Error Estimation of Aster Gdem for Regional Applications - Comparison to Aster Dem and Als Elevation Models

The last 20 years show an enormous resolution improvement of worldwide available Digital Elevation Models. At present, the ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) with a resolution of 30 m shows an evolution from the GTOPO 30 model (1000 m) of the year 1996 and the SRTM model (90 m) of the year 2000. However, little is known about the accuracy of the ASTER GDEM itself and for the official test regions the error varies very strong from -0.6 to 13.3 m (ASTER GDEM Validation Team 2009). This paper presents the comparison of ASTER GDEM data with ASTER DEM and ALS Elevation Data of the Rur catchment in Western Germany. The second part of the paper reflects the possibility of regional scale investigations with ASTER GDEM data in the hyper arid regions of the Eastern Desert of Egypt.