Due to the variable orientation of the quadrilateral in relation to the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection grid, profiles that pass within the bounds of the DEM quadrilateral, may be void of elevation grid points, and are not represented in the DEM. This condition occurs infrequently and is always the first or last profile of the dataset.
Level 2 DEM: Level 2 DEM's may contain void areas due to interruptions to contours in the source graphic or DLG. Void area elevation grid posts are assigned the value of -32,767. In addition, suspect elevation areas may exist in the DEM but are not specifically identified. Suspect areas can be located on the source graphic as a "disturbed surface, " symbolized by contours overprinted with photorevised or other surface patterns.
There are three types of DEM vertical errors; blunder, systematic and random. These errors are reduced in magnitude by editing but cannot be completely eliminated. Blunder errors are those errors of major proportions and are easily identified and removed during interactive editing. Systematic errors are those errors that follow some fixed pattern and are introduced by data collection procedures and systems. These error artifacts include: vertical elevation shifts, misinterpretation of terrain surface due to trees, buildings and shadows, and fictitious ridges, tops, benches or striations. Random errors result from unknown or accidental causes.
DEM's are edited to correctly depict elevation surfaces that correspond to water bodies of specified size.
Level 1 DEM: A RMSE of 7-meters or less is the desired accuracy standard. A RMSE of 15-meters is the maximum permitted. A 7.5-minute DEM at this level has an absolute elevation error tolerance of 50 meters (approximately three times the 15-meter RMSE) for blunder errors for any grid node when compared to the true elevation. Any array of points in the DEM can not encompass more than 49 contiguous elevations in error by more than 21 meters (three times the 7-meter RMSE). Systematic errors that are within stated accuracy standards are tolerated.
Level 2 DEM: A vertical RMSE of one-half of the contour interval, determined by the source map, is the maximum permitted. Systematic errors may not exceed one contour interval, determined by the source map, is the maximum permitted. Systematic errors may not exceed one contour interval specified by the source graphic. Level 2 DEMs have been processed or smoothed for consistency and edited to remove identifiable systematic errors.
A hypertext extract is available at: URL: <http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/glis/hyper/guide/usgs_dem>
Softcopies in ASCII and WordPerfect format are available at: URL: <ftp://mapping.usgs.gov/pub/ti/DEM/>
U.S.Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, 1992, Standards for digital elevation models: Reston, VA,
Softcopies in ASCII and WordPerfect format are available at: URL: <ftp://mapping.usgs.gov/pub/ti/DEM/>