# MatchGeo Dataset — Version 1.1 ## 1. Dataset Overview | Attribute | Details | |---|---| | **Title** | MatchGeo: Multi-region Digital Elevation Model Dataset for Local Feature Matching | | **Version** | 1.1 | | **Release Date** | 2026-05-11 | | **Authors / Creators** | Correa, S. P. L. P.; Pazini Pedro, D. F.; Oliveira, H. N.; Belton, D.; Ivánová, I.; Santos, A. de Paula | | **Contact** | sabrina.correa@ufv.br | | **Persistent Identifier (DOI)** | [10.5281/zenodo.21229785](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21229785) | | **Keywords** | digital elevation model, DEM, DSM, local feature matching, geospatial dataset, urban terrain, cross-domain matching, computer vision, GeoTIFF, LiDAR, photogrammetry, Structure-from-Motion, satellite stereophotogrammetry | | **Related Publication** | In preparation | | **Repository** | [Zenodo](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21229785) · [Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/datasets/paeslemesa/matchgeo) | --- ## 2. Description MatchGeo is a curated, multi-region Digital Elevation Model (DEM) dataset designed for training and benchmarking local feature matching algorithms in urban and natural terrain analysis. It aggregates high-resolution elevation data from **13 distinct environments** across 6 continents to support research in cross-domain local feature detection and matching under varying acquisition methods, climates, terrain types, and urban morphologies. The dataset provides standardized **256x256 pixel GeoTIFF patches** with handcrafted ground truth annotations for two cities, enabling systematic evaluation of both intra-region and inter-region model generalization. ### Geographic & Temporal Scope | Region | Country | Temporal Coverage | Spatial Coverage | Terrain Type | |---|---|---|---|---| | Antarctic Peninsula (ATA_MV) | Antarctica | 2009–2024 | Peninsula | Polar, ice | | São Paulo (BRA_SP) | Brazil | 2020 | Municipal (1,544 km²) | Tropical, urban | | Wutai Shan (CHN_WS) | China | 2021 | Regional | Mountainous | | El Hierro (ESP_EH) | Canary Islands (Spain) | 2022–2025 | Regional | Volcanic, coastal | | Lahti Lake (FIN_LM) | Finland | 2020–2026 | Regional | Temperate, country | | Bonn (GER_BN) | Germany | 2016–2018 | City limits | Temperate, country | | Sinabung Volcano (IDN_SV) | Indonesia | 2018 | 16.07 km² | Volcanic, tropical | | Almaty City (KAZ_AC) | Kazakhstan | 2017 | 304.28 km² | Semi-arid, urban | | Wadi Al-Akhdar (KSA_WA) | Saudi Arabia | 2016 | 1,200 km² | Desert, graben | | Hebron Fault (NAM_HF) | Namibia | 2017 | Regional | Arid, fault zone | | Kapiti Coast (NZL_KP) | New Zealand | 2010–2025 | Regional | Coastal, temperate, country | | Tarlac (PHL_TA) | Philippines | 2014–2017 | Regional | Tropical, flat | | Grand Canyon (USA_GC) | United States | 2020–2026 | Regional | Desert, canyon | ### Purpose & Use Cases - Training and benchmarking local feature detectors and descriptors on geospatial elevation data - Cross-domain generalization studies (LiDAR vs. photogrammetry vs. satellite, temperate vs. tropical vs. desert) - Urban terrain analysis and change detection - Evaluation of matching robustness across sensor modalities and terrain types - Benchmarking for computer vision models on non-RGB data --- ## 3. Content & Schema ### 3.1 Files Included | Filename / Folder | Description | Approx. Size | |---|---|---| | `data/ATA_MV/` | Antarctic Peninsula tiles + metadata | 138.3 MB | | `data/BRA_SP/` | São Paulo tiles + annotations + metadata | 105.34 MB | | `data/CHN_WS/` | Wutai Shan tiles + metadata | 206.08 MB | | `data/ESP_EH/` | El Hierro tiles + metadata | 422.49 MB | | `data/FIN_LM/` | Lahti Lake tiles + metadata | 45.97 MB | | `data/GER_BN/` | Bonn tiles + annotations + metadata | 333.24 MB | | `data/IDN_SV/` | Sinabung Volcano tiles + metadata | 34.98 MB | | `data/KAZ_AC/` | Almaty City tiles + metadata | 128.00 MB | | `data/KSA_WA/` | Wadi Al-Akhdar