When extreme rainfall and tidal waves hit the country, basements, roads and houses in lowland areas get flooded, resulting in significant damages.
One of the most important applications of the data from The Danish Elevation Model is to map flood risks and specify the areas where it is necessary to build dams or establish new corridors to lead the water away.
The Danish Elevation Model contains information about height conditions in Denmark and can be used to map where the water flows and gathers during extreme weather conditions, such as tidal waves and heavy rain. This elevation data enables production of detailed and precise maps showing the water’s entry and spread in cities, and along coasts and streams in the whole country. The maps are used by emergency services and The Danish Meteorological Institute to create a real-time picture of the current situation, when water becomes an issue under extreme weather conditions, such as tidal waves and heavy rain. The maps are also used by municipalities and state authorities in long-term planning of efforts on climate adaptation.
The Danish Elevation Model is also used in areas of defence, emergency services, and environment in relation to larger building and construction projects, mapping, and archaeological work.
What is The Danish Elevation Model?
The Danish Elevation Model consists of several data sets that are developed from laser scanning of Denmark from airplanes. The transmitted laser beam reflects off the terrain or the area and the time it takes for the reflected signal to return to the aircraft is used to calculate the height of the terrain or area. After collecting all the point measurements from the laser scanning, the data is processed to map the height of the terrain and the physical area in a grid of all of Denmark. The results of this mapping provide the elevation conditions of the landscape related to the average sea level to a high degree of detail and great accuracy.
The latest Danish elevation model is considered to be the world’s best national height model. It comprises 415 billion point data, which are used to map height differences for terrains and areas in an 0.4m grid for the entire country.