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Description

The Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) is responsible for the archive and distribution of NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) version 1 (NASADEM_SC) dataset, which provides global slope and curvature elevation data at 1 arc second spacing.

NASADEM data products were derived from original telemetry data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), a collaboration between NASA and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), as well as participation from the German and Italian space agencies. SRTM's primary focus was to generate a near-global DEM of the Earth using radar interferometry. It was a primary component of the payload on space shuttle Endeavour during its STS-99 mission, which was launched on February 11, 2000, and flew for 11 days.

In addition to Terra Advanced Spaceborne Thermal and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) Version 2 data, NASADEM also relied on Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) ground control points of its lidar shots to improve surface elevation measurements that led to improved geolocation accuracy. Other reprocessing improvements include the conversion to geoid reference and the use of GDEMs and Advanced Land Observing Satellite Panchromatic Remote-sensing instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM) AW3D30 DEM, and interpolation for void filling.

NASADEM are distributed in 1 degree latitude by 1 degree longitude tiles and consist of all land between 60° N and 56° S latitude. This accounts for about 80% of Earth's total landmass.

NASADEM_SC data product layers include slope, aspect angle, profile curvature, plan curvature, and an updated SRTM water body dataset (water mask). A low-resolution browse image showing slope is also available for each NASADEM_SC granule.

Product Summary

Platforms
OV-105
Instruments
SRTM
Spatial Extent

N: 60 S: -56 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
30 Meters x 30 Meters
Location
GLOBAL LAND
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2000-02-11 to 2000-02-21
Temporal Resolution
11 Day
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Project Office, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/SRTM)
Concept ID
C2763264770-LPCLOUD
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
14520
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Terrain Elevation ,
RADAR IMAGERY ,
Topographical Relief Maps

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

NASA JPL. (2020). NASADEM Slope and Curvature Global 1 arc second V001 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MEASURES/NASADEM/NASADEM_SC.001 Date Accessed: 2026-02-22

File Naming Convention

s01w047.slope

The file name begins with the latitude and longitude of the lower left corner of the tile (s01w047) followed by the File Extension/Variable (slope).

Documents

Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
ASPECT Slope aspect angle derived from merged hgt. Valid range is non-negative number. Degree uint16 0 N/A 0.01
PLAN (PLANC) Plan curvature derived from merged hgt. Units for PLAN variable is inverse meters and data type is 32-bit real. Meters float32 0 N/A N/A
PROFILE (PROFC) Profile curvature derived from merged hgt. Units for PLAN variable is inverse meters and data type is 32-bit real. Meters float32 0 N/A N/A
SLOPE Slope derived from merged hgt. Valid range is non-negative number. Degree uint16 0 N/A 0.01
SWBD Updated SRTM water body data (i.e., water mask) Class uint8 N/A 0 to 255 N/A
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