REMA: The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica at Sub-10m Resolution

The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) is a continental-scale digital elevation model created from submeter-resolution commercial satellite imagery. It covers nearly 95% of the continent, with typical elevation errors of less than 1 meter, and is produced by the organization AMD_USAPDC. Each elevation point includes an error estimate and a time stamp to enable change measurement.

Use Cases

• Measure ice sheet elevation change over time based on the time-stamped and mosaicked DEMs.
• Model ice flow and glacier dynamics based on high-resolution, continent-wide surface topography.
• Plan field expeditions and logistics based on accurate, sub-10m resolution terrain data.
• Validate other remote sensing altimetry data based on the model's registration to satellite radar and laser altimetry.

Strengths

• First continental-scale DEM for Antarctica at a resolution of less than 10 meters.
• Covers nearly 95% of the entire continent as a continuous mosaic.
• Typical elevation errors are less than 1 meter, as validated by airborne laser altimetry.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

AMD_USAPDC via nasa_earthdata

Collection Method

Created from stereophotogrammetry with submeter resolution optical, commercial satellite imagery, registered to satellite radar and laser altimetry.

Time Range

unknown

Freshness

unknown

Geography

Antarctica