A digital elevation model of the Antarctic ice sheet derived from ERS-1 altimeter data and comparison with terrestrial measurements

Abstract

The launch of ERS-1 provides coverage, by satellite altimetry, of 80% of the Antarctic ice sheet, allowing topographic mapping of areas which previously had a dearth of accurate elevation data. Four 35 d repeat cycles of fastdelivery altimeter data were used in this study, comprising a total of approximately 1000000 height estimates. About 40% of these were rejected during a careful filtering procedure designed to remove erroneous values caused by poor tracking or complete loss of the returned echo. The OSU-91A geopotential model was used to convert ellipsoidal elevations to geoidal values. Corrections for surface slope were applied and a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was produced with a grid spacing of 20km.The precision of the data was assessed from an analysis of crossing points of ascending and descending tracks. For 43864 cross-overs, the standard deviation was 6.8m. Regional biases associated with geoid, orbit and topography-induced errors reduce the accuracy of the height measurements. This was assessed by a comparison with ground-survey data. The DEM was compared with a 700km levelling survey, with an accuracy ranging from 1 to 5m, from the Lambert Glacier basin region (≈73° S, 55° E). The mean difference was found to be-1.6m with a standard deviation of 14m. A similar result was obtained for a 600km traverse line in Wilkes Land (75° S,≈1l0° E).The DEM was then compared with a digitized version of the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) Antarctic folio map. This map was derived from orthometric measurements of surface elevation, primarily from pressure altimetry. Differences in excess of 300 m were observed between the two data sets. Only 37% of the region covered showed agreement to better than 50m, and a significant proportion ofthis was composed of the Ross and Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelves. The largest discrepancies occurred in marginal areas where there is poor coverage by both satellite altimetry and terrestrial data. Inland, significant differences were also found.