GMTED2010

Data format: Raster Dataset - GRID

File or table name: GMTED2010

Coordinate system: Geographic

Theme keywords: Global Elevation, GMTED2010, Digital Elevation Model

Abstract: The Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010 (GMTED2010) provides a new level of detail in global topographic data. Previously, the best available global DEM was GTOPO30 with a horizontal grid spacing of 30 arc-seconds. The GMTED2010 product suite contains seven new raster elevation products for each of the 30-, 15-, and 7.5-arc-second spatial resolutions and incorporates the current best available global elevation data. The new elevation products have been produced using the following aggregation methods: minimum elevation, maximum elevation, mean elevation, median elevation, standard deviation of elevation, systematic subsample, and breakline emphasis. Metadata have also been produced to identify the source and attributes of all the input elevation data used to derive the output products. Many of these products will be suitable for various regional continental-scale land cover mapping, extraction of drainage features for hydrologic modeling, and geometric and radiometric correction of medium and coarse resolution satellite image data. The global aggregated vertical accuracy of GMTED2010 can be summarized in terms of the resolution and RMSE of the products with respect to a global set of control points (estimated global accuracy of 6 m RMSE) provided by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). At 30 arc-seconds, the GMTED2010 RMSE range is between 25 and 42 meters; at 15 arc-seconds, the RMSE range is between 29 and 32 meters; and at 7.5 arc-seconds, the RMSE range is between 26 and 30 meters. GMTED2010 is a major improvement in consistency and vertical accuracy over GTOPO30, which has a 66 m RMSE globally compared to the same NGA control points. In areas where new sources of higher resolution data were available, the GMTED2010 products are substantially better than the aggregated global statistics; however, large areas still exist, particularly above 60 degrees North latitude, that lack good elevation data. As new data become available, especially in areas that have poor coverage in the current model, it is hoped that new versions of GMTED2010 might be generated and thus gradually improve the global model.

FGDC and ESRI Metadata:

Metadata elements shown with blue text are defined in the Federal Geographic Data Committee's (FGDC) Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM). Elements shown with green text are defined in the ESRI Profile of the CSDGM. Elements shown with a green asterisk (*) will be automatically updated by ArcCatalog. ArcCatalog adds hints indicating which FGDC elements are mandatory; these are shown with gray text.

Identification Information:


Citation:
Citation information:
Originators: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation & Science (EROS) Center


Title:
GMTED2010
*File or table name: GMTED2010


Publication date: 2011
*Geospatial data presentation form: raster digital data


Description:
Abstract:
The Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010 (GMTED2010) provides a new level of detail in global topographic data. Previously, the best available global DEM was GTOPO30 with a horizontal grid spacing of 30 arc-seconds. The GMTED2010 product suite contains seven new raster elevation products for each of the 30-, 15-, and 7.5-arc-second spatial resolutions and incorporates the current best available global elevation data. The new elevation products have been produced using the following aggregation methods: minimum elevation, maximum elevation, mean elevation, median elevation, standard deviation of elevation, systematic subsample, and breakline emphasis. Metadata have also been produced to identify the source and attributes of all the input elevation data used to derive the output products. Many of these products will be suitable for various regional continental-scale land cover mapping, extraction of drainage features for hydrologic modeling, and geometric and radiometric correction of medium and coarse resolution satellite image data. The global aggregated vertical accuracy of GMTED2010 can be summarized in terms of the resolution and RMSE of the products with respect to a global set of control points (estimated global accuracy of 6 m RMSE) provided by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). At 30 arc-seconds, the GMTED2010 RMSE range is between 25 and 42 meters; at 15 arc-seconds, the RMSE range is between 29 and 32 meters; and at 7.5 arc-seconds, the RMSE range is between 26 and 30 meters. GMTED2010 is a major improvement in consistency and vertical accuracy over GTOPO30, which has a 66 m RMSE globally compared to the same NGA control points. In areas where new sources of higher resolution data were available, the GMTED2010 products are substantially better than the aggregated global statistics; however, large areas still exist, particularly above 60 degrees North latitude, that lack good elevation data. As new data become available, especially in areas that have poor coverage in the current model, it is hoped that new versions of GMTED2010 might be generated and thus gradually improve the global model.

