Validation of the absolute height accuracy of TanDEM-X DEM for moderate terrain

In September 2013 the production of TanDEM-X digital elevation model (DEM) started. As the data acquisition for difficult terrain lasted until April 2014, final DEM production started for flat to moderate terrain regions where two final coverages surfice. This paper focuses on a first validation of moderate terrain to prove the absolute height accuracy. In a detailed comparison three DEM tiles from different continents are chosen to validate the TanDEM-X DEM by computing differences to GPS tracks, ICESat validation points, and SRTM. On a global scale all TanDEM-X DEMs produced so far are compared with ICESat and GPS tracks. Both validations presented here for the first time indicate that the absolute height error for moderate terrain for TanDEM-X is below 2m and therefore much better than the specified 10m/LE90.