Absolute Vertical Accuracy of ArcticDEM and Copernicus DEM and In-Situ GNSS Measurements | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Absolute Vertical Accuracy of ArcticDEM and Copernicus DEM and In-Situ GNSS Measurements Igor Aleshin, Kirill Kholodkov, Fedor Perederin, Grigory Steblov, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6239537/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Applied Geomatics → Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper discusses the vertical accuracy of digital elevation models (DEMs) along public roads for three modern global DEMs. Validation is performed with in-situ Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) measurements. Due to the fact that the specifications of these DEMs indicate very high absolute vertical accuracy (up to 4 meters at best), the verification was performed without registering the DEMs to local ground control points. The study highlights that these DEMs can be used in a variety of applications without the need for mandatory local registration. DEM validation DEM accuracy ArcticDEM Copernicus DEM GCP GNSS Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Applied Geomatics → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 20 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 20 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Jul, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 17 Jun, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 12 Jun, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Mar, 2025 First submitted to journal 16 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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