Efficient (semi-automatic) identification of hydrological corrections

Detailed terrain data, such as the (Big) grid terrain model of Denmark with more than 200 billion measurements available from SDFE as part of the government’s basic data program, is a basic requirement for water flow modelling and flood risk analysis. However, a large number of modifications often need to be made to even very accurate terrain models, such as the Danish model, before they can be used in realistic flow modeling. These modifications include removal of bridges, which otherwise will act as dams in flow modeling, and inclusion of culverts that transport water underneath roads. In fact, the Danish Agency for Data Supply and Efficiency (SDFE) also distributes a detailed set of hydrological corrections for the Denmark model. However, producing these corrections is a very slow an expensive process, since it is to a large extent done manually and often with local input. This also means that corrections can be of varying quality.

The goal of this case-project is to investigate the possibility of developing methods and semi-automatic tools that can significantly improve the quality and speed (and thus cost) of identifying hydrological corrections.