The data, comprising 1.3 million images, come from a collaboration between the US space agency Nasa and the Japanese trade ministry.
The images were taken by Japan's Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (Aster) aboard the Terra satellite.
The resulting Global Digital Elevation Map covers 99% of the Earth's surface, and will be free to download and use.
The Terra satellite, dedicated to Earth monitoring missions, has shed light on issues ranging from algal blooms to volcano eruptions.
For the Aster measurements, local elevation was mapped with each point just 30m apart.
"This is the most complete, consistent global digital elevation data yet made available to the world," said Woody Turner, Nasa programme scientist on the Aster mission.
"This unique global set of data will serve users and researchers from a wide array of disciplines that need elevation and terrain information."
Previously, the most complete such topographic map was Nasa's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, covering 80% of the Earth's surface. However, the mission's results were less accurate in steep terrain and in some deserts.
Nasa is now working to combine those data with the new Aster observations to further improve on the global map.
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- groups:
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- recommended by:
- ras_menelik
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- ashcatash
- added this
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cool
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what does ron paul think about gov space agencies ashcat?
just curious
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@ideas_execution on twitter says "Google Maps - PAH! -"
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- twitterbot
- 4 months ago
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@StockholmApril on twitter says "日本の�-界貢献！ Most complete Earth map published!"
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- twitterbot
- 4 months ago
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I HATE TWITTERBOT!!!!!!
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Know where you are; somewhere on that ball you can now look at IN SUCH DETAIL! Cartographers from ages past are digging out of their graves just to have a quick peak.
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As a user of the aforementioned SRTM, I am curious to know how soon this will become available. SRTM was a very expensive program that quickly revealed its shortcomings.
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- Crackfigure
- 4 months ago
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The GDEM is available for download from NASA’s EOS data archive and Japan’s Ground Data System.
https://wist.echo.nasa.gov/~wist/api/imswelcome/
http://www.gdem.aster.ersdac.or.jp/index.jsp
ASTER Global DEM and archived data are only available through the links above.
FOR FREE!
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- ras_menelik
- 4 months ago
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Hope they don't use it to monitor us...
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- yaget1chance
- 4 months ago
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Very cool.
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- VoyagerFilms
- 4 months ago
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