Streamlining digital elevation model construction from historical aerial photographs: The impact of reference elevation data on spatial accuracy

Abstract This study proposes a streamlined workflow for producing historical digital elevation models (hDEMs) from scanned 1950s aerial photographs using structure-from-motion and multi-view-stereo (SfM-MVS) techniques along with co-registration methods. We also conducted a sensitivity analysis to assess the impact of DEM references with varying spatial resolutions on the SfM-MVS process and co-registration accuracy. The DEM references included a 30 m SRTM DEM (low resolution), a 12 m TanDEM-X DEM (medium resolution), and a 5 m DEM provided by the General Directorate of Mapping of the Ministry of National Defense, Republic of Türkiye (high resolution). Results indicate that higher resolution reference DEMs lead to improved accuracy and precision of the final hDEMs, particularly evident in reduced errors and finer spatial resolution. This study contributes to streamlining the hDEM construction process and offers a nuanced understanding of the significance of elevation and reference DEM selection in ensuring hDEM accuracy.