Purpose:
In 1996, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed a global topographic elevation model designated as GTOPO30 at a horizontal resolution of 30 arc-seconds for the entire Earth. Because no single source of topographic information covered the entire land surface, GTOPO30 was derived from eight raster and vector sources that included a substantial amount of U.S. Defense Mapping Agency data. The quality of the elevation data in GTOPO30 varies widely; there are no spatially-referenced metadata, and the major topographic features such as ridgelines and valleys are not well represented. Despite its coarse resolution and limited attributes, GTOPO30 has been widely used for a variety of hydrological, climatological, and geomorphological applications as well as military applications, where a regional, continental, or global scale topographic model is required. These applications have ranged from delineating drainage networks and watersheds to using digital elevation data for the extraction of topographic structure and three-dimensional (3D) visualization exercises. Many of the fundamental geophysical processes active at the Earth's surface are controlled or strongly influenced by topography, thus the critical need for high-quality terrain data. U.S. Department of Defense requirements for mission planning, geographic registration of remotely sensed imagery, terrain visualization, and map production are similarly dependent on global topographic data. Since the time GTOPO30 was completed, the availability of higher-quality elevation data over large geographic areas has improved markedly. New data sources include global Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED®) from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), Canadian elevation data, and data from the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat). Given the widespread use of GTOPO30 and the equivalent 30-arc-second DTED® level 0, the USGS and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) have collaborated to produce an enhanced replacement for GTOPO30, the Global Land One-km Base Elevation (GLOBE) model and other comparable 30-arc-second-resolution global models, using the best available data. The new model is called the Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010, or GMTED2010 for short. This suite of products at three different resolutions (approximately 1,000, 500, and 250 meters) is designed to support many applications directly by providing users with generic products (for example, maximum, minimum, and median elevations) that have been derived directly from the raw input data that would not be available to the general user or would be very costly and time-consuming to produce for individual applications. The source of all the elevation data is captured in metadata for reference purposes.

Language of dataset: English


Time period of content:
Time period information:
Single date/time:
Calendar date: 2011

Currentness reference:
publication date

Status:
Progress: Complete
Maintenance and update frequency: None planned

Spatial domain:
Bounding coordinates:
*West bounding coordinate: -180.0001388
*East bounding coordinate: 179.9998611
*North bounding coordinate: 83.9998611
*South bounding coordinate: -90.0001388

Local bounding coordinates:
*Left bounding coordinate: -180.0001388
*Right bounding coordinate: 179.9998611
*Top bounding coordinate: 83.9998611
*Bottom bounding coordinate: -90.0001388

Keywords:
Theme:
Theme keywords: Global Elevation, GMTED2010, Digital Elevation Model
Theme keyword thesaurus: Elevation

Place:
Place keywords: Global
Place keyword thesaurus: Global

Access constraints: No restrictions, All GMTED2010 data products are publically available. Any acquisition or use of these data signifies a user's agreement to comprehension and compliance of the USGS Standard Disclaimer. Ensure all portions of metadata are read and clearly understood before using these data in order to protect both user and USGS interests. Please refer to http://www.usgs.gov/privacy.html for the USGS disclaimer.


Use constraints: Although the USGS is making these data available to others who may find the data of value, USGS does not warrant, endorse, or recommend the use of these data for any given purpose. The user assumes the entire risk related to the use of these data. USGS is providing these data "as is", and USGS disclaims any and all warranties, whether expressed or implied, including (without limitation) any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will USGS be liable to you or to any third party for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or exemplary damages or lost profits resulting from any use or misuse of these data. Acknowledgement of the U.S. Geological Survey would be appreciated in products derived from these data. Any user who modifies the data is obligated to describe the types of modifications they perform. User specifically agrees not to misrepresent the data, nor to imply that changes made were approved or endorsed by the USGS.
Point of contact:
Contact information:
Contact organization primary:
Contact organization: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation & Science (EROS) Center

Contact electronic mail address: gmted2010@usgs.gov


Data set credit:
Suggested citation:
Danielson, J.J., and Gesch, D.B., 2011, Global multi-resolution terrain elevation data 2010 (GMTED2010): U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011–1073, 26 p.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1073/

Security information:
Security classification: Unclassified

*Native dataset format: Raster Dataset
*Native data set environment:
Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 3; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.1.4000


