Abstract
High-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) based on Mars orbiter laser altimeter (MOLA) data provide geospatial characterizations of Martian topography. MOLA range data are essentially two-dimensional topographic profiles. Transforming these profile data into three-dimensional DEMs requires the interpolation of a continuous surface between MOLA observations. To this end, we outline a method of generating MOLA-based DEMs using the generic mapping tools (GMT) software suite. The percentage of interpolated data within these DEMs is a function of the spatial density of the MOLA observations and is shown to vary inversely with the pixel size of the DEM. We test the relative accuracy of our DEMs by comparing interpolated elevation values against coincident MOLA observations. Tests are conducted on MOLA-based DEMs containing ∼98% interpolated data at a resolution of 200 pixel/°. Our results yield average elevation differences and standard deviations for the interpolated surfaces that are comparable to the uncertainty of the original MOLA data. Based on these findings, we conclude that the GMT interpolation routines produce meaningful high-resolution MOLA-based DEMs.
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