The roughness of natural terrain: A planetary and remote sensing perspective

Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets
By: , and 

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Abstract

We examine the various methods and parameters in common use for quantifying and reporting surface topographic "roughness." It is shown that scale-dependent roughness parameters are almost always required, though not widely used. We suggest a method of standardizing the parameters that are computed and reported so that topographic data gathered by different workers using different field techniques can be directly and easily intercompared. We illustrate the proposed method by analyzing topographic data from 60 different surfaces gathered by five different groups and examine the information for common features. We briefly discuss the implications of our analysis for studies of planetary surface roughness, lander safety, and radar remote sensing modeling and analysis.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title The roughness of natural terrain: A planetary and remote sensing perspective
Series title Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets
DOI 10.1029/2000JE001429
Volume 106
Issue E12
Year Published 2001
Language English
Publisher American Geophysical Union
Publisher location Washington, D.C.
Contributing office(s) Astrogeology Science Center
Description 19 p.
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets
First page 32777
Last page 32795
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