Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)


Data Access
Earth Science Data Inferface
Overview
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) obtained elevation data on a near-global scale to generate the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of Earth. SRTM consisted of a specially modified radar system that flew onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour during an 11-day mission in February of 2000. SRTM is an international project spearheaded by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), NASA, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). There are three resolution outputs available, including 1 kilometer and 90 meter resolutions for the world and a 30 meter resolution for the US. GLCF serves the main USGS editions, plus has 'enhanced' editions as well as provides editions in WRS-2 tiles to approximate Landsat scenes.
Sensor and Product Characteristics
Satellite Sensor Capture Resolution Pixel Resolution
Space Shuttle Endeavor C-band and X-band 1 arc second 30 meter
3 arc second 90 meter
30 arc second 1 kilometer
Scene Type Scene Size Projection
degree 1 degree latitude X 1 degree longitude geographic
WRS-2 185 kilometer X 185 kilometer UTM
mosaic global geographic

Product Editions Available at GLCF
Processing Level 1 arc second: degree 1 arc second: WRS-2 3 arc second: degree 3 arc second: WRS-2 30 arc second: regions 30 arc second: mosaic
Unfilled Unfinished X X X X X X
Unfilled Finished-A X X
Unfilled Finished-B X X
Filled Finished-A X X
Filled Finished-B X X X
RED X = currently available

How to Cite This Data Set
Citation Format: Author (Publication Date), Collection Name, Image Name, Processing Level, Publisher, Publisher Location, Product Coverage Date.

Citation Parameters Example:
  • Author: USGS
  • Publication Date: {"2004" for Unfilled Unfinished, otherwise "2006", unless otherwise in metadata}
  • Collection Name: Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
  • Image Name: {specify 1, 3, or 30} Arc Second scene {specify ID from file name or naming convention}
  • Processing Level: {specify from metadata or file name} {and} Version {specify "2.0" unless otherwise in metadata}
  • Publisher: Global Land Cover Facility, University of Maryland
  • Publisher Location: College Park, Maryland
  • Product Coverage Date: February 2000
Full Example Citation: USGS (2004), Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, 1 Arc Second scene SRTM_u03_n008e004, Unfilled Unfinished 2.0, Global Land Cover Facility, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, February 2000.

Intellectual Property Rights
Use is free to all if acknowledgement is made; effectively held by University of Maryland; but ultimately held by US public.

Source
As a courtesy, please credit the Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF) as the source for this data set in some manner. Our suggestion: Source for this data set was the Global Land Cover Facility, www.landcover.org.