tiles + metadata | 556.85 MB | | `data/NAM_HF/` | Hebron Fault tiles + metadata | 115.24 MB | | `data/NZL_KP/` | Kapiti Coast tiles + metadata | 362.23 MB | | `data/PHL_TA/` | Tarlac tiles + metadata | 64.10 MB | | `data/USA_GC/` | Grand Canyon tiles + metadata | 138.27 MB | | `splits/` | Train / validation / test split manifests (CSV) | 1.6 MB | | `manifest.json` | Central machine-readable catalog (JSON-LD) | 7.2 KB | | `README.md` | High-level project documentation | 12.5 KB | | `DATASET_DESCRIPTION.md` | This file | 126.0 KB | | `LICENSE` | Full CC BY 4.0 legal text | 14.2 KB | ### 3.2 Per-region File Structure Each region folder follows this structure: ``` / ├── .tif # Merged DEM (BigTIFF, tiled, DEFLATE) ├── _extent.geojson # Bounding polygon of full coverage ├── _tiles.geojson # Tile index (grid of all 256x256 patches) ├── metadata/ │ └── _metadata.json # ISO 19115-2 + OGC 23-008r3 metadata ├── annotations/ # Only for labelled cities (BRA_SP, GER_BN) │ └── _###_###.json # Keypoint annotations per tile └── tiles/ └── _###_###.tif # 256x256 pixel patches ``` ### 3.3 Data Dictionary | Variable / Field | Data Type | Description | Units / Format | Nullable | Example | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | `tile_id` | string | Unique identifier for each 256x256 patch | — | No | `GER_BN_001_010` | | `region` | string | Source region code | — | No | `GER_BN` | | `geometry` | GeoTIFF raster | Elevation patch | 256x256 px, float32 | No | — | | `crs` | string | Coordinate reference system | EPSG code | No | `EPSG:25832` | | `resolution` | float | Ground sample distance | meters | No | `1.0` | | `acquisition_method` | string | Data acquisition technique | — | No | `airborne_lidar` | | `acquisition_year` | integer | Year of data capture | year | No | `2017` | | `elevation_min` | float | Minimum elevation in patch | meters | Yes | `42.3` | | `elevation_max` | float | Maximum elevation in patch | meters | Yes | `156.8` | | `elevation_mean` | float | Mean elevation in patch | meters | Yes | `98.4` | | `elevation_std` | float | Standard deviation of elevation | meters | Yes | `12.1` | | `annotated` | boolean | Whether patch has handcrafted ground truth | — | No | `true` | | `n_annotations` | integer | Number of verified point annotations in patch | count | Yes | `127` | | `split` | string | Dataset split assignment | — | No | `train` | | `difficulty` | string | Difficulty tag for stratification | — | Yes | `easy` | --- ## 4. Methodology & Provenance ### 4.1 Data Sources All raw data were obtained from open municipal, national, or research portals and are redistributed under terms compatible with CC BY 4.0. | City | Source Dataset | Provider | Method | Resolution | Year | CRS | License / Terms | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | **ATA_MV** | REMA | Polar Geospatial Center / University of Minnesota | Satellite stereophotogrammetry | 1.0 m | 2009–2024 | EPSG:3031 | CC BY 4.0 | | **BRA_SP** | GeoSampa MDS 2020 | Prefeitura de São Paulo (PMSP) / SMUL / GEOINFO | Airborne LiDAR (Optech ORION H300) | **0.5 m** | 2020 | EPSG:31983 | Open municipal data | | **CHN_WS** | Wutai Shan / Yingwang Shan 2021 | Zhou, C. / OpenTopography | UAV SfM (DJI Phantom 4) | 1.0 m | 2021 | EPSG:32649 | OpenTopography terms | | **ESP_EH** | PNOA-LiDAR 3ª Cobertura | CNIG / Instituto Geográfico Nacional | Airborne LiDAR | 0.5 m | 2022–2025 | EPSG:3040 | CC BY 4.0 | | **FIN_LM** | Elevation Model 2 m | Maanmittauslaitos (NLS Finland) | Airborne LiDAR + photogrammetry | 2.0 m | 2020–2026 | EPSG:3067 | CC BY 4.0 | | **GER_BN** | Digitales Oberflächenmodell (DOM) | Geobasis NRW / Bezirksregierung Köln | Airborne LiDAR | 1.0 m | 2016–2018 | EPSG:25832 | Open data | | **IDN_SV** | Sinabung Volcano 2018 | Carr, B. / OpenTopography | UAS SfM (DJI Matrice 210) | 0.87 m | 2018 | EPSG:32647 | OpenTopography terms | | **KAZ_AC** | Almaty City 2017 | Amey et al. / OpenTopography | Pleiades Tristereo | 1.0 m | 2017 | EPSG:32643 | OpenTopography terms | | **KSA_WA** | Wadi-al-Akhdar 2016 | Matthieu et al. / OpenTopography | SPOT 6 Stereo | 1.6 m | 2016 | EPSG:32637 | OpenTopography terms | | **NAM_HF** | Hebron Fault 2017 | Salomon et al. / UCT / OpenTopography | WorldView-3 Stereo | 0.53 m | 2017 | EPSG:32733 | OpenTopography terms | | **NZL_KP** | NZ LiDAR 1m DEM | LINZ | Airborne LiDAR | 1.0 m | 2010–2025 | EPSG:2193 | CC BY 4.0 | | **PHL_TA** | LiPAD | UP Diliman TCAGP / DREAM / DOST | Airborne LiDAR | 1.0 m | 2014–2017 | EPSG:32651 | Open data | | **USA_GC** | USGS 3DEP DEM | U.S. Geological Survey | LiDAR | 0.5 m | 2020–2026 | EPSG:6341 | Public Domain | ### 4.2 Processing Pipeline All cities were processed through a standardized PDAL pipeline with region-specific adaptations: 1. **Acquisition & Download** — Raw data retrieved from source portals in native CRS and resolution. 2. **Preprocessing (region-specific)**: - **BRA_SP**: Ground classification via `filters.smf` (scalar=1.25, slope=0.15, threshold=0.5, window=16.0) - **CHN_WS**: Noise removal (`filters.range` Classification![7:7]) + statistical outlier removal (mean_k=6, multiplier=2.0) - **IDN_SV, KSA_WA, NAM_HF**: Statistical outlier removal (mean_k=6, multiplier=2.0) - **Others**: Direct rasterization 3. **Rasterization** — PDAL `writers.gdal` with: - `output_type`: `max` (DSM: highest point per cell) - `data_type`: `float32` - `nodata`: `-9999` - `gdalopts`: `COMPRESS=DEFLATE|TILED=YES|BIGTIFF=YES` - `resolution`: City-specific (see table above) 4. **Patch Extraction** — Non-overlapping 256x256 pixel patches extracted using a regular grid (no resampling). 5. **Quality Control** — Outlier removal based on elevation range checks, CRS validation, and visual inspection. 6. **Annotation (BRA_SP, GER_BN)** — Handcrafted point-level annotations in normalized coordinates. 7. **Stratified Splitting** — 80% train / 10% validation / 10% test (planned; to be stratified by region and difficulty). 8. **Packaging & Metadata** — Per-region ISO 19115-2 metadata; central JSON-LD manifest; archived on Zenodo with DOI. ### 4.3 Software & Tools - Python 3.10.20 - PDAL 2.6.0 (point cloud processing) - GDAL / rasterio (geospatial I/O and reprojection) - NumPy / pandas (tabular metadata management) - Custom annotation and patch-generation scripts --- ## 5. Access & Licensing ### 5.1 Availability | Repository | URL | Access Type | |---|---|---| | **Zenodo (Primary)** | [https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21229785](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21229785) | Open, DOI-backed, permanent | | **Hugging Face Datasets** | [https://huggingface.co/datasets/paeslemesa/matchgeo](https://huggingface.co/datasets/paeslemesa/matchgeo) | Open, streaming loader available | - **Total Size**: ~12.5 GB - **File Formats**: Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF - COG (`.tif`), GeoJSON (`.geojson`), metadata JSON, split manifests CSV - **Access Type**: Open access, no registration required ### 5.2 License This dataset is released under the **Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)**. You are free to: - **Share** — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format - **Adapt** — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially Under the following terms: - **Attribution** — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. The full legal text is provided in the [`LICENSE`](LICENSE) file and at [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). ### 5.3 Terms of Use & Source Attribution When using this dataset, your publication or product must include: 1. **Dataset citation** (see [Section 8: Citation](#8-citation)) 2. **Original source acknowledgments** (per region): - *ATA_MV: Data derived from REMA © Polar Geospatial Center / University of Minnesota* - *BRA_SP: Data derived from GeoSampa © Prefeitura de São Paulo* - *CHN_WS: