Digital Elevation Models of San Diego, California - Procedures, Data Sources and Analysis - March 7, 2012

Oct 12, 2026

Digital Elevation Models of San Diego, California present a complete workflow for constructing and validating a high-resolution terrain surface. The report details study area definition, shoreline and bathymetry/topography data sources, datum harmonization through vertical and horizontal transformations, and DEM creation including NAVD 88 and Mean High Water products. Quality assessment covers horizontal and vertical accuracy, slope and 3-D visualization, and quantitative comparisons with multiple datasets and National Geodetic Survey monuments.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages36

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Study Area

Methodology

Data Sources and Processing

Establishing Common Datums

Digital Elevation Model Development

Quality Assessment of the DEM

Summary and Conclusions

Acknowledgments

References

Data Processing Software

Digital Elevation Models of San Diego, California: Procedures, Data Sources and Analysis Prepared for the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) NOAA Center for Tsunami Research by the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) March 7, 2012 Carignan, K. S.1, L.A. Taylor2, B.W. Eakins1, D.Z. Friday1, P.R. Grothe1, and M. Love1 1Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder 2NOAA, National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, Colorado Corresponding project contact: Lisa A. Taylor NOAA, National Geophysical Data Center Marine Geology and Geophysics Division 325 Broadway, E/GC 3 Boulder, Colorado 80305 Phone: 303-497-6767 Fax: 303-497-6513 [E-mail: Lisa.A.Taylor@noaa.gov](E-mail: Lisa.A.Taylor@noaa.gov) [http://www.ngdc.gov/mgg/inundation/](http://www.ngdc.gov/mgg/inundation/) Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1 2. Study Area.................................................................................................................................................... 2 3. Methodology ................................................................................................................................................ 3 3.1 Data Sources and Processing ..................................................................................................... 4 3.1.1 Coastline ............................................................................................................... 5 3.1.2 Bathymetry ........................................................................................................... 6 3.1.3 Topography......................................................................................................... 17 3.2 Establishing Common Datums ................................................................................................ 19 3.2.1 Vertical datum transformations .......................................................................... 19 3.2.2 Horizontal datum transformations...................................................................... 19 3.3 Digital Elevation Model Development .................................................................................... 20 3.3.1 Verifying consistency between datasets ............................................................. 20 3.3.2 Smoothing of bathymetric data .......................................................................... 20 3.3.3 Building the 1/3 arc-second NAVD 88 DEM..................................................... 21 3.3.4 Developing the Mean High Water DEM ............................................................ 21 3.4 Quality Assessment of the DEM.............................................................................................. 23 3.4.1 Horizontal accuracy............................................................................................ 23 3.4.2 Vertical accuracy ................................................................................................ 23 3.4.3 Slope map, 3-D perspective, and data contribution plot .................................... 24 3.4.4 NAVD 88 DEM comparison with source data files ........................................... 27 3.4.5 Comparison with National Geodetic Survey geodetic monuments.................... 28 4. Summary and Conclusions ........................................................................................................................ 30 5. Acknowledgments...................................................................................................................................... 30 6. References .................................................................................................................................................. 31 7. Data Processin

FAQs

How is DEM quality assessed and validated?

Quality assessment includes horizontal and vertical accuracy evaluations, slope and 3-D visualization, and comparisons with source data and National Geodetic Survey monuments.

Oct 12, 2026

Uploaded by Lucas Martin