Increasing the accuracy of digital elevation models by means of geostatistical conflation

Abstract

In this paper we compare the use of two geostatistical conflation techniques, Ordinary Cokriging (OCK) and Kriging with an External Drift (KED), to increase the accuracy of a Digital Elevation Model using a set of sparsely distributed accurate Ground Control Points. Our results show that both conflation techniques produce more accurate DEMs than any of the data sources used individually, with KED producing the most accurate results.