A novel approach for quantitative assessment of DEM accuracy using reconstructed contours

Digital elevation models (DEMs) are quantitative representation of the continuous topography of ground surface and terrain attributes derived from the DEMs are often used as inputs for many ecological modeling. However, DEM producers are confronted with varying accuracy requirements. In the current study, a new index, Horizontal Area Deviation (HAD), is proposed for DEM quality assessment using Reconstructed Contours Method (RCM). Examples of this method were presented for two study areas with different landforms. The results showed that HAD is an effective and easily used approach for assessing DEM quality.