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The Polar Geospatial Center (PGC) at the University of Minnesota produces high-resolution, 3D topographic maps of select areas of Earth. The Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are the first data released as part of the EarthDEM Project, a collaboration between PGC, the Byrd Polar Research Center at The Ohio State University, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois, and government partners to produce high-resolution terrain maps for temperate and tropic regions. The DEMs are extracted from Maxar satellite imagery obtained through a license with the National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency.

EarthDEM products include hundreds of thousands of individual time-stamped, 2 m resolution elevation models spanning more than 10 years as well as a seamless mosaic model. The models are constructed using images acquired between 2009 and present by the WorldView-1, WorldView-2, WorldView-3, and GeoEye-1 small satellites (SmallSats) operated by Maxar.

Authorized Data Use and Users

EarthDEM products are available through NASA's Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition (CSDA) program to U.S. Federal employees, U.S. Federal contractors, and U.S. Government-funded researchers.

End User License Agreement

Commercial Data/Imagery End User License Agreements Fact Sheet (PDF)

Obtaining Data

To access EarthDEM data products:

  • Contact CSDA and provide a name, email address, and other pertinent information (grant number, contract number, etc.) for data access approval
  • Search the CSDA SmallSat Data Explorer (SDX; note: An Earthdata Login is required for access)
  • Review discovered data and download direct from the SDX or using the Bulk Download Tool

Citing Data

EarthDEM screenshots and figures of DEM products can be used in publications without restriction.

EarthDEM products should contain attribution as specified in the Polar Geospatial Center Acknowledgment Policy. Include the following note for any DEM figures: "DEM(s) created by the Polar Geospatial Center from Maxar, Inc. imagery." A citation of the EarthDEM project also must be included.

CSDA Acknowledgment

To help CSDA identify your publications, we request that you include the following acknowledgment when publishing work created using these data:

"This work utilized data made available through the NASA Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program."

Additional Information

Please visit the PGC EarthDEM website for additional information.

Further information on The Polar Geospatial Center (PGC) can be found at the University of Minnesota.

For questions on the data contact: pgc-support@umn.edu.