West Africa Coastal Vulnerability Mapping: Subset of High and Low Resolution Altimeter Corrected Elevations 2 (ACE2)

The West Africa Coastal Vulnerability Mapping: Subset of High and Low Resolution Altimeter Corrected Elevations 2 (ACE2) data set consists of extracts from the 3 arc-second (high) and 30 arc-second (low) resolution ACE2 data product packaged as GeoTIFFs. It includes values within 200 kilometers of the coast. ACE2 was created by synergistically merging the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data set with Satellite Radar Altimetry within the region bounded by 60 degrees N and 60 degrees S. The primary altimetry data set used in the generation of this data set was the European Remote Sensing (ERS-1) Geodetic mission, which due to its small across track spacing presents a uniquely dense spatial distribution of tracks altimetry data over land surfaces. Data from ERS-2 and the Environmental Satellite (Envisat) Ku-band are included where appropriate. All of the altimeter data have been reprocessed using the Berry Expert System to retrack the waveforms. Over 11,000,000,000 SRTM pixels were adjusted using this unique network of control arcs of altimeter derived height data. In rainforest regions, extensive investigation has shown that the altimetry data returns ground values, whereas the SRTM signal bounces off the canopy. Thus ACE2 does a better job of providing ground values than SRTM in forested coastal regions of West Africa.