Terrain analysis and landform recognition

In the last decades, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allowed the detailed analysis of land surface, whereas the development in Remote Sensing (RS) offered increasingly detailed Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and multispectral imagery. This combination fostered a rapidly evolving research in the field of geomorphology. In this contribution, a workflow for a Digital Terrain Analysis (DTA) is introduced, based on a free open source software (FOSS) called SAGA, and an overview on landform recognition and extraction from DEMs provided. Furthermore, a variety of DEM data sources are outlined, on which the multiscale DTA can be performed. An overview of DEMs, pre-processing and visualization techniques are elaborated and a case study in the Ethiopian highlands is used to compare three different resolution DEMs (90, 30, 2 m) in terms of their potential for: visual analysis, landform characterization and hydrological application. A typical workflow for the generation of primary and secondary terrain derivatives is therefore illustrated, as well as landform identification, as well as a description of the challenges and problems that can occur in this context.