Perspectives on Open Access High Resolution Digital Elevation Models to Produce Global Flood Hazard Layers

Frontiers in Digital Humanities

Trigg, Mark A.¹  Sampson, Christopher C.¹  Bates, Paul D.¹  Neal, Jeffrey C.¹  Smith, Andrew M.¹ 

[1] School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

关键词: global flood modelling;    DEM;    Hydraulic modelling;    remote sensing of environment;    hazard modelling;   

DOI  :  10.3389/feart.2015.00085

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Global flood hazard models have recently become a reality thanks to the release of open access global digital elevation models, the development of simplified and highly efficient flow algorithms, and the steady increase in computational power. In this commentary we argue that although the availability of open access global terrain data has been critical in enabling the development of such models, the relatively poor resolution and precision of these data now limit significantly our ability to estimate flood inundation and risk for the majority of the planet’s surface. The difficulty of deriving an accurate ‘bare-earth’ terrain model due to the interaction of vegetation and urban structures with the satellite-based remote sensors means that global terrain data are often poorest in the areas where people, property (and thus vulnerability) are most concentrated. Furthermore, the current generation of open access global terrain models are over a decade old and many large floodplains, particularly those in developing countries, have undergone significant change in this time. There is therefore a pressing need for a new generation of high resolution and high vertical precision open access global digital elevation models to allow significantly improved global flood hazard models to be developed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY