science

Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica

Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica rather than just read about it. In short: The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) is a digital elevation model (DEM) that covers almost the entire continent of Antarctica at a resolution of less than 10 m. Model REMA uses stereophotogrammetry to provide high-quality surface measurements of the surface of the ice sheet that covers most of the continent, despite the low contrast of the satellite images.

Key takeaways

Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) is a digital elevation model (DEM) that covers almost the entire continent of Antarctica at a resolution of less than 10 m.

Model REMA uses stereophotogrammetry to provide high-quality surface measurements of the surface of the ice sheet that covers most of the continent, despite the low contrast of the satellite images. Elements of the mosaic include an error estimate and a time stamp, so changes in the ice or snow surface can be measured. Absolute uncertainty should be less than 1 meter, and relative uncertainties should be in decimeters. The satellite images have pixel ground resolutions of under 0.5 meters, and overlapping images from different angles can be used to extract elevation data for DEMs. Based only on satellite position, there may be errors of several meters, but through ground control registration these can be reduced to point-to-point errors of 20 centimeters or less, comparable in accuracy to airborne lidar. Most of the initial data was collected over the austral summer seasons of 2015 and 2016. The model is updated with new DEM strips twice per year. Derived mosaic products are added as they become available.

Data sources and licensing REMA was built using stereoscopic imagery from the WorldView-1, WorldView-2, WorldView-3 and GeoEye-1 satellites, operated by DigitalGlobe. The images are distributed by the Polar Geospatial Center at the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering under a scientific use licensing agreement with the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. The stereopair images were processed by software developed at the Ohio State University to create DEMs using the Blue Waters supercomputer at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The images are available only to US federally funded investigators, but the derived products, including DEMs, are distributed openly.

REMA Explorer The Polar Geospatial Center supports a REMA Explorer application that lets public users browse the data online. They can enter coordinates or a place name to zoom in on a small area, and choose different renderings such as hill shades, elevation tinted, contour. They can obtain information about any point of the ice surface, including resolution, aspect, slope, ellipsoid height and orthometric height.

References

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Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica

In research: Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Digital elevation models, Geography of Antarctica, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica in simple terms?

The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) is a digital elevation model (DEM) that covers almost the entire continent of Antarctica at a resolution of less than 10 m. Model REMA uses stereophotogrammetry to provide high-quality surface measurements of the surface of the ice sheet that cover…

Why does Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica.