JAXA's 30m global DSM from PRISM stereo imagery — a strong third opinion alongside SRTM and Copernicus DEM.
ASTER GDEM
StableA 30m global DEM reaching to 83° latitude — the go-to where SRTM/NASADEM have no coverage at all.
by METI (Japan) / NASA
- Pricing
- Gov-Public
- License
- Free (METI/NASA data policy, worldwide)
- Commercial use
- Permitted
- Ecosystem
- GDAL, Any GIS
- Platform
- Windows, macOS, Linux
About ASTER GDEM
ASTER GDEM, a joint METI/NASA product, stacks stereo-pair optical imagery into a 30m global elevation model covering 83°N to 83°S — well beyond SRTM-derived products' 60°N/56°S limits. Coverage is its selling point; vertical accuracy and optical-derived artefacts (cloud contamination, water-body noise) are noticeably rougher than SRTM or Copernicus DEM in overlapping areas.
Reach for it specifically for high-latitude catchments — northern Canada, Scandinavia, Siberian basins — where nothing else free is available; elsewhere Copernicus DEM or NASADEM are the better choice.
Where it fits in the workflow
TerrainCatchmentRainfallRunoffRoutingHydraulicsMappingReporting
Alternatives to ASTER GDEM
Ranked by the topics, categories and workflow stages they share with ASTER GDEM.
Browser tool for estimating point terrain elevations globally by address, coordinates, or map click.
Copernicus DEM (GLO-30 / GLO-90)
Gov-Public
ESA's TanDEM-X-derived global DEM — the most accurate free global surface model available today.
FABDEM
Academic-only
Copernicus DEM with forests and buildings stripped out — the bare-earth DEM flood and drainage models actually want.
NASADEM
Gov-Public
SRTM reprocessed with modern algorithms and merged with ASTER/ICESat — a quiet accuracy upgrade, same footprint.
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.