Airbus Global Elevation Data Added to ArcGIS

Airbus Defence and Space WorldDEM4Ortho elevation data is soon to be part of the growing ArcGIS Online Living Atlas of the World. Covering the entire earth's land surface, this is the most consistent and accurate elevation model for ensuring that imagery is properly calibrated to geographic standards on a global scale. This data will be available for online end-user applications and developers creating apps with a specific need for elevation information. Navigation systems, for instance, can use 3D road data to give drivers better estimates of fuel costs based on the terrain.

The applications for these elevation layers include analytics like slope, aspect, rugosity, watershed delineation, and visibility studies. The data will also be used extensively to improve basemap cartography with beautiful multidirectional hill shading and better 3D views.

Sean Breyer, Esri programme manager for ArcGIS content, stated that this dataset standardises the scale of imagery, removing distortions from satellite photographs such as perspective and tilt. This improves accuracy in any kind of geographic measurement.

This Airbus data will be added to the more than 5,000 maps available to over four million users of the Esri platform worldwide, and included in Esri's existing multiple elevation layers.