JAXA's 30m global DSM from PRISM stereo imagery — a strong third opinion alongside SRTM and Copernicus DEM.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISStableSatellite DEM DataDEM Processing
18 tools · Topic
DEM Processing & Conditioning Tools
Raw elevation models need conditioning before hydrology can run on them: void filling, depression breaching, stream burning, resampling. Indexed here are the terrain engines and libraries that do this at scale, from WhiteboxTools to GDAL-based pipelines.
ASTER GDEM
Gov-Public
A 30m global DEM reaching to 83° latitude — the go-to where SRTM/NASADEM have no coverage at all.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISStableSatellite DEM DataDEM Processing
Arc Hydro
Free
Esri's free hydrology framework for ArcGIS Pro — terrain preprocessing and the data model behind many agency workflows.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISActiveWatershed DelineationDEM Processing
Copernicus DEM (GLO-30 / GLO-90)
Gov-Public
ESA's TanDEM-X-derived global DEM — the most accurate free global surface model available today.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISActiveSatellite DEM DataDEM Processing
FABDEM
Academic-only
Copernicus DEM with forests and buildings stripped out — the bare-earth DEM flood and drainage models actually want.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISActiveSatellite DEM DataDEM Processing
GRASS GIS
Open Source
Four decades of geospatial engineering — r.watershed and the most battle-tested hydrology modules in GIS.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISActiveWatershed DelineationDEM Processing
HydroMT
Open Source
Deltares' Python framework that builds ready-to-run hydrological models from global and local datasets.
Hydrology & Catchment AnalysisActivePython HydrologyDEM Processing
HydroSHEDS
Free
The global hydrography reference — basins, river networks, lakes and hydro-environmental attributes, free.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISActiveWatershed DelineationTerrain Analysis
NASADEM
Gov-Public
SRTM reprocessed with modern algorithms and merged with ASTER/ICESat — a quiet accuracy upgrade, same footprint.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISStableSatellite DEM DataDEM Processing
NOAA VDatum
Gov-Public
Transform elevations between vertical datums — the essential fix-up for US coastal flood and drainage models.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISActiveCoastal ModellingDEM Processing
QGIS
Open SourceVerified
The free, open-source GIS that has become the default spatial platform for water engineers worldwide.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISActiveQGIS HydrologyTerrain Analysis
RichDEM
Open Source
High-performance DEM conditioning — Priority-Flood depression filling at scale, C++ with Python bindings.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISDormantDEM ProcessingTerrain Analysis
SAGA GIS
Open Source
The geomorphometry powerhouse — hundreds of terrain and hydrology modules behind a free desktop GIS.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISActiveTerrain AnalysisDEM Processing
SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission)
Gov-Public
The original free global DEM — 30m/90m elevation from an 11-day shuttle radar mission, still a baseline today.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISStableSatellite DEM DataDEM Processing
TauDEM
Open Source
Utah State's parallel terrain-analysis suite — D-infinity flow modelling and objective stream-network extraction.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISStableDEM ProcessingWatershed Delineation
WhiteboxTools
Open SourceVerified
500+ fast geospatial analysis tools with the best DEM hydrology toolkit in open source.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISActiveDEM ProcessingTerrain Analysis
delineator
Open Source
Fast global watershed delineation in Python — the MERIT-Hydro engine behind the Global Watersheds web app.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISStableWatershed DelineationPython Hydrology
pysheds
Open Source
Watershed delineation in pure Python — DEM conditioning to catchment boundary in a dozen lines.
Geospatial & Hydro-GISStableWatershed DelineationDEM Processing