The initial project phase of the ongoing update of the Federal Digital Landscape Model of Germany has been completed successfully: the working group ARGE-DLM-DE, coordinated by Infoterra GmbH, delivered a test map covering 2,700 sqkm across the Munich metropolitan area to the German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG). This product was thoroughly reviewed and accepted. Thus, work on the main mapping project was started as planned in early October. The complete update is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010. The complete contract has been awarded in June 2009.
In ultra-modern production centres in Potsdam and Dresden, 30 cartography-experts from DELPHI IMM, IABG and Infoterra, an Astrium subsidiary, will examine the DLM-DE using up-to-date satellite imagery. This will encompass the verification of land cover and land use, the capturing of thematic and geometrical changes as well as the addition of objects, which are not included in the current DLM-DE. Recent expansions of settlements and industrial areas, changes in forest areas or agricultural and pasture lands are some examples of the elements to be mapped. The minimum mapping unit is 1ha, the reference year is 2009. Highly efficient, semi-automated data processing techniques are used for the examination and updating of the data, ensuring a very high level of quality while complying with time schedule and financial constraints.
Primary data source for this mapping project is the German satellite constellation RapidEye, which will now cover Germany nationwide for the first time: 750 tiles sized 25×25 sqkm each are required and should preferably still be acquired during the vegetation period 2009.
As part of the update, the information in the DLM-DE will be amended to achieve a full consistency with the classes of the pan-European Land Cover Mapping CORINE Land Cover. This results in a geo-dataset for Germany that serves diverse applications ranging from environmental, agricultural and forestry applications to water quality protection, traffic control, security, or spatial planning issues. Especially for interdisciplinary issues that require precise surveying and environmental information, the new DLM-DE will be an up-to-date, sound data basis.
Finally the new DLM-DE will also comply with the specifications of the so called “Land Monitoring Core Service”-component of the European GMES Programme and will soon be part of the cross-border harmonised European dataset.
