The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM, see Farr et al. 2007) digital elevation data is an international research effort that obtained digital elevation models on a near-global scale. This SRTM V3 product (SRTM Plus) is provided by NASA JPL at a resolution of 1 arc-second (approximately 30m). This dataset has undergone a void-filling process using open-source data (ASTER GDEM2, GMTED2010, and NED), as opposed to other versions that contain voids or have been void-filled with commercial sources. For more information on the different versions see the SRTM Quick Guide. Documentation: User's Guide General Documentation Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD)

The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) was flown aboard the space shuttle Endeavour February 11-22, 2000. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) participated in an international project to acquire radar data which were used to create the first near-global set of land elevations. The radars used during the SRTM mission were actually developed and flown on two Endeavour missions in 1994. The C-band Spaceborne Imaging Radar and the X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (X-SAR) hardware were used on board the space shuttle in April and October 1994 to gather data about Earth's environment. The technology was modified for the SRTM mission to collect interferometric radar, which compared two radar images or signals taken at slightly different angles. This mission used single-pass interferometry, which acquired two signals at the same time by using two different radar antennas. An antenna located on board the space shuttle collected one data set and the other data set was collected by an antenna located at the end of a 60-meter mast that extended from the shuttle. Differences between the two signals allowed for the calculation of surface elevation. Endeavour orbited Earth 16 times each day during the 11-day mission, completing 176 orbits. SRTM successfully collected radar data over 80% of the Earth's land surface between 60° north and 56° south latitude with data points posted every 1 arc-second (approximately 30 meters). Two resolutions of finished grade SRTM data are available through EarthExplorer from the collection held in the USGS EROS archive: 1 arc-second (approximately 30-meter) high resolution elevation data offer worldwide coverage of void filled data at a resolution of 1 arc-second (30 meters) and provide open distribution of this high-resolution global data set. Some tiles may still contain voids. The SRTM 1 Arc-Second Global (30 meters) data set will be released in phases starting September 24, 2014. Users should check the coverage map in EarthExplorer to verify if their area of interest is available. 3 arc-second (approximately 90-meter) medium resolution elevation data are available for global coverage. The 3 arc-second data were resampled using cubic convolution interpolation for regions between 60° north and 56° south latitude. [Summary provided by the USGS.]

This is a tiled collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and is 1/3 arc-second (approximately 10 m) resolution. The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Scientists and resource managers use 3DEP data for hydrologic modeling, resource monitoring, mapping and visualization, and many other applications. The elevations in this DEM represent the topographic bare-earth surface. The seamless 1/3 arc-second DEM layers are derived from diverse source data that are processed to a common coordinate system and unit of vertical measure. These data are distributed in geographic coordinates in units of decimal degrees, and in conformance with the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). All elevation values are in meters and, over the continental United States, are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). The seamless ...

This is a tiled collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and is one meter resolution. The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Scientists and resource managers use 3DEP data for hydrologic modeling, resource monitoring, mapping and visualization, and many other applications. The elevations in this DEM represent the topographic bare-earth surface. USGS standard one-meter DEMs are produced exclusively from high resolution light detection and ranging (lidar) source data of one-meter or higher resolution. One-meter DEM surfaces are seamless within collection projects, but, not necessarily seamless across projects. The spatial reference used for tiles of the one-meter DEM within the conterminous United States (CONUS) is Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) in units of meters, and in conformance with the North American Datum of 1983 ...

The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) was a partnership between NASA and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Flown aboard the NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour (11-22 February 2000), SRTM fulfilled its mission to map the world in three dimensions. The USGS is under agreement with NGA and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to distribute SRTM elevation products derived from the C-band radar data. SRTM utilized interferometric C-band Spaceborne Imaging Radar to generate elevation data over 80 percent of the Earth's land surface. Global SRTM data at a resolution of 1 arc-second have been edited to delineate and flatten water bodies, better define coastlines, remove spikes and wells, and fill small voids. Larger areas of missing data or voids were filled by the NGA using interpolation algorithms in conjunction with other sources of elevation data. The SRTM 1 Arc-Second Global data offer worldwide coverage of void filled data at a resolution of 1 arc-second (30 meters) and provide open distribution of this high-resolution global data set.

