Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Elevation Dataset

Metadata also available as

Metadata:
Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Originator: National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA)
Originator: German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Originator: Italian Space Agency (ASI)
Publication_Date: 2002
Title: Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Elevation Dataset
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: raster digital data
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Sioux Falls, SD
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
Online_Linkage: <http://seamless.usgs.gov>
Description:
Abstract:
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on Feb. 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was assigned to collect 3-D measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter (approximately 200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between NASA, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, D.C.
Purpose:
The objective of the SRTM mission is to obtain elevation radar data on a near-global scale and generate the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of the Earth. The information collected by SRTM will be used to provide a tool to enhance the activities of scientists, the military, commercial, and civilian users.
Supplemental_Information:
Additional Reference: <http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/index.html> /edcsns18/ned3/srtm/united_states/metadata/citation_abbrev.tif

Processing Information: Program Name: SRTM2DSM_3.AML Purpose: Process srtm data to a digital surface model in grid format. Procedure: Unzip files Rename .HGT to .BIL Create .HDR files Create GRID Convert 16-bit signed integer height data Set (-32768) values to nodata Define projection as geographic with WGS84 datum Convert to real data type

Environment: Microsoft Windows 2000 Version 5.0 (Build 2195) Service Pack 2; ESRI ArcInfo Workstation 8.2

COVERAGEXMINYMINXMAXYMAXZMINZMAXZMEANZSIGMAZUNITSRESOLUTIONHDATUMVDATUMTIMESTAMP
S37W073-73.000416667-37.000416691-71.999583309-35.999583333-39907174.989439655115.170283217METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 13:37:09 Friday
S37W072-72.000416667-37.000416691-70.999583309-35.9995833331283188983.757684988711.07940629METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 13:31:44 Friday
S37W071-71.000416667-37.000416691-69.999583309-35.99958333385646932209.969004909506.304994161METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 13:26:21 Friday
S37W070-70.000416667-37.000416691-68.999583309-35.99958333383438091698.881175234457.074996306METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 13:21:02 Friday
S36W073-73.000416667-36.000416691-71.999583309-34.999583333-33810125.240229933160.052992961METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 11:58:03 Friday
S36W072-72.000416667-36.000416691-70.999583309-34.99958333393093405.553262199416.678311218METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 11:49:21 Friday
S36W071-71.000416667-36.000416691-69.999583309-34.99958333341044242299.491295852630.673094628METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 11:43:54 Friday
S36W070-70.000416667-36.000416691-68.999583309-34.999583333130846001745.942662845508.183183808METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 11:38:40 Friday
S35W073-73.000416667-35.000416691-71.999583309-33.999583333-3346911.72950432141.485955533METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 10:22:01 Friday
S35W072-72.000416667-35.000416691-70.999583309-33.999583333-361973276.587348534184.933366885METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 10:16:49 Friday
S35W071-71.000416667-35.000416691-69.999583309-33.99958333323751652000.1212297021166.268455579METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 10:11:30 Friday
S35W070-70.000416667-35.000416691-68.999583309-33.999583333115852592529.249028443885.310031327METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 10:06:10 Friday
S34W072-72.000416667-34.000416691-70.999583309-32.999583333-852169255.202246094303.240805627METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 08:18:37 Friday
S34W071-71.000416667-34.000416691-69.999583309-32.99958333319459281752.452570161223.290389148METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 08:13:23 Friday
S34W070-70.000416667-34.000416691-68.999583309-32.99958333385665632863.6799118161334.118262001METERS0.000833333WGS84WGS84_GEOID11 Apr 03 08:07:36 Friday
Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: 20000211
Ending_Date: 20000222
Currentness_Reference: publication date
Status:
Progress: In work
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate:-72.0
East_Bounding_Coordinate:-70.0
North_Bounding_Coordinate:-34.0
South_Bounding_Coordinate:-36.0
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD Parameter Keywords
Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE
Theme_Keyword: LAND SURFACE
Theme_Keyword: TOPOGRAPHY
Theme_Keyword: LANDFORMS
Theme_Keyword: TERRAIN ELEVATION
Theme_Keyword: 3-DEGREE DEM
Theme_Keyword: 3-ARC-SECOND DEM
Theme_Keyword: CARTOGRAPHY
Theme_Keyword: DEM
Theme_Keyword: DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL
Theme_Keyword: DIGITAL SURFACE MODEL
Theme_Keyword: DIGITAL MAPPING
Theme_Keyword: EDC
Theme_Keyword: EROS
Theme_Keyword: GEODATA
Theme_Keyword: GIS
Theme_Keyword: MAPPING
Theme_Keyword: RASTER
Theme_Keyword: USGS
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD Location Keywords
Place_Keyword: SOUTH AMERICA
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
None. Acknowledgement of the originating agencies would be appreciated in products derived from these data.
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Customer Services Representative
Contact_Organization: EROS Data Center
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: U.S. Geological Survey EROS Data Center
City: Sioux Falls
State_or_Province: SD
Postal_Code: 57198
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 605-594-6151
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 605-594-6589
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: custserv@usgs.gov
Native_Data_Set_Environment:
Microsoft Windows 2000 Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 1; ESRI ArcCatalog 8.2.0.700
Data_Quality_Information:
Positional_Accuracy:
Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:
Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report:
The mission objective is to produce digital topographic map products with <=20 m absolute horizontal circular accuracy. All accuracies are quoted at the 90% level, consistent with National Map Accuracy Standards.
Vertical_Positional_Accuracy:
Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report:
The mission objective is to produce digital topographic map products with <=16 m absolute vertical height accuracy and <= 10 m relative vertical height accuracy. All accuracies are quoted at the 90% level, consistent with National Map Accuracy Standards.
Lineage:
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: NASA, NIMA, DLR, and ASI
Title: SRTM Data Collection
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: SRTM 2000
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Title: JPL Processing
Online_Linkage: <ftp://edcsgs9.cr.usgs.gov/pub/srtm>
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: JPL 2002
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: U.S. Geological Survey EROS Data Center
Title: EDC Processing
Online_Linkage: <http://seamless.usgs.gov>
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: EDC 2002
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
SRTM data is being processed in a systematic fashion using the SRTM Ground Data Processing System (GDPS) supercomputer system at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Data are being mosaicked into approximately 14,000 one degree by one degree cells and formatted according to the Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) specification for delivery to NIMA, who will use it to update and extend their DTED products. Data are being processed on a continent-by-continent basis beginning with North America. NIMA will apply several post-processing steps to these data including editing, spike and well removal, water body leveling and coastline definition. Following these "finishing" steps data will be returned to NASA for distribution to the scientific and civil user communities, as well as the public.