Back to Top
Data Quality Information:


Logical consistency report:
See full documenation at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1073/

Completeness report:
See full documenation at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1073/

Cloud cover: N/A
Back to Top
Spatial Data Organization Information:


*Direct spatial reference method: Raster


Raster object information:
*Image format: GRID
*Number of bands: 1


Row count: Depends on grid resolution : 20880, 33600, 67200
Column count: Depends on grid resolution : 43200, 86400, 172800
*Vertical count: 1


Cell size X direction: Depends on grid resolution: 0.0083333333, 0.0041666666, 0.0020833333
Cell size X units: Decimal Degrees
Cell size Y direction: Depends on grid resolution: 0.0083333333, 0.0041666666, 0.0020833333
Cell size Y units: Decimal Degrees


*Bits per pixel: 16
*Pyramid layers: FALSE
*Image colormap: FALSE
*Compression type: Default


*Raster object type: Grid Cell
*Raster display type: matrix values
*Raster origin: Upper Left


Back to Top
Spatial Reference Information:


Horizontal coordinate system definition:
Coordinate system name:
*Geographic coordinate system name: GCS_WGS_1984

Geographic:
*Latitude resolution: Depends on grid resolution: 0.0083333333, 0.0041666666, 0.0020833333
*Longitude resolution: Depends on grid resolution: 0.0083333333, 0.0041666666, 0.0020833333
*Geographic coordinate units: Decimal degrees

Geodetic model:
*Horizontal datum name: D_WGS_1984
*Ellipsoid name: WGS_1984
*Semi-major axis: 6378137.000000
*Denominator of flattening ratio: 298.257224

Vertical coordinate system definition:
Altitude system definition:
Altitude datum name: Variable depending on input source
Altitude distance units: Meters

Back to Top
Entity and Attribute Information:


Detailed description:
*Name: gmted2010.vat


Entity type:
*Entity type label: gmted2010.vat
*Entity type type: Table
*Entity type count: 8213

Attribute:
*Attribute label: Rowid
*Attribute alias: Rowid
*Attribute definition:
Internal feature number.
*Attribute definition source:
ESRI

*Attribute type: OID
*Attribute width: 4
*Attribute precision: 0
*Attribute scale: 0


Attribute domain values:
*Unrepresentable domain:
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.


Attribute:
*Attribute label: VALUE
*Attribute alias: VALUE


*Attribute type: Integer
*Attribute width: 4
*Attribute precision: 0
*Attribute scale: 0


Attribute:
*Attribute label: COUNT
*Attribute alias: COUNT


*Attribute type: Integer
*Attribute width: 4
*Attribute precision: 0
*Attribute scale: 0


Back to Top
Distribution Information:


Distributor:
Contact information:
Contact organization primary:
Contact organization: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation & Science (EROS) Center

Contact address:
Address type: mailing and physical address
Address:
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) EROS, 47914 252nd Street
City: Sioux Falls
State or province: South Dakota
Postal code: 57198
Country: United States

Online Data Availability: http://topotools.cr.usgs.gov/GMTED_viewer/ and http://edcsns17.cr.usgs.gov/NewEarthExplorer/


Distribution Liability: The U.S. Geological Survey gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of these data. It is strongly recommended that these data are directly acquired from a USGS server and not indirectly through other sources which may have changed the data in some way. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the utility of the data on another system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data.
Back to Top
Metadata Reference Information:


*Metadata date: 20111005


Language of metadata: English


Metadata contact:
Contact information:
Contact organization primary:
Contact organization: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation & Science (EROS) Center

Contact address:
Address type: mailing and physical address
Address:
47914 252nd Street
City: Sioux Falls
State or province: South Dakota
Postal code: 57106
Country: USA

Contact electronic mail address: gmted2010@usgs.gov


*Metadata standard name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
*Metadata standard version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
*Metadata time convention: local time


Metadata access constraints: No restrictions, All GMTED2010 data products and associated metadata are publically available
Metadata use constraints:
None


Metadata security information:
Metadata security classification: Unclassified

Metadata extensions:
*Online linkage: http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html
*Profile name: ESRI Metadata Profile

Back to Top
Geoprocessing History:


Process:
*Documentation:
*Publication: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1073/


Back to Top