Mangrove Forest Digital Elevation Model for Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, 2019

Surface elevation of the mangrove forest is important for understanding current and future vulnerability to sea-level rise. Due to the lack of LiDAR data and insufficient accuracy of space-borne synthetic aperture radar-derived elevation models, we leveraged data from differential leveling surveys to generate a digital elevation model (DEM) for the mangrove forest of Pohnpei. We created a general slope model with a shore-normal transect of elevation and a general additive model (GAM) spine. To create a continuous DEM, the GAM spline was then stretched across a grid representing the width of mangrove, created using digitized boundaries of the seaward and interior mangrove edge. This simplified approach assumes that the relationship [...]