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Encyclopedia of Geodesy pp 1–6Cite as

Digital Terrain Models

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Definition

Digital Terrain Model. Digital description of the terrain surface using a set of heights over 2D points residing on a reference surface.

Introduction

A Digital Terrain Model (DTM) approximates a part or the whole of the continuous terrain surface by a set of discrete points with unique height values over 2D points. Heights are in approximation vertical distances between terrain points and some reference surface (e.g., mean sea level, geoid and ellipsoid) or geodetic datum. Mostly arranged in terms of regular grids, the 2D points are typically given as geodetic coordinates (latitude and longitude), or planar coordinates (North and East values). DTMs usually assign a single unique height value to each 2D point, so cannot describe vertical terrain features (e.g., cliffs). DTMs are therefore “2.5D” rather than truly 3D models of the terrain (Weibel and Heller, 1991).

While DTMs represent the bare ground of the terrain, a Digital Surface Model (DSM)...

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References and Reading

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Spatial Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia

    Christian Hirt

  2. Institute for Advanced Study, TU Munich, Germany

    Christian Hirt

Authors
  1. Christian Hirt
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Correspondence to Christian Hirt .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Geodetic Institute, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

    Erik Grafarend

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© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Hirt, C. (2014). Digital Terrain Models. In: Grafarend, E. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geodesy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02370-0_31-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02370-0_31-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02370-0

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