| The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) has stereo capabilities that allow generating high resolution digital elevation model (DEM) similar in specification to that of the USGS 7.5 minute DEM and the National Elevation Dataset. ASTER data is more current (February 2000) than the USGS data (1925--1999), an important advantage for revealing surface temporal elevation changes. For this study, one ASTER DEM Granule (60Km x 60 Km) was selected and acquired, and USGS elevation data for the same area were acquired. The DEMs were standardized to the same projection and resolution and compared on a pixel-by-pixel basis to measure elevation differences. The accuracy and RMSE of the datasets were measured to outline the elevation differences to be considered significant for change detection. Temporal elevation changes were detected in the study area, and a history and field inspection revealed the reasons for the surface change. |
