What is a typical application of a DEM?

A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is primarily used to represent the Earth's terrain in a way that allows for a variety of analyses related to elevation and landscape features. One typical application of a DEM is to analyze landscape visibility, commonly referred to as viewshed analysis. This process involves determining areas that can be seen from a specific point or points on the terrain and is crucial in fields such as urban planning, telecommunications, and environmental management.

By utilizing a DEM, analysts can assess how elevation changes affect visibility, taking into account topographical barriers like hills and valleys. This can help in planning the placement of structures such as communication towers, wind turbines, or even assessing line-of-sight for various applications. The accuracy and resolution of the DEM directly influence the effectiveness of visibility analysis, making it a central tool in spatial analysis tasks.

While assessing building heights, creating 2D maps, and evaluating population density have their own GIS applications, they do not specifically hinge on the capability of a DEM to model and analyze elevation data in the way that visibility analysis does.