However, in advance of that, some portion of the data processed by the GDPS is being released to Principal Investigators selected by NASA under the Solid Earth and Natural Hazards program, in response to requests for specific research programs.

Each SRTM data tile contains a mosaic of elevations generated by averaging all data takes that fall within that tile. Since the primary error source in synthetic aperture radar data is speckle, which has the characteristics of random noise, combining data through averaging reduces the error by the square root of the number of data takes used. In the case of SRTM the number of data takes could range from a minimum of one (in a very few cases) up to as many as ten.

As with all digital geospatial data sets, users of SRTM must be aware of certain characteristics of the data set (resolution, accuracy, method of production and any resulting artifacts, etc.) in order to better judge its suitability for a specific application. A characteristic of SRTM that renders it unsuitable for one application may have no relevance as a limiting factor for its use in a different application.

No editing has been performed on the data, and the elevation data in particular contain numerous voids and other spurious points such as anomalously high (spike) or low (well) values. Water bodies will generally not be well-defined - in fact since water surfaces generally produce very low radar backscatter they will appear quite "noisy" or rough, in the elevations data. Similarly, coastlines will not be well-defined.

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: SRTM 2000
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: JPL 2002
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Process SRTM data to a digital surface model in grid format. To complete this step run SRTM2DSM.AML which unzips the data files, renames the file extensions from .HGT to .BIL, creates a .HDR file, creates a GRID, converts 16-bit signed integer height data, sets (-32768) values to NODATA, define projection as geographic with WGS84 datum, and converts to real data type.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: JPL 2002
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: EDC 2002
Process_Step:
Process_Description: Metadata imported.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: D:\meta\SA_3_ELEVATION.txt
Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Raster
Raster_Object_Information:
Raster_Object_Type: Grid Cell
Row_Count: 85295
Column_Count: 73311
Vertical_Count: 1
Spatial_Reference_Information:
Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
Planar:
Planar_Coordinate_Information:
Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: row and column
Coordinate_Representation:
Abscissa_Resolution: 0.000833
Ordinate_Resolution: 0.000833
Geodetic_Model:
Horizontal_Datum_Name: D_WGS_1984
Ellipsoid_Name: WGS_1984
Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.000000
Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257224
Distribution_Information:
Distributor:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Customer Services Representative
Contact_Organization: EROS Data Center
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: U.S. Geological Survey EROS Data Center
City: Sioux Falls
State_or_Province: SD
Postal_Code: 57198
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 605-594-6151
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 605-594-6589
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: custserv@usgs.gov
Resource_Description: Downloadable Data
Distribution_Liability:
Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, EROS Data Center, no warranty expressed or implied is made by either regarding the utility of the data on any system, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. The USGS will warrant the delivery of this product in computer-readable format and will offer appropriate adjustment of credit when the product is determined unreadable by correctly adjusted computer peripherals, or when the physical medium is delivered in damaged condition. Requests for adjustments of credit must be made within 90 days from the date of this shipment from the ordering site.
Standard_Order_Process:
Digital_Form:
Digital_Transfer_Information:
Transfer_Size: 0.000
Metadata_Reference_Information:
Metadata_Date: 20030423
Metadata_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Customer Services Representative
Contact_Organization: EROS Data Center
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: U.S. Geological Survey EROS Data Center
City: Sioux Falls
State_or_Province: SD
Postal_Code: 57198
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 605-594-6151
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 605-594-6589
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: custserv@usgs.gov
Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
Metadata_Time_Convention: local time
Metadata_Extensions:
Online_Linkage: <http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html>
Profile_Name: ESRI Metadata Profile
Generated by mp version 2.7.3 on Fri Apr 25 09:31:03 2003