Citation: Wernette, P. and J. Lehner (2026) pwernette/DEM_differencing_with_uncertainty: DEM Change with Uncertainty (1.01). Zenodo. 
This repository contains implementations for analyzing DEM change accounting for spatially variable uncertainty. The work is the focus of the following paper:
Wernette, P., J. Lehner, and C. Houser. (2020) What change is 'real'? A probabilistic approach to accounting for uncertainty in environmental change analysis. Geomorphology, 355, 107083. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2020.107083.
The following maps illuestrate the DEM at time t (left) and time t+1 (right):
Using this program, we can compute the magnitude of change (left) and the probability of change (right) at each pixel:
This project provides a probabilistic approach to detecting "real" changes in digital elevation models (DEMs) by accounting for spatially variable uncertainty. Two implementations are available:
- program_c — C++ implementation offering high performance for large-scale analyses
- program_python — Python implementation offering flexibility and ease of use
- qgis_plugin — QGIS plugin for visualizing and analyzing DEM change
Although the described approach was initially used to describe changes in landscape elevation, it is adaptable to a wide range of spatially-contingent phenomena.
Select an implementation based on your needs:
- Use C++ if you need maximum performance and have pre-compiled binaries available
- Use Python for more accessible development and experimentation
- Use QGIS for visualization and analysis of DEM change in QGIS software
Each implementation has its own README with installation and usage instructions.
The project is part of a broader collaboration to better understand landscape change and morphodynamic processes.
For questions related to this project, please contact:
Phillipe Wernette, PhD pwernett@msu.edu