Geomorphometry
Encyclopedia
Geomorphometry is the science of quantitative land surface analysis. It gathers various mathematical, statistical and image processing techniques that can be used to quantify morphological, hydrological, ecological and other aspects of a land surface. Common synonyms for geomorphometry are geomorphological analysis, terrain morphometry or terrain analysis and land surface analysis. In simple terms, geomorphometry aims at extracting (land) surface parameters (morphometric, hydrological, climatic etc.) and objects (watersheds, stream networks, landforms etc.) using input digital land surface model (also known as digital elevation model
) and parameterization software. Extracted surface parameters and objects can then be used, for example, to improve mapping and modelling of soils, vegetation, land use, geomorphological
and geological features and similar.
Although geomorphometry started with ideas of Brisson (1808) and Gauss (1827), the field did not evolve much until the construction of the first DEM (Miller and Laflamme, 1958). With the rapid increase of sources of DEMs today (and especially due to the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
and LIDAR-based projects), extraction of land surface parameters is becoming more and more attractive to numerous fields ranging from precision agriculture, soil-landscape modelling, climatic and hydrological applications to urban planning, education and space research. The topography
of almost all Earth has been today sampled or scanned, so that DEM
s are available at resolutions of 100 m or better at global scale. Land surface parameters are today successfully used for both stochastic and process-based modelling, the only remaining issue being the level of detail and vertical accuracy of the DEM.
Digital elevation model
A digital elevation model is a digital model or 3-D representation of a terrain's surface — commonly for a planet , moon, or asteroid — created from terrain elevation data....
) and parameterization software. Extracted surface parameters and objects can then be used, for example, to improve mapping and modelling of soils, vegetation, land use, geomorphological
Geomorphology
Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them...
and geological features and similar.
Although geomorphometry started with ideas of Brisson (1808) and Gauss (1827), the field did not evolve much until the construction of the first DEM (Miller and Laflamme, 1958). With the rapid increase of sources of DEMs today (and especially due to the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission is an international research effort that obtained digital elevation models on a near-global scale from 56° S to 60° N, to generate the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of Earth prior to the release of the ASTER GDEM in 2009...
and LIDAR-based projects), extraction of land surface parameters is becoming more and more attractive to numerous fields ranging from precision agriculture, soil-landscape modelling, climatic and hydrological applications to urban planning, education and space research. The topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
of almost all Earth has been today sampled or scanned, so that DEM
Digital elevation model
A digital elevation model is a digital model or 3-D representation of a terrain's surface — commonly for a planet , moon, or asteroid — created from terrain elevation data....
s are available at resolutions of 100 m or better at global scale. Land surface parameters are today successfully used for both stochastic and process-based modelling, the only remaining issue being the level of detail and vertical accuracy of the DEM.