5.B.i.c. Australia

Data coverage for Australia was available from AUSLIG/NGDC, USGS/GTOPO30, and JPL. The AUSLIG data (see Section 5.A.ii) contain considerably higher level of detail, so were selected for the "Best Available Data" (B.A.D.) version.

However, this version contains data copyrighted by, and licensed for, GLOBE distribution from AUSLIG. As this version may present some difficulties for some users, an unrestricted "Globally Only Open-access Data" (G.O.O.D.) alternative from GTOPO30 (see Section 5.A.vii) is also available. Although accuracy assessments by University College London suggested that the JPL version may have slightly greater overall absolute accuracy, that version contained specific areas with considerable artifacts. It is possible that future versions of GLOBE may contain mosaics of JPL and USGS data.

Note that the land areas covered in the B.A.D. and G.O.O.D. versions of GLOBE differ slightly. This is because the AUSLIG data coverage extends slightly into areas considered oceans by World Vector Shoreline, which defined the limits of contour-to-grid conversion in the USGS DEM. Thus the AUSLIG/NGDC DEM for Australia exhibits slightly greater land area in some areas than does the USGS DEM for Australia.

The process that modified the land mask for the AUSLIG-based data is described in Section 5.A.ii.