Assessment of the influence of interpolation techniques on the accuracy of digital elevation model

Abstract

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is an important component of GIS applications in many socio-economic areas. Especially, DEM has a very important role in monitoring and managing natural resources, preventing natural hazards, and supporting spatial decision making. Usually, DEM is built by interpolation from a limited set of sample points. Thus, the accuracy of the DEM is depended on the used interpolation method. By analyzing the data of experimental DEM creation using three popular interpolation techniques (inverse distance weighted - IDW, spline, and kriging) in four different survey projects (Thai Nguyen, Go Cong Tay, Co Loa, and Duong Lam), the paper has made an assessment of influence of interpolation technique on the DEM accuracy. Based on that, some recommendations on choosing interpolation technique has been made: for mountainous areas the spline regularized is the most suitable, for hilly and flat areas, the IDW or kriging ordinary with exponential model of variogram are recommended.