0.5

All abstracted

Col2Col2-col3col3-col4

Column 1
Time(h)

2
Cumulative
Rainfall, P
(in)

3
Cumulative
Abstractions
(in), Ia

4
Cumulative
Abstractions
(in), Fa

5
Cumulative
excess
rainfall,
Pe(in)
0

0.20

0.20

0.90

0.50

0.34

0.06

1.27

0.50

0.59

0.18

2.31

0.50

1.05

0.76

4.65

0.50

1.56

2.59

5.29

0.50

1.64

3.15

5.36

0.50

1.65

3.21

6
Excess
rainfall
hyetograph
(in)
0
0.06
0.12
0.58
1.83
0.56
0.06

Fa =

S ( P Ia )
P Ia + S

37

Unit Hydrograph
The unit hydrograph is the unit pulse response function
of a linear hydrologic system.
The unit hydrograph of a watershed is defined as the
direct runoff hydrograph (DRH) resulting from 1 inch
(usually taken as 1 cm in SI units) of excess rainfall
generated over the drainage area at a constant rate for
an effective duration.

38

Discrete Time Convolution Equation of a Linear

System

n M

Q n = Pm U n m+1
m =1

unit
hydrograph
ordinate

n index for time

Direct runoff

Pulse
(rainfall)

m index for pulse

M no. of pulse

39

ALSO
Unit hydrograph
ordinate

U1=Q1/P1

200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

Direct
runoff
hydrograph

300

Rainfall
pulse

250
200

Unit
hydrograph

150
100
50

UH, m 3hr-1mm -1 or Q, m 3 s-1

Rainfall, mm

U2=(Q2-P2U1)/P1

0
1

10

11

Time (every 0.5 hr)

Unit hydrograph application

40

3D Water Discharge Model

Water Discharge Model

Motion Equation of Water

41

Surface Information + DEM Processing

Forest Classification

Ground Water

Saturation
Red
Green
Blue

12 hr
18 hr
24 hr

42

Debris Flow Simulation

CONCLUSION
DEM has numerous applications in research
and practice.
DEM from RS are potentially easier to
acquire and use for terrain modeling,
hydrological modeling etc.
Spatial Functions in GIS add more value to
DEM for modeling purposes.
Let us use DEM
DEM

43

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

44