The above color-relief images show Mount Everest before and after the SRTM no-data areas have been filled. Click here and here to view larger unfilled and filled areas around Everest, or here and here for the area around K2.
For eleven days in February 2000 the Space Shuttle "Endeavour" and its seven brave astronauts executed the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) to map the world. Earlier this year NASA released the finished product, mapping 99.8% of the world's topography at a resolution of three arc seconds. The scope, resolution and accuracy of this product are enormous improvements on anything previously available, and moreover it has been released into the public domain, which means that it is not subject to any copyright restrictions. I salute NASA!
Applications of this data are many and various. Imagine being able to stand anywhere in the world and identify the entire view, all the way to the far distant horizons!
But unfortunately not quite all the world was mapped. The polar regions, north of 60 degrees and south of 56 degrees of latitude, were not mapped. And although the 0.2% of the rest of the world may not seem significant, its significance is increased by the fact that it covers the highest summits of most of the world's mountain ranges, including all 14 of the world's 8000m+ summits and most of the world's 6000m+ summits.
To the best of my knowledge, NASA have plans to fill these areas, but (a) they intend to use "ASTER" data, which for mountain areas is very inaccurate and also contains no-data areas, and (b) Uncle Sam does not propose to release the data for these areas into the public domain.
At present, several websites recommend filling these no-data areas from a Global 30 arc second database, but I am familiar with this and its resolution and quality are far from adequate.
My project aims to fill these no data areas, from the best sources available, and hence complete NASA's mission to map the world.
Progress To Date
For all of the United States and Canada, including Alaska, complete topographic data is available from government sources. For much of Western Europe, including the Alps, Pyrenees, Scandinavia and of course the UK, I have created adequate topographic mapping from Russian maps. I am working my way around the rest of the world.
So far I have fixed most of the Caucasus mountains and some no-data areas in the North Japanese Alps. But the main thrust of my work has been aimed at the Himalayas. All the 8000m+ summits, most 7000m+ summits and their surrounding areas have been fixed; so have most areas between 79 and 89 degrees of longitude. From this work, I have generated most of the view from the summit of Everest, which can be downloaded here .
I currently estimate that to complete the entire world down to the last no-data cell may take several years. But I hope to have all the world's major mountain ranges completed by Spring 2006. Lack of adequate data for some parts of Patagonia, the Chinese Himalayas, Antarctica and Northern Greenland will be a problem, but I will do my best. Any help would be appreciated.
Public Domain
A few weeks ago I was asked if I intended to sell my work. The answer is no, but, subject to costs of reproduction, I will make it available for non-commercial use by anyone who asks me for it. That is the way I believe it should be. Economic theory tells us that the general interest is best served when price is based on reproduction cost.
Generally, I do not believe that commercial success is the only measure of success. In the 16th century the German astronomer Kepler mapped the solar system, despite the indifference of the rest of the world and the hostility of the clerical authorities of his time. He died penniless, but from his work there followed Newton's Laws of motion and eventually modern science.
While there are those who will never see the benefit of doing anything unless it provides short-term remuneration that can be measured by accountants, I hope some will agree that what I am doing is worthwhile.
