The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) is a digital elevation model (DEM) that covers almost the entire continent of Antarctica at a resolution of less than 10 m.[1] REMA uses stereophotogrammetry to provide high-quality surface measurements of the surface of the ice sheet that covers most of the continent, despite the low contrast of the satellite images.
Elements of the mosaic include an error estimate and a time stamp, so changes in the ice or snow surface can be measured.
[2] The images are distributed by the Polar Geospatial Center at the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering under a scientific use licensing agreement with the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
[3] The Polar Geospatial Center supports a REMA Explorer application that lets public users browse the data online.
They can enter coordinates or a place name to zoom in on a small area, and choose different renderings such as hill shades, elevation tinted, contour.