IEDA
Project Information
The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica
Short Title:
REMA
Start Date:
2016-06-01
End Date:
2020-05-31
Project Website(s)
Description/Abstract
The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) is the first continental-scale digital elevation model (DEM) at a resolution of less than 10 m. REMA is created from stereophotogrammetry with submeter resolution optical, commercial satellite imagery. The higher spatial and radiometric resolutions of this imagery enable high-quality surface extraction over the low-contrast ice sheet surface. The DEMs are registered to satellite radar and laser altimetry and are mosaicked to provide a continuous surface covering nearly 95 % the entire continent. The mosaic includes an error estimate and a time stamp, enabling change measurement. Typical elevation errors are less than 1 m, as validated by the comparison to airborne laser altimetry. REMA provides a powerful new resource for Antarctic science and provides a proof of concept for generating accurate high-resolution repeat topography at continental scales.
Personnel
Person Role
Howat, Ian Investigator and contact
Myoung-Jong Noh, Co-Investigator
Funding
Antarctic Earth Sciences Award # 1543501
Antarctic Glaciology Award # 1543501
AMD - DIF Record(s)
Data Management Plan
None in the Database
Product Level:
1 (processed data)
Datasets
Repository Title (link) Format(s) Status
The Polar Geospatial Center The Reference Model of Antarctica Not Provided exists
Publications
  1. Howat, I. M., Porter, C., Smith, B. E., Noh, M.-J., and Morin, P.: The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica, The Cryosphere, 13, 665–674 (doi:10.5194/tc-13-665-2019)
  2. Chartrand, A. M., & Howat, I. M. (2020). Basal Channel Evolution on the Getz Ice Shelf, West Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 125(9). (doi:10.1029/2019jf005293)
  3. Noh, M.-J., & Howat, I. M. (2019). Applications of High-Resolution, Cross-Track, Pushbroom Satellite Images With the SETSM Algorithm. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 12(10), 3885–3899. (doi:10.1109/jstars.2019.2938146)
  4. Yang, L., Gao, Y., Sun, L., Xie, Z., Yang, W., Chu, Z., … Xu, Q. (2019). Enhanced westerlies drove penguin movement at 1000 yr BP on Ardley Island, west Antarctic Peninsula. Quaternary Science Reviews, 214, 44–53. (doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.04.026)
  5. Howat, I. M. (2023). Elevation Model Mosaicking from Coregistration, Adjustment and Median of Stacks (CAMS). IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 1–1. (doi:10.1109/lgrs.2023.3253539)
  6. Howat, I. M., Porter, C., Smith, B. E., Noh, M.-J., & Morin, P. (2018). The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica. (doi:10.5194/tc-2018-240)
Platforms and Instruments

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