A 30 m global map of elevation with forests and buildings removed
This work signifies one of the biggest step-changes in global flood modelling capabilities since the advent of the field.
Introducing FABDEM: a new complete map of the Earth’s terrain that is shown to be more accurate than existing global elevation datasets.
Following public release of the Copernicus GLO-30 DEM last year, lead researchers from the University of Bristol and Fathom have used machine learning to remove buildings and forests from the Copernicus Digital Elevation Model. This has produced, for the first time, a global map of elevation with buildings and forests removed at 1 arc second (∼30 m) grid spacing.
Titled FABDEM (Forest and Buildings removed Copernicus DEM), this project will underpin the terrain data used within Fathom-Global 3.0 when developed.
FABDEM is the foundation of Fathom’s Global Terrain Data that we use to underpin our models. Find out more about the methodology and datasets behind our products by exploring our animated Product Stack explainer.