Culminating more than four years of processing data, NASA and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) have completed Earth's most extensive global topographic map. The mission is a collaboration among NASA, NGA, and the German and Italian space agencies. For 11 days in February 2000, the space shuttle Endeavour conducted the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) using C-Band and X-Band interferometric synthetic aperture radars to acquire topographic data over 80% of the Earth's land mass, creating the first-ever near-global data set of land elevations. This data was used to produce topographic maps (digital elevation maps) 30 times as precise as the best global maps used today. The SRTM system gathered data at the rate of 40,000 per minute over land. They reveal for the first time large, detailed swaths of Earth's topography previously obscured by persistent cloudiness. The data will benefit scientists, engineers, government agencies and the public with an ever-growing array of uses. The SRTM radar system mapped Earth from 56 degrees south to 60 degrees north of the equator. The resolution of the publicly available data is three arc-seconds (1/1,200th of a degree of latitude and longitude, about 295 feet, at Earth's equator). The final data release covers Australia and New Zealand in unprecedented uniform detail. It also covers more than 1,000 islands comprising much of Polynesia and Melanesia in the South Pacific, as well as islands in the South Indian and Atlantic oceans. SRTM data are being used for applications ranging from land use planning to "virtual" Earth exploration. Currently, the mission's homepage "http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm" provides direct access to recently obtained earth images. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission C-band data for North America and South America are available to the public. A list of complete public data set is available at "http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/dataprod.htm" The data specifications are within the following parameters: 30-meter X 30-meter spatial sampling with 16 meter absolute vertical height accuracy, 10-meter relative vertical height accuracy, and 20-meter absolute horizontal circular accuracy. From the JPL Mission Products Summary, "http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/dataprelimdescriptions.html". The primary products of the SRTM mission are the digital elevation maps of most of the Earth's surface. Visualized images of these maps are available for viewing online. Below you will find descriptions of the types of images that are being generated: Radar Image Radar Image with Color as Height Radar Image with Color Wrapped Fringes -Shaded Relief Perspective View with B/W Radar Image Overlaid Perspective View with Radar Image Overlaid, Color as Height Perspective View of Shaded Relief Perspective View with Landsat or other Image Overlaid Contour Map - B/W with Contour Lines Stereo Pair Anaglypgh The SRTM radar contained two types of antenna panels, C-band and X-band. The near-global topographic maps of Earth called Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are made from the C-band radar data. These data were processed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and are being distributed through the United States Geological Survey's EROS Data Center. Data from the X-band radar are used to create slightly higher resolution DEMs but without the global coverage of the C-band radar. The SRTM X-band radar data are being processed and distributed by the German Aerospace Center, DLR.

The USGS and the NGA have collaborated on the development of a notably enhanced global elevation model named the GMTED2010 that replaces GTOPO30 as the elevation dataset of choice for global and continental scale applications. The new model has been generated at three separate resolutions (horizontal post spacing) of 30 arc-seconds (about 1 kilometer), 15 arc-seconds (about 500 meters), and 7.5 arc-seconds (about 250 meters). This new product suite provides global coverage of all land areas from latitude 84 degrees N to 56 degrees S for most products, and coverage from 84 degrees N to 90 degrees S for several products. Some areas, namely Greenland and Antarctica, do not have data available at the 15- and 7.5-arc-second resolutions because the input source data do not support that level of detail. An additional advantage of the new multi-resolution global model over GTOPO30 is that seven new raster elevation products are available at each resolution. The new elevation products have been produced using the following aggregation methods: minimum elevation, maximum elevation, mean elevation, median elevation, standard deviation of elevation, systematic subsample, and breakline emphasis. The systematic subsample product is defined using a nearest neighbor resampling function, whereby an actual elevation value is extracted from the input source at the center of a processing window. Most vertical heights in GMTED2010 are referenced to the Earth Gravitational Model 1996 (EGM 96) geoid (NGA, 2010). In addition to the elevation products, detailed spatially referenced metadata containing attribute fields such as coordinates, projection information, and raw source elevation statistics have been generated on a tile-by-tile basis for all the input datasets that constitute the global elevation model. GMTED2010 is based on data derived from 11 raster-based elevation sources.

