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A digital elevation model (DEM) is a 3D graphic of the "bare earth" surface of land shown without trees, buildings or other objects. DEMs can be created using traditional topographic maps, modern light detection and ranging (lidar) data and other sources gathered by airborne and space-based instruments. NASA's DEM data such as files collected by the Space Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), and Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) and other instruments are useful for a range of land research from predicting wildfire behavior to mapping terrain elevation for ecological conservation planning.
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