Data derived from OpenTopography dataset by Zhou, C. (DOI: 10.5069/G98C9TGT)* - *ESP_EH: Data derived from PNOA-LiDAR © CNIG / Instituto Geográfico Nacional* - *FIN_LM: Data derived from Maanmittauslaitos © National Land Survey of Finland* - *GER_BN: Data derived from Geobasis NRW © Bezirksregierung Köln* - *IDN_SV: Data derived from OpenTopography dataset by Carr, B. (DOI: 10.5069/G8988568)* - *KAZ_AC: Data derived from OpenTopography dataset by Amey et al. (DOI: 10.5069/G9H41PMP)* - *KSA_WA: Data derived from OpenTopography dataset by Matthieu et al. (DOI: 10.5069/G9V40SDZ)* - *NAM_HF: Data derived from OpenTopography dataset by Salomon et al. (DOI: 10.5069/G9W957BC)* - *NZL_KP: Data derived from LINZ © Land Information New Zealand* - *PHL_TA: Data derived from LiPAD © UP Diliman TCAGP / DREAM Program* - *USA_GC: Data derived from USGS 3DEP © U.S. Geological Survey* --- ## 6. Interoperability & Technical Details ### 6.1 Standards & Formats | Aspect | Standard / Value | |---|---| | **Raster format** | Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (BigTIFF variant, OGC 23-008r3 compliant) | | **Internal tiling** | 256 × 256 pixels | | **Pixel depth** | Float32 | | **Patch dimensions** | 256 × 256 pixels | | **Coordinate systems** | Region-specific UTM (see Section 4.1) | | **Metadata standard** | ISO 19115-2 + OGC 23-008r3 | | **Encoding** | UTF-8 for all text and tabular files | | **Compression** | DEFLATE | | **NoData value** | -9999 | ### 6.2 OGC GeoTIFF Compliance (23-008r3) All GeoTIFFs comply with OGC 23-008r3 and contain the following required keys: | Key | Status | Source | |---|---|---| | GTModelTypeGeoKey | ✅ | PDAL `override_srs` | | GTRasterTypeGeoKey | ✅ | GDAL default (PixelIsArea) | | ProjectedCSTypeGeoKey | ✅ | EPSG code embedded | | GeogGeodeticDatumGeoKey | ✅ | Derived from EPSG | | GeogAngularUnitsGeoKey | ✅ | Degree (default) | | ProjLinearUnitsGeoKey | ✅ | Meter (default) | | PixelScale | ✅ | GDAL writer | | TiePoint | ✅ | Upper-left corner coordinate | | BigTIFF | ✅ | `BIGTIFF=YES` | | Tiled | ✅ | `TILED=YES` | | Compression | ✅ | `COMPRESS=DEFLATE` | | NoData | ✅ | `nodata=-9999` | > **Note on vertical CRS**: The GeoTIFFs encode 2D projected CRS (EPSG codes) with elevation as pixel values. A vertical CRS is not explicitly embedded in the GeoTIFF GeoKeys; vertical datum information is documented in per-region `metadata.json` files. ### 6.3 Controlled Vocabularies - **GCMD Keywords**: `EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > TOPOGRAPHY > TERRAIN ELEVATION > DIGITAL ELEVATION/TERRAIN MODEL (DEM)` - **ISO Topic Category**: `elevation` - **INSPIRE Theme**: `Elevation` ### 6.4 Data Splits | Split | Proportion | Stratification | |---|---|---| | Train | 80% | By region and difficulty | | Validation | 10% | By region and difficulty | | Test | 10% | By region and difficulty | Explicit **intra-region** and **inter-region** test subsets are planned for future releases. --- ## 7. Quality Assurance & Known Limitations ### 7.1 Validation - Bonn annotations were verified by multiple annotators. - Elevation ranges were cross-checked against known region topographies. - CRS consistency was validated using GDALinfo and automated assertions. ### 7.2 Known Biases & Limitations | Issue | Description | Mitigation / Status | |---|---|---| | **Geographic bias** | Dense annotation only in GER_BN and BRA_SP; others unlabelled | v1.1 separates labelled/unlabelled; future releases will add annotations | | **Temporal mismatch** | Data spans 2009–2026 across cities | Documented; users should account for temporal drift | | **Sensor heterogeneity** | LiDAR, photogrammetry, SfM, satellite stereo — different noise characteristics | Explicitly treated as cross-domain challenge | | **Resolution heterogeneity** | Native resolutions range from 0.5 m to 2.0 m | | | **Missing data** | Water bodies, ocean excluded; NoData=-9999 | Documented in per-tile