One-meter topobathymetric digital elevation model for Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1944 to 2016

Abstract

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Best Practices for Elevation-Based Assessments of Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Exposure

“…The points have been used extensively for such analyses (Gesch, 2007;Gesch et al, 2014Gesch et al, , 2016Wessel et al, 2018). For the Majuro DEM, the reference data are an extensive set of real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS points collected with survey-grade equipment during the UAS flights (Palaseanu-Lovejoy et al, 2018).…”

Inundation Exposure Assessment for Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands Using A High-Accuracy Digital Elevation Model

“…The high-resolution, high-accuracy digital elevation model (DEM) used in this assessment is derived from unmanned aircraft system (UAS) imagery processed with structure-from-motion (SfM) techniques [13]. The 1-m spatial resolution DEM represents bare ground conditions, as vegetation and buildings have been removed (seawalls and other shoreline protection structures were not removed).…”

“…For such assessments, mapping and characterization of physical hazards are critical, and the need is great for detailed, localized analyses rather than more general coarse-scale assessments [6]. In particular, detailed knowledge of the topography is essential for assessing coastal inundation exposure, especially on low-lying lands, and the lack of suitable elevation data has been noted [1,[12][13][14].…”

“…Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, in the central Pacific bears all the marks of high coastal vulnerability, including low-lying islands [13], rising sea level (far greater than the global average) [15,16], high wave events [17,18], eroding shorelines [3], a dense population center in an expanding urban area [3], and limited freshwater resources [19]. Existing general assessments [2,9,10] lack the spatially explicit detail that is needed for informing local adaptation planning, in part due to the coarse nature of the topographic information used.…”

“…Existing general assessments [2,9,10] lack the spatially explicit detail that is needed for informing local adaptation planning, in part due to the coarse nature of the topographic information used. New remote sensing-derived high-resolution, high-accuracy elevation data for Majuro Atoll, including comprehensive uncertainty information [13], represent a valuable resource for coastal hazard assessment. Previous research has demonstrated the importance of using high-accuracy elevation data and rigorously accounting for uncertainty in coastal flooding assessments [20][21][22][23][24][25][26].…”