Vertical accuracy assessment of DEMs around Jabal al-Shayeb area, Egypt

Abstract

As a quantitative and numerical representation of earth surface topography, Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are widely used in several applications including geological, hydrological, and geographical Aspects. With the availability of several types of DEMs, various intrinsic errors may be incorporated due to sensor acquisition inconveniences, or processing techniques compared to the actual land surface measurements. Consequently, this study aims to analysis and test the vertical accuracy of NASADEM, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer–Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTER GDEM) and Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array L-type band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) DEM compared to the actual ground control points (GCPs) derived from topographic maps through calculating Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). Our results revealed the sublimity of ALOS PALSAR DEM over NASADEM and ASTER GDEM. Thus, ALOS PALSAR DEM is recommended for further geomorphological studies.