Enhancements to Gridview: Software for Topography Data Analysis

Introduction: Gridview (figure 1) is an IDL software application designed to aid researchers in their efforts to analyze, measure and visualize gridded data products such a planetary topography. While it was specifically designed to be used with Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data, it also functions well as a tool for analyzing other gridded data sets. It has been used by researchers and students to study Mars topography, magnetic anomalies and Gamma Ray Spectrometer grids as well as the topography of other planetary objects. It has become a basic tool in the study of visible and buried basins on Mars [1], investigations of the dichotomy boundary [2], measurement of slope [3], and measurement of volcano and crater geometry [4].