High-resolution topography for Digital Terrain Model (DTM) in Keller Peninsula, Maritime Antarctica

Abstract High resolution topography (HRT) surveys is an important tool to model landscapes, especially in zones subjected to strong environmental changes, such as Antarctica, where landform is highly influenced by cryoclasty and permafrost melting. The aim of this work was to obtain a high accurate DTM for Keller Peninsula, Maritime Antarctica. The survey study was assessed in the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 during the austral summer, by using Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS). In order to cover 8 km² of the Peninsula, the TLS equipment was installed in 81 different points. Results of the DTM generated by TLS (hereafter, HRT-DTM), and the terrain variables Aspect, Slope and Hillshade obtained were compared with previous models generated by aerophotographic survey (hereafter, APG-DTM). RMSE for the HRT and APG-DTM were 0.726 and 2.397 m, respectively. Spatial resolution of the DTMs was 0.20 m. Morphometric variables obtained from the two methods presented visual differences on the thematic maps, especially related to the Aspect. Generalization was the main process, whereas interpolation occurred for the HRT survey, being the process of choice for the APG method. A large number of points are obtained by the TLS, providing a dense cloud of points, spatially well-distributed, enabling the generalization process to obtain surface models with high performance.