We suggest a new terrain simplification algorithm which is based on known Digital Image Processing compression methods (e.g. DCT , wavelets compression) that was specially adjusted to fit Digital Elevation Models. DEM-images are terrains or elevation maps represented as gray scale images. We investigate the special nature of such terrain-images and design a unique pre-compression process which ...

The objective of this study was to interpret the geomorphic features developed by glaciers at Ashley Schiff Park Preserve and to study whether south part of Ashley Schiff Park Preserve is Hummocky terrain or whether it is just a continuation of folding and faulting process. This required creating a new high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) based on 2-foot contour interval with 1-meter g...

Users of geographic information systems (GIS) usually render terrain using a point light source defined by an illumination vector. A terrain shaded from a single point provides good perceptual cues to surface orientation. This type of hill shading, however, does not include any visual cues to the relative height of surface elements. We propose shading the terrain under uniform diffuse illuminat...

Accurate terrain models are a crucial component of studies of river channel evolution. In this paper we describe a new methodology for creating high-resolution seamless digital terrain models (DTM) of river channels and their floodplains. We combine mobile laser scanning and low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photography-based methods for creating both a digital bathymetric model of the...

Modern digital terrain models (DTM) are widely used in the exploration of water areas. The models are often based on bathymetric data from a multibeam echosounder. DTM creators should properly select model parameters, firstly the grid resolution. High grid resolution enables creating very accurate models, however, they require high computing power and the data gathered in the grid occupy much m...

Rendering of textured terrain models has become a widely used technique in the field of GIS applications and virtual reality. In this paper, we propose a framework based on tile-pyramid model and linear quadtree tile-index, which enable the real-time rendering of out-of-core terrain data sets while guaranteeing geometric and texture accuracy. The digital elevation model tile pyramid and the ort...

Terrain characteristics, such as slope gradient, slope aspect, profile curvature, contour curvature computed from digital elevation model (DEM), are among the key inputs to digital soil surveys based on geographic information systems (GIS). These terrain attributes are computed over a neighborhood (spatial extent). The objective of this research was to investigate the combi ed effect of DEM res...

Three-dimensional digital terrain models are of fundamental importance in many areas such as the geo-sciences and outdoor robotics. Accurate modeling requires the ability to deal with a varying data density and to balance smoothing against the preservation of discontinuities. The latter is particularly important for robotics applications, as discontinuities that arise, for example, at steps, st...