LIDAR Composite DTM 2019: 1m Resolution Terrain Model for England

England's terrain is modeled at 1-meter spatial resolution, covering over 80% of the country. The Environment Agency produced this 2019 Digital Terrain Model by merging and re-sampling LIDAR surveys from June 2000 to September 2019. Data is available as GeoTiff files in 5km grids with a vertical accuracy of +/-15cm RMSE.

Use Cases

• Flood risk modeling based on high-resolution terrain elevation data.
• Infrastructure and construction planning based on detailed ground surface models.
• Environmental change analysis based on time-stamped LIDAR survey composites.
• Hydrological modeling based on accurate terrain data with surface objects removed.

Strengths

• Covers over 80% of England, providing wide geographic scope.
• 1-meter spatial resolution offers high detail for terrain analysis.
• Vertical accuracy of +/-15cm RMSE ensures reliable elevation measurements.
• Combines the best available data from time-stamped archives and a national program.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect temporal bias inherent to the composite of surveys from 2000 to 2019.

Provenance

Source

Environment Agency, United Kingdom.

Collection Method

Airborne LIDAR mapping, with data processed using bespoke algorithms and manual editing to remove surface objects.

Time Range

Surveys undertaken between 6th June 2000 and 1st September 2019.

Freshness

The dataset is a 2019 composite; a newer version was published in June 2020.

Geography

England.