CoastalDEM® v2.1 A New, High-Accuracy and High-Resolution Global Coastal Elevation Model Trained on ICESat-2 Satellite Lidar

Climate Central has released CoastalDEM v2.1, a near-global digital elevation model (DEM) for ocean coastal areas. Developed using a new neural network architecture and NASA's ICESat-2 satellite lidar as ground truth, the model significantly reduces vertical bias compared to its predecessor and other leading publicly available DEMs. It is specifically optimized for the 0-5m elevation band to better evaluate coastal flood risk from sea level rise.

• In the critical 0-5m elevation band, CoastalDEM v2.1 virtually eliminates global median bias to less than 0.01 m (0.5 inch) and shows a mean vertical bias of -0.03 m (1.2 inches).
• CoastalDEM v2.1 significantly outperforms other global DEMs—including NASADEM, TanDEM-X, MERIT, and AW3D30—which exhibit mean biases ranging from 1.46 m (4.8 feet) to 2.41 m (7.9 feet) in the 0-5m elevation band.
• The model is available at 30 m and 90 m horizontal resolutions, with no-cost, non-commercial licenses for the 90 m version available to qualified research and academic organizations.

APA

Kulp, S., & Strauss, B. H. (n.d.). CoastalDEM® v2.1 A New, High-Accuracy and High-Resolution Global Coastal Elevation Model Trained on ICESat-2 Satellite Lidar. Climate Central. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/1dSca8VGlnlJDnh2OmKzD5/4bfbf1bf9bcd3d545fbcad7dd26dccae/CoastalDEM_2.1_Brochure_.pdf

Chicago

Kulp, S., and B. H. Strauss. CoastalDEM® v2.1 A New, High-Accuracy and High-Resolution Global Coastal Elevation Model Trained on ICESat-2 Satellite Lidar. Climate Central, n.d. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/1dSca8VGlnlJDnh2OmKzD5/4bfbf1bf9bcd3d545fbcad7dd26dccae/CoastalDEM_2.1_Brochure_.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kulp |first1=S. |last2=Strauss |first2=B. H. |title=CoastalDEM® v2.1 A New, High-Accuracy and High-Resolution Global Coastal Elevation Model Trained on ICESat-2 Satellite Lidar |publisher=Climate Central |url=https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/1dSca8VGlnlJDnh2OmKzD5/4bfbf1bf9bcd3d545fbcad7dd26dccae/CoastalDEM_2.1_Brochure_.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kulpndcoastaldem, author = {Kulp, S. and Strauss, B. H.}, title = {{CoastalDEM® v2.1 A New, High-Accuracy and High-Resolution Global Coastal Elevation Model Trained on ICESat-2 Satellite Lidar}}, institution = {Climate Central}, url = {https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/1dSca8VGlnlJDnh2OmKzD5/4bfbf1bf9bcd3d545fbcad7dd26dccae/CoastalDEM_2.1_Brochure_.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }