As the newest addition to Esri’s world elevation layers, WorldDEM4Ortho is part of the growing Living Atlas of the World, available in ArcGIS Online. This detailed elevation data adds to the more than 5,000 maps and layers now available to over 4 million ArcGIS users worldwide. Through multiple elevation layers that are published by Esri, this data will not only be available for end-user applications but also for developers who wish to create specific apps that are fueled with elevation information.
WorldDEM4Ortho is based on the global WorldDEM dataset from Airbus and features vertical accuracy of 4 meters in a 24-meter-by-24-meter raster. Covering the earth’s entire land surface, this elevation model is the most homogenous and accurate for orthorectification data on a global scale. The Airbus data will be included in Esri’s existing elevation layers, which automatically select the best data source based on scale from familiar datasets like the Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010 (GMTED2010), the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED), and community lidar.
Users can apply these elevation layers broadly, including for elevation analytics such as slope, aspect, and visibility studies. The data will also be used extensively in improving cartographic basemaps with beautiful multidirectional hill shading, as well as to advance 3D views inside ArcGIS Pro and the ArcGIS scene viewer.
“The addition of this remarkable new dataset in Esri’s world elevation map will greatly enhance regional, national, continental, and even global earth science,” Esri president Jack Dangermond observed.
“Our collaboration with Esri will provide millions of GIS users around the world with access to our WorldDEM4Ortho within their Web GIS environment,” said François Lombard, head of the intelligence division at Airbus Defence and Space. “Enabling end users to easily access this layer within ArcGIS will empower them to not only improve their existing applications but also create new business opportunities.”
Learn more about this new elevation data addition and much more by visiting the Esri Living Atlas of the World booth at the 2017 Esri User Conference.
