Short Name:
SRTMGL3

NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Global 3 arc second V003

The Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) is responsible for the archive and distribution of NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) (https://earthdata.nasa.gov/community/community-data-system-programs/measures-projects) SRTM, which includes the global 3 arc second (~90 meter) product. The 3 arc second data was derived from the 1 arc second using averaging methods. (See Figure 3 in the User Guide (https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/documents/179/SRTM_User_Guide_V3.pdf). The NASA SRTM data sets result from a collaborative effort by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA - previously known as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, or NIMA), as well as the participation of the German and Italian space agencies. This collaboration aims to generate a near-global digital elevation model (DEM) of Earth using radar interferometry. SRTM was the primary (and virtually only) payload on the STS-99 mission of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which launched February 11, 2000 and flew for 11 days. The SRTMGL3 data were generated from SRTM1GL (https://doi.org/10.5067/MEaSUREs/SRTM/SRTMGL1.003) data that fall within that tile. These elevation files use the extension “.HGT”, meaning height (such as N37W105.SRTMGL3.HGT). The primary goal of creating the Version 3 data was to eliminate gaps, or voids, that were present in earlier versions of SRTM data. In areas with limited data, existing topographical data were used to supplement the SRTM data to fill the voids. The source of each elevation pixel is identified in the corresponding SRTMGL3N (https://doi.org/10.5067/MEaSUREs/SRTM/SRTMGL3N.003) product (such as N37W105.SRTMGL3N.NUM). The SRTM swaths extended from ~30 degrees off-nadir to ~58 degrees off-nadir from an altitude of 233 kilometers (km), creating swaths ~225 km wide, and consisted of all land between 60° N and 56° S latitude to account for 80% of Earth’s total landmass.

Map of Earth