The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) successfully collected Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) data over 80 percent of the landmass of the Earth between 60 degrees North and 56 degrees South latitudes in February 2000. The mission was co-sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) performed preliminary processing of SRTM data and forwarded partially finished data directly to NGA for finishing by NGA's contractors and subsequent monthly deliveries to the NGA Digital Products Data Wharehouse (DPDW). All the data products delivered by the contractors conform to the NGA SRTM products and the NGA Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) to the Earth Resources Observation & Science (EROS) Center. The DPDW ingests the SRTM data products, checks them for formatting errors, loads the SRTM DTED into the NGA data distribution system, and ships the public _domain SRTM DTED to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation & Science (EROS) Center. Two resolutions of finished grade SRTM data are available through EarthExplorer from the collection held in the USGS EROS archive: 1 arc-second (approximately 30-meter) high resolution elevation data are only available for the United States. 3 arc-second (approximately 90-meter) medium resolution elevation data are available for global coverage. The 3 arc-second data were resampled using cubic convolution interpolation for regions between 60° north and 56° south latitude. [Summary provided by the USGS.]

The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) is a collaborative effort from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and NGA (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency) as well as DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt) and ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana). SRTM was flown aboard the Endeavour space shuttle in February 2000 to provide a high-resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The SRTM instrumentation consisted of the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C) with an additional antenna to form a 60 meters long baseline. As a result of the SRTM mission, several DEM versions have been released since 2003, which differ in terms of data processing and procedures applied for the filling of voids (areas not or poorly observed by the SRTM radar observations).

SRTM v3.0 (SRTM Plus) is the newest version, published in 2015 by NASA as a part of NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) project, which incorporates topographic data to fill the gaps or voids in earlier versions of SRTM data. For the void filling with the Delta Surface Fill algorithm, ASTER DEMs have been used as auxiliary data source, or interpolations have been applied. Many variants of DEM are available in SRTM v3.0, with SRTMGL1 being one of the key products from SRTM v3.0. ‘GL1’ on its name stands for “Global 1-arc second”. It provides regularly spaced DEM grids of 1 arc-second (approximately 30 meters) and covering 80% of Earth’s landmass, between 60° North and 56° South. This product is divided into 1° x 1° latitude and longitude tiles in “geographic” projection, as shown here.

A typical file of the SRTMGL1 dataset requires 25 MB memory (without compression) and stores exactly one 1°x1° tile; it contains 3,601 lines and 3,601 columns, which sum up to around 100 GB (compressed) and 350 GB (uncompressed) for the global data set of 14297 tiles. Individual tile names refer to the latitude and longitude of southwest (lower left) corner of the tile, e.g., tile N20W030 has lower left corner at 20°N and 30°W, covering area of 20-21°N and 30-29°W. The absolute vertical accuracy for SRTM heights has been found to be ~9 m (90 % confidence) or better (Rodriguez et al. 2005).

Geodetic information: The SRTM GL1 DEMs are vertically referenced to the EGM96 geoid and horizontally referenced to the WGS84 (World Geodetic System 1984).

Further notes: The SRTM DEM represents bare ground elevations only where vegetation cover and buildings are absent. Over most areas, the DEM elevations reside between the bare ground (terrain) and top of canopies (surface), so are technically a mixture of terrain and surface models. Few artefacts, e.g., pits or spikes may still be present in the data set.

Data access: The homepage of SRTM mission is http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/. SRTM v3.0 datasets can be searched in MEASURES webpage and acquired freely from USGS website (http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/) and USGS data pool (http://e4ftl01.cr.usgs.gov/SRTM/).References:Farr, T.G., E. Caro, R. Crippen, R. Duren, S. Hensley, M. Kobrick, M. Paller, E. Rodriguez, P. Rosen, L. Roth, D. Seal, S. Shaffer, J. Shimada, J. Umland, M. Werner, 2007, The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Reviews of Geophysics, volume 45, RG2004, doi:10.1029/2005RG000183.NASA, The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Collection User Guide. Available on https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/sites/default/files/public/measures/docs/NASA_SRTM_V3.pdfRodriguez, E., C.S. Morris, J.E. Belz, E.C. Chapin, J.M. Martin, W. Daffer, S.Hensley, 2005, An assessment of the SRTM topographic products, Technical Report JPL D-31639, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, 143 pp. available on http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/SRTM_D31639.pdf

The Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010 (GMTED2010) dataset contains elevation data for the globe collected from various sources at 7.5 arc-seconds resolution. More details are available in the dataset report. The primary source dataset for GMTED2010 is NGA''s SRTM Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED®, https://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/) (void-filled) 1-arc-second data. For the geographic areas outside the SRTM coverage area and to fill in remaining holes in the SRTM data, the following sources were used: non-SRTM DTED®, Canadian Digital Elevation Data (CDED) at two resolutions, Satellite Pour l''Observation de la Terre (SPOT 5) Reference3D, National Elevation Dataset (NED) for the continental United States and Alaska, GEODATA 9 second digital elevation model (DEM) for Australia, an Antarctica satellite radar and laser altimeter DEM, and a Greenland satellite radar altimeter DEM. This dataset replaces the GTOPO30 Elevation Model.

This dataset contains the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for South America from the Hydrologic Derivatives for Modeling and Analysis (HDMA) database. The data were developed and distributed by processing units. There are 10 processing units for South America. The distribution files have the number of the processing unit appended to the end of the zip file name (e.g. sa_dem_3.zip contains the DEM data for unit 3-2). The HDMA database provides comprehensive and consistent global coverage of raster and vector topographically derived layers, including raster layers of digital elevation model (DEM) data, flow direction, flow accumulation, slope, and compound topographic index (CTI); and vector layers of streams and catchment boundaries. The coverage of the data is global (-180º, 180º, -90º, 90º) with the underlying DEM being a hybrid of three datasets: HydroSHEDS (Hydrological data and maps based on SHuttle Elevation Derivatives at multiple Scales), Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010 (GMTED2010) and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). For most of the globe south of 60º North, the raster resolution of the data is 3-arc-seconds, corresponding to the resolution of the SRTM. For the areas North of 60º, the resolution is 7.5-arc-seconds (the smallest resolution of the GMTED2010 dataset) except for Greenland, where the resolution is 30-arc-seconds. The streams and catchments are attributed with Pfafstetter codes, based on a hierarchical numbering system, that carry important topological information.

The first release of Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data was provided in 1-degree digital elevation model (DEM) tiles from the USGS 2003. The data was released continent by continent, as and when the data was processed by NASA and the USGS. For the United States, data was made available at 1-arc second resolution (approximately 30m at the equator), but for the rest of the world the 1-arc second product is degraded to 3-arc seconds (approximately 90m at the equator). SRTM elevation data has now been released for the entire terrestrial surface, and a Finished product has now been released.

Linear representation of the nominal 30 metre coastlines; this is the highest resolution determinate currently available. The CSTLN_LN shapefile data layer is comprised of 11070 derivative vector surface water bodies features derived based on 1:100 000 data originally from SRTM-SWBD. The layer provides nominal analytical/mapping at 1:125 000. Data processing 60% complete globally, with African and Arabian subsets 100% complete. Acronyms and Abbreviations: SRTM - Shuttle Radar Topography Mission; SWBD - Surface water Body.

UPDATE: Data no longer available from this page. All non-working links have been removed (19/7/21)

Users must follow instructions below from NASA to access data:

SRTM data are also available globally at 1 arc second resolution (SRTMGL1.003) through the Data Pool (https://e4ftl01.cr.usgs.gov/MEASURES/SRTMGL1.003/) or from EarthExplorer where it is listed as NASA SRTM3 SRTMGL1. Please sign in with NASA Earthdata Login Credentials to download data from the NASA LP DAAC Collections. These datasets require login on both NASA Earthdata and USGS EarthExplorer systems to access data. After you create your account, you will also need to “authorize” the LP DAAC Data Pool application. On the Profile page in your Earthdata account you will need to select My Applications. On that page make sure the LP DAAC Data Pool is listed. If it isn't then select Authorize More Applications. In the dialog box type in LP DAAC Data Pool and click Search For Applications. Select Approve when presented with the lpdaac_datapool. Keep everything checked but you can uncheck the Yes, I would like to be notified box. Select Authorize and the LP DAAC Data Pool should be added to your Approved Applications. You might benefit from using the AppEEARS tool. ·
o AppEEARS landing page: https://lpdaacsvc.cr.usgs.gov/appeears/

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o The users will need and https://urs.earthdata.nasa.gov/?_ga=2.148606453.334533939.1615325167-1213876668.1613754504. Click or tap if you trust this link.">Earthdata Login

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o Getting started instructions can be found here: https://lpdaacsvc.cr.usgs.gov/appeears/help

Previously available here: Digital Elevation Model of Ireland, from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), sampled at 3 arc second intervals in latitude & longitude (about every 90m) in heightmap (.HGT) format.''Latitudes & longitudes are referenced to WGS84, heights are in meters referenced to the WGS84/EGM96 geoid.'' Please see the linked pdf files for further documentation.''A QGIS project for the hgt files is also attached.

The first release of Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data was provided in 1-degree digital elevation model (DEM) tiles from the USGS 2003. The data was released continent by continent, as and when the data was processed by NASA and the USGS. For the United States, data was made available at 1-arc second resolution (approximately 30m at the equator), but for the rest of the world the 1-arc second product is degraded to 3-arc seconds (approximately 90m at the equator). SRTM elevation data has now been released for the entire terrestrial surface, and a Finished product has now been released.

A global 1-km resolution land surface digital elevation model (DEM) derived from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 30 arc-second SRTM30 gridded DEM data created from the NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). GTOPO30 data are used for high latitudes where SRTM data are not available. For a grayscale hillshade image layer of this dataset, see "world_srtm30plus_dem1km_hillshade" in the distribution links listed in the metadata.

Elevation and depth (DEMs & contours) derived from the USGS/NASA SRTM data. CIAT have processed this data to provide seamless continuous topography surfaces. Areas with regions of no data in the original SRTM data have been filled using interpolation methods described by Reuter et al. (2007).

Elevation and depth (DEMs & contours) derived from the USGS/NASA SRTM data. CIAT have processed this data to provide seamless continuous topography surfaces. Areas with regions of no data in the original SRTM data have been filled using interpolation methods described by Reuter et al. (2007).

The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) obtained elevation data on a near-global scale to generate the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of Earth. SRTM consisted of a specially modified radar system that flew onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour during an 11-day mission in February of 2000. SRTM is an international project spearheaded by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Version 3: Elimination of the voids in the NASA SRTM DEM was the primary goal of a project under the NASA MEaSUREs (Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments) Program. Ultimately this was achieved by filling the voids with elevation data primarily from the ASTER GDEM2 (Global Digital Elevation Model Version 2) and secondarily from the USGS GMTED2010 elevation model or the USGS National Elevation Dataset (NED). NASA SRTM V3.0 three-arc-second data are provided in two forms: (1) by three-by-three averaging of the one arc-second samples, and (2) by extracting the middle sample of those same three-by-three samples. For more information on this dataset visit the LP DAAC NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Global 1 arc second page.

The Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) is responsible for the archive and distribution of the NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) version 1 (NASADEM_HGT) dataset, which provides global elevation data at 1 arc second spacing.

NASADEM data products were derived from original telemetry data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), a collaboration between NASA and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), as well as participation from the German and Italian space agencies. SRTM’s primary focus was to generate a near-global DEM of the Earth using radar interferometry. It was a primary component of the payload on space shuttle Endeavour during its STS-99 mission, which was launched on February 11, 2000, and flew for 11 days.

In addition to Terra Advanced Spaceborne Thermal and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) Version 2 data, NASADEM also relied on Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) ground control points of its lidar shots to improve surface elevation measurements that led to improved geolocation accuracy. Other reprocessing improvements include the conversion to geoid reference and the use of GDEMs and Advanced Land Observing Satellite Panchromatic Remote-sensing instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM) AW3D30 DEM, and interpolation for void filling.

NASADEM are distributed in 1° by 1° tiles and consist of all land between 60° N and 56° S latitude. This accounts for about 80% of Earth’s total landmass.

NASADEM_HGT data product layers include DEM, number of scenes (NUM), and an updated SRTM water body dataset (water mask). The NUM layer indicates the number of scenes that were processed for each pixel and the source of the data. A low-resolution browse image showing elevation is also available for each NASADEM_HGT granule.

The global 1 arc second NASADEM product is also available in NetCDF4 format as the NASADEM_NC dataset with the source of each elevation pixel in the corresponding NASADEM_NUMNC product.