This publication is the first book on the development and application of digital terrain modeling for regional planning and policy support. It is a compilation of research results by international research groups at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, providing scientific support to the development and implementation of EU environmental policy. This practice-oriented book is recommended reading for practising environmental modelers and GIS experts working on regional planning and policy support applications.

Zusammenfassung
This book presents a set of papers on Digital Terrain Modelling for Policy Support which aims to be informative and stimulating for both developers and users of digital terrain models. It should also be useful for professi- als who are interested in the wider aspects of the applications of terrain models in support for policies and decision making. There is an increasing demand for regional and continental scale data for use in environmental modelling and spatial analysis to support envir- mental policy development and implementation. Important environmental processes act at regional and continental scales, for example climatic change inducing floods and soil erosion, and management of these pr- esses for the sustainable development of society requires policies to be - plied at the corresponding scales. One of the most important factors inf- encing these environmental processes which act on the earth's surface is the surface topography, hence the need for extensive, harmonised digital terrain models.

Inhalt
Digital Terrain Analysis in a GIS Environment. Concepts and Development.- From Mathematical Morphology to Morphological Terrain Features.- Optimisation of Interpolation Parameters Using Cross-validation.- Scale-Dependent Effect of Input Data Design on DEM Accuracy.- SRTM as a Possible Source of Elevation Information for Soil-landscape Modelling.- Development of a pan-European River and Catchment Database.- Decision Supporting Hydrological Model for River Basin Flood Control.- Potential Flood Hazard and Risk Mapping at Pan-European Scale.- High-Resolution DEM for Design of Flood Emergency Reservoirs.- A Quantitative Procedure for Building Physiographic Units for the European SOTER Database.- Solar Resource Modelling for Energy Applications.- GRASS and R Advanced GIS and Statistical Tools for DEM Analysis.- Calculation of Potential Drainage Density Index (PDD).