Purchase and Distribution of a new Digital Elevation Model of the Kuparuk Watershed, Alaska, for NSF Arctic Scientists

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The team, lead by Nolan, will purchase, validate, and distribute a new, high resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the Kuparuk River watershed in northern Alaska, for use by all NSF funded scientists who require such data for their research. In the Alaskan Arctic the only DEMs commonly available are those from the USGS, with pixel size of roughly 60 m x 90 m and vertical accuracy of about 15 m. These DEMs often have large errors at the sheet boundaries, making them difficult to mosaic accurately. In contrast, the Star3i X-band airborne-radar system operated by Intermap Technology Corporation, creates a topographically seamless DEM at 5 m pixel size with a mean vertical error of 1 to 3 m, depending on product purchased. Intermap acquired the Kuparuk watershed in August of 2001, and this DEM is now available as an off-the-shelf product. The distribution package made available to NSF researchers will include more than the raw data. The team will validate the new DEMs for accuracy, principally through comparing hydrologic channel networks created from the DEMs with those found in the real world. They will also produce vector layers of these stream channels for use in many GIS applications, and calculate some basic hydrological information on the watershed. They will include a variety of shareware software to allow novice users to easily access the data, as well as include a number of still images and animations for use in analysis and outreach. Finally, they will include a number of references and technical specifications to help new users understand the limitations of the data. The DEM will be made available to all NSF researchers through JOSS.