Question:01:How can we evaluate the accuracy of digital elevation models(DEM)?

The quality of a DEM is a result of individual factors. These generally can be grouped into three classes: (i) accuracy, density
and distribution of the source data; (ii) the interpolation process; and (iii) characteristics of the surface
• Interpolation methods play an important role in describing the accuracy of DEMs,so to check the accuracy of interpolation
methods we can evaluate them from different aspects. The most straightforward is to predict some error indices such as
mean error, mean absolute error, root mean square error, and so on,These error indices characterize the interpolation
accuracy using different validation techniques. There are a number of validation methods. Here we use (1) cross validation
(2) split sample (3) jacknifing validation.
• The cross-validation method involves using all the raw data for comparison.The most common form of cross validation is
the ‘leave one technique’. This technique involves omitting one point before the interpolation process; performing the
interpolation then predicts the value of the omitted point and the difference between the predicted and actual values of
the omitted point is then calculated. This process is repeated for all samples.Another validation method is the split sample
method.This method can be used to assess the stability of the interpolation method. In this method some raw data are
omitted, interpolation is performed, and the difference between the predicted and measured values of the omitted values
is calculated. This difference is used as a measure of the stability of the interpolation algorithm.Jacknifing validation
method: another method is the use of an independent set of sample data that is never used in the interpolation process .
For each point the deviation between the actual and predicted values is calculated,and accuracy is tested according to
these values.Mean, minimum, maximum, mean absolute, root mean square errors, and so on, are the statistical means
that are usually employed to evaluate the overall performance of interpolation methods The measure most widely used
measure is the root mean square error (RMSE), it is the measure of the difference between values predicted by a model
or an estimator and the observed values. It is mathematically expressed as:
𝑁
1 2
𝑅𝑀𝑆𝐸 = ෍ 𝑧 𝑥𝑖 − 𝑧Ƹ 𝑥𝑖
𝑁
1=1

• where;z^ (xi) is the predicted value, z(xi) is the observed value,and N is the number of values. RMSE is the standard
deviation of the residuals. Residuals are a measure how far from the regression line the data points are, RMSE is the
measure of how spread out thses residuals are ,It tells us how well the data is concentrated around the best fit. The RMSE
expresses the degree to which the interpolated values differ from the measured values, and is based on the assumption
that errors are random with a mean of zero and normally distributed around the true value. But in some cases mean of
error is not zero,so we can use mean absolute error and standard deviation indices. Therefore, some researcher have
recommended the use of mean absolute error(MAE).These descriptive statistics are single summary indices and assume
uniform values for entire DEM surfaces. This assumption is not always true, and many authors have suggested that the
distribution of errors will show some form of spatial pattern.
These descriptive statistics are single summary indices and assume uniform values for entire DEM
surfaces. This assumption is not always true, and many authors have suggested that the distribution
of errors will show some form of spatial pattern(Fisher and Tate, 2006; Weng, 2006). An important
way to examine the extent of error is the usage of global (Morans I, Getis-Ord General G) and local
spatial autocorrelation (LISA, Getis Ord Gi*) measures to examine the extent of error.Moran’s I is a
global measure of spatial autocorrelation which is produced by standardizing the spatial
autocovariance by the variance of the errors. The range of possible values of Moran’s I is taken as –1
to 1, since positive values indicate spatial clustering of similar error values and negative values
indicate clustering of dissimilar error values. Moran’s I indicates clustering of high or low error
values, but it cannot distinguish between these situations. The General G statistic is usually used to
e
understand clustering of high or low rror values. A large or larger than expected value for the G
statistic means that high error values are found together, while conversely a low value for the G
statistic means low error values are found together . These global spatial data analyses show
error clustering but they do not show where the clusters are. To investigate the spatial variation
as well as the spatial associations it is possible to calculate local versions of Moran’s I and the
General G statistic. The LISA (local indicators of spatial association: Anselin’s formed I value
were used to detect local pockets of dependence that may not show up when using global
spatial autocorrelation methods.
To compare the accuracy of interpolation methods and data density statistically, mean error,
maximum error, minimum error and root mean square error indices were calculated via validation
methods.When we compared the results of the validation methods, the IDW algorithm provided the worst
interpolation and produced the greatest overall error of all the methods. The MQ and OK methods had
nearly similar results, but TPS was the best interpolator according to accuracy indices produced by validation
methods.
Question:02:Explain interpolation methods used to generate the DEMs,also compare
their performances.
1).Inverse weighted distance method
An IDW algorithm determines cell values using a linearly weighted combination of a set of sample
points. All points or a specified number of points within a specified radius are used to predict the
output value for each unsampled location. The general formula of IDW is
𝒛ො 𝒔𝟎 = σ𝒏𝒊=𝟏 𝝀𝒊 𝒛 𝒔𝒊
where Z(s0) is the value predicted for location s0, n is the number of measured sample points
surrounding the prediction location, λi are the weights assigned to each measured point,and Z(si) is
the observed value at the location si.The formula determining the weights is
ⅆ−𝑷
𝟏𝟎
𝝀𝒊 = 𝒏
−𝒑
෍ 𝒅𝟏𝟎
ⅈ=𝟏
The power parameter p in the IDW is the significance of the surrounding points upon the
interpolated value. When the distance (d) between the measured location and the prediction
location increases, the weight that the measured point has on the prediction decreases. So a higher
power results in less influence from distant points.
2).Radial basis function method
The RBF methods are a series of exact interpolation algorithms that a surface must go
through in each measured sample location.There are several types of RBF including thin
plate spline(TPS) , spline with tension, completely regularized spline, multiquadratic
function(MQ) and inverse multiquadratic spline.This method is a linear combination of
the different basis functions
𝒛ො 𝑺𝟎 = 𝜮𝒘𝒊 𝝓 𝒔𝒊−𝑺𝟎 +𝒘𝒏+𝟏
where φ (r) is a radial basis function, r = |si – s0| is Euclidean distance between the
prediction location s0, and si wi: i = 1,2, . . . , n are weights to be estimated.In MQ function
φ (r) = (r 2 + σ 2)1/2
and in TPS
φ (r) = (σ.r)2 ln (σ.r) (5)
Here, σ is the optimal smoothing parameter, which is calculated by minimizing the root
mean square errors using cross validation.
3).Kriging Method
The other interpolation method, Kriging, is a powerful geostatistical method which depends on
mathematical and statistical models for optimal spatial prediction.In classic statistics it is assumed
that observations are independent and that there is no correlation between observations. However,
in geostatistical methods, information on spatial locations allows distances between observations to
be computed and autocorrelation to be modelled as a function of distance.Kriging uses the
semivariogram, which measures the average degree of dissimilarity between unsampled values and
nearby values, to define the weights that determine the contribution of each data point to the
prediction of new values at unsampled locations. There are several types of Kriging, such as simple,
ordinary, universal, indicator, disjunctive and probability Kriging,The general Kriging model is
based on a constant mean μ for the data and random errors ε (S) with spatial dependence.
Z(s) = μ(s) + ε(S)
where Z(s) is the variable of interest, μ(s) is the deterministic trend and ε(S) is the random,
autocorrelated errors. Variations on this formula form the basis of all the different types of Kriging.
Ordinary Kriging assumes a constant unknown mean and estimates mean in the searching
neighbourhood, whereas simple Kriging assumes a constant known mean. In simple kriging the
mean and the variance are known and the kriging predictor is one that minimize the variance of the
prediction error.Thus these two methods model a spatial surface as deviations from a constant
mean where the deviations are spatially correlated.