The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) produced high-resolution images in support of an elevation model that represents the continent of Antarctica. NGA said Tuesday that it submitted an eight-meter terrain map that covers around 98 percent of the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica.
The model covers 88 to 61 degrees south latitude of the South Pole and was developed via the Blue Waters supercomputer as well as a open-source software built at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center.
The Atlantic REMA team extracted stereoscopic digital elevation models from submeter-resolution DigitalGlobe satellite images and employed a specialized algorithm to develop the model and process the images.
Each of the model's DEM strips are time-stamped to help users carry out topography data comparisons and change detection analysis work. Esri developed a viewer tool for the model, while the University of Minnesota's Polar Geospatial Center provided support for the project.
