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Using an external DEM

Terrain correction needs a digital elevation model (DEM). By default SNAP downloads the Copernicus 30 m DEM by itself, so most users never need this page. Use an external DEM when a better local one exists, such as a national elevation model, or to avoid SNAP’s height error with the built-in Copernicus DEM.

Prepare the DEM

An external DEM must be prepared before SNAP reads it, because SNAP has two reported problems with external DEMs:

  • It samples them half a pixel off, to the south-east (forum report). SNAP fixed this in the 14.0.2 update of its DEM module.
  • It knows only one height reference, EGM96, which most modern DEMs do not use (forum report).

prepare_dem_for_snap() corrects both and writes a copy, leaving your original untouched:

from pathlib import Path
from s1bursts import prepare_dem_for_snap

prepared = prepare_dem_for_snap(
    Path("swissalti3d_30m.tif"),
    source_crs="EPSG:2056+5728",
    download_missing_grids=True,
)

source_crs states both the map projection and the height reference of the DEM, joined by +. Here, EPSG:2056 is the Swiss LV95 grid and 5728 the Swiss LN02 heights. Look these up in your DEM’s documentation. Converting the heights can need correction grids from PROJ, which download_missing_grids=True fetches when they are freely available.

The half-pixel shift is applied only for SNAP versions that still need it. prepare_dem_for_snap() checks the SNAP installation it finds the same way processing does, so the prepared copy is correct only for that installation and only for SNAP. Prepared copies are cached, so preparing the same file again costs nothing.

Use the prepared DEM

Pass the prepared file to the processing settings, together with a short name, which is required. The name, not the path, is written into every product’s metadata, so you can tell later which DEM was used, and a rerun checks it before skipping an existing product:

from s1bursts import RTCConfig

config = RTCConfig(
    dem=prepared,
    dem_name="swissALTI3D 30 m",
    external_dem_apply_egm=False,
)

Keep external_dem_apply_egm=False: the preparation has already converted the heights, and SNAP would otherwise convert them a second time.

Downsample a fine DEM first

SNAP’s terrain flattening and terrain correction (geocoding) take much longer on a fine DEM grid. So a DEM much finer than your products should be downsampled before preparing it, by averaging all fine pixels within each coarse one. freezebase’s vrt.warp() averages by default. This call reduces the 2 m swissALTI3D to 30 m:

from freezebase import vrt
from freezebase.raster import write_cog

write_cog(vrt.warp("swissalti3d_2m.tif", resolution=30), "swissalti3d_30m.tif")