Developing a Fine-Resolution Digital Elevation Model to Support Hydrological Modeling and Ecological Studies in the Northern Everglades

Accurate high-resolution terrain data are essential for hydrological modeling in lowlands. This study integrates elevation survey data and vegetation data at the point and 50 m scales to develop a fine-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) for the northern Everglades of Florida. The terrain was divided into two vertical strata (lowland and highland) based on a 50 m scale vegetation map. The DEM in high-lands was interpolated with all the survey points and later adjusted using an association between vegetation and hydroperiod (the number of days per year that land is flooded). The DEM in lowlands was interpolated with elevation surveys tagged as lowland types. The two DEMs were then combined, forming a new DEM with a 7.7 cm mean absolute validation error— a significant (2.3 cm) improvement over the previous DEM.