Esri Format Binary Grid of the Merged Bathymetry and Elevation Data from the Corsica River Estuary, Maryland For Use with USGS Cruise 07005 (COMBELEV)

This grid is a combination of three different datasets with three different vertical accuracies. For the LIDAR data, the metadata reports the vertical accuracy as "The RMSE value of 14.3 cm at the 95% confidence level was determined by an independent accuracy assessment conducted by Dewberry LLC according to the contract specifications. These specifications followed FEMA Appendix A guidelines regarding assessing vertical accuracy. For data accurate to within 18.5 cm RMSE, the guidelines recommended a minimum of 20 independent check points be located in each of 5 different land cover categories: Grass/Ground, High Grass/Crops, Brush/Low Trees, Forest, and Urban/Pavement. A total of 125 points were used for the assessments. These points were surveyed by a licensed land surveyor and provided a positional location and elevation with an accuracy that exceeded the predicted accuracy of the LIDAR data. The entire accuracy reports can be found at <http://dnrweb.dnr.state.md.us/gis/data/lidar>. The RMSE value is 14.3 cm. See the Vertical Positional Accuracy Report section for more information." The metadata for the NED elevation data does not specify a vertical accuracy. The Chesapeake Estuarine bathymetry dataset metadata reports the vertical accuracy as "The vertical RMSE statistic is used to describe the vertical accuracy of a DEM. It encompasses both random and systematic errors introduced during production of the data. The RMSE is encoded in element number 5 of record C of the DEM. This accuracy estimate includes components related to quantization of the source soundings (1.3 to 0.15 m), the systematic editing of the source data (1percentor 0.10m), un-sampled bathymetric features (estimated at less than 5percentof depth), time related changes (erosion, deposition, and seismic shifts), and dredging operations (cut and fill). It is estimated that the accuracy of the Bathymetric DEMs is 2 percent of depth or 1 meter for depths grater than 20 meters and 2 percent of depth or 0.20 meters for depths shallower than 20 meters. THESE DEMs SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR NAVIGATION.
There are three types of DEM vertical errors: blunder, systematic, and random. These errors are reduced in magnitude by editing but cannot be completely eliminated. Blunders are errors of major proportions and are easily identified and removed during interactive editing. Systematic errors follow some fixed pattern and are introduced by data collection procedures and systems. Systematic error artifacts include vertical unsampled elevation shifts, relative spacing of the source soundings, misinterpretation of terrain surface caused by softness or poor reflectivity and by the resolution of the collected soundings (feet, feet and fractions, fathoms, fathoms and fractions, meters, tenths of meters etc.). Random errors result from unknown or accidental causes. The 1 degree (DSQ) DEMs are generated from 30 m grids on UTM projection. The RMSE difference between these surfaces is an estimate of the vertical accuracy of the DSQ DEMs."