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Evaluation of Sentinel 1–derived and open-access digital elevation model products in mountainous areas of Western Ghats, India

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Abstract

Digital elevation model, acquired and generated using manual field survey, stereo pairs, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and light detection and ranging techniques to characterize terrain topography, plays a dynamic role in geological and hydrological applications. Digital elevation models (DEMs) are subjected to comprise ineradicable faults owing to acquirement techniques and pre-processing methodologies. Experiencing non-uniform variation in accuracy, it is mandatory to assess the accuracy of DEMs before employing it for numerous purposes. Considering the fact, assessment of vertical and horizontal accuracies of open-access DEMs and InSAR-derived DEM is performed with Survey of India (SOI) toposheets as reference. Results concluded that Cartosat DEM and SRTM DEM of 30 m resolution with NRMSE as 10.5% and 10%, respectively, and PBIAS as − 0.3% and − 0.5% respectively highly correlated with the toposheet elevation when compared with other DEMs. Horizontal assessment of pixel offset concluded that Cartosat and SRTM DEM experience an offset of 0.1% along X-axis and 0.33% along Y-axis. Assessment of vertical accuracy and pixel offset concluded that CartoDEM and SRTM DEM are highly recommended for research purposes over Kodagu District, Karnataka, India. InSAR-derived DEM experiences massive variation and are not suggested over hilly terrains.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to CDMM, VIT, for providing lab facilities. We would like to extend our hearty thanks to the Alaska Satellite Facility for providing access to Sentinel 1 data and ALOS PALSAR DEM. We are thankful to USGS Earth Explorer for providing access to USGS Earth Explorer, CGIARCSI, Bhuvan India, and DLR German Aerospace Centre for providing access to SRTM DEM, ASTER DEM, CartoDEM and TANDEM. The authors are also thankful to Mr. Sitansu Pattnaik and Mr. Kumaran Narayanaswamy from kCube Consulting Services Pvt. Ltd. for their valuable support.

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  1. CIIRC - Centre for Incubation, Innovation, Research and Consultancy, Jyothy Institute of Technology, Tataguni, Off Kanakapura Road, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560082, India

    Suresh Devaraj

  2. Civil Engineering Department, Ghani Khan Choudhury Institute of Engineering and Technology (GKCIET), Malda, West Bengal, 732141, India

    Kiran Yarrakula

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  1. Suresh Devaraj
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Correspondence to Kiran Yarrakula.

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Devaraj, S., Yarrakula, K. Evaluation of Sentinel 1–derived and open-access digital elevation model products in mountainous areas of Western Ghats, India. Arab J Geosci 13, 1103 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-06108-w

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