Assessment of WorldDEMTM global elevation model using different references

For the quality analysis of WorldDEM^TM database a global validation campaign was established. The goal is to validate the global quality of the WorldDEM^TM dataset. For this, different areas on different continents are under evaluation. To get a complete picture, different landscapes were evaluated with different reference data. For reference, GPS points, ICESat data and Lidar reference DEMs were used. The paper shows an intermediate result, as the campaign is not finished. As expected, best results of around 1m (LE90) were achieved with reference points, for surface reference data such as Lidar, the height error is around 3.5m (LE90). These results fit to the specification of WorldDEM^TM of 4m absolute height error.