metadata | | **ATA_MV uncertainty** | Antarctica data from REMA satellite stereophotogrammetry | Marked for verification | | **CHN_WS CRS discrepancy** | BibTeX says EPSG:32649; user previously mentioned EPSG:32648 | To be verified from actual file | | **Vertical CRS** | No explicit vertical GeoKey in GeoTIFFs; elevations are source-dependent (orthometric or ellipsoidal) | Documented in per-region `metadata.json` | --- ## 8. Citation If you use this dataset in your research, please cite: ```bibtex @dataset{correa_2026_matchgeo, author = {Correa, S. P. L. P. and Pazini Pedro, D. F. and Oliveira, H. N. and Belton, D. and Ivánová, I. and Santos, A. de Paula}, title = {{MatchGeo: Digital Elevation Model Dataset for Local Feature Matching}}, year = 2026, publisher = {Zenodo}, version = {1.1}, doi = {10.5281/zenodo.21229785}, url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21229785}, note = {Contains data derived from REMA, GeoSampa, OpenTopography, CNIG, Maanmittauslaitos, Geobasis NRW, LINZ, LiPAD, and USGS 3DEP} } ``` **Plain text citation:** Correa, S. P. L. P., Pazini Pedro, D. F., Oliveira, H. N., Belton, D., Ivánová, I., & Santos, A. de Paula. (2026). *MatchGeo: Digital Elevation Model Dataset for Local Feature Matching* (Version 1.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21229785 ### Source Dataset Citations When using specific cities, also cite the original sources: ```bibtex % BRA_SP @misc{datasetgeosampa, author = {{Prefeitura do Munic{'i}pio de S{\~a}o Paulo (PMSP)}}, title = {{Nuvem de Pontos {MDS} 2020}}, year = {2020}, publisher = {GeoSampa}, url = {https://geosampa.prefeitura.sp.gov.br/} } % CHN_WS @misc{datasetchinayingwang2021, author = {Zhou, C.}, title = {High Resolution Topography of {Wutai Shan} and {Yingwang Shan}, China, 2021}, year = {2023}, publisher = {OpenTopography}, doi = {10.5069/G98C9TGT} } % ESP_EH @misc{datasetspain, author = {{Centro Nacional de Informaci{'o}n Geogr{'a}fica (CNIG)}}, title = {{PNOA-LiDAR --- 3{\textordfeminine} Cobertura (2022--2025)}}, year = {2022--2025}, url = {https://centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/lidar-tercera-cobertura} } % FIN_LM @misc{datasetfinland, author = {{Maanmittauslaitos --- National Land Survey of Finland}}, title = {{Korkeusmalli 2 m / Elevation Model 2 m}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.maanmittauslaitos.fi/en/maps-and-spatial-data/datasets-and-interfaces/product-descriptions/elevation-model-2-m} } % GER_BN @misc{datasetgermany, author = {{Geobasis NRW --- Bezirksregierung K{\"o}ln}}, title = {{Digitales Oberfl{\"a}chenmodell ({DOM})}}, year = {2024}, url = {https://www.bezreg-koeln.nrw.de/geobasis-nrw/produkte-und-dienste/hoehenmodelle/digitale-oberflaechenmodelle/digitales} } % IDN_SV @misc{datasetindonesiasinabung2018, author = {Carr, B.}, title = {{Sinabung Volcano} (Indonesia), {June 20, 2018}}, year = {2021}, publisher = {OpenTopography}, doi = {10.5069/G8988568} } % KAZ_AC @misc{datasetkazakhstanalmaty2017, author = {Amey, R. and Watson, C. S. and Elliott, J. and Walker, R.}, title = {{Almaty City, Kazakhstan, 2017, Derived from {Pleiades} Tristereo Imagery}}, year = {2021}, publisher = {OpenTopography}, doi = {10.5069/G9H41PMP} } % KSA_WA @misc{dataset_saudiarabia_wadi_al_akhdar_2016, author = {Matthieu, R. and Moulin, A. and J{'o}nsson, S.}, title = {{Digital Surface Model of {Wadi-al-Akhdar} Graben, Saudi Arabia, 2016}}, year = {2024}, publisher = {OpenTopography}, doi = {10.5069/G9V40SDZ} } % NAM_HF @misc{datasetnamibiahebron_2017, author = {Salomon, G. and Smit, J. and Muir, R. and Stevens, V. and Sloan, R. A.}, title = {{Hebron Fault, Namibia 2017 {WorldView-3} Stereophotogrammetric {DEM}}}, year = {2021}, publisher = {OpenTopography}, doi = {10.5069/G9W957BC} } % NZL_KP @misc{datasetnewzealand, author = {{Toit{\=u} Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand ({LINZ})}}, title = {New Zealand {LiDAR} 1m {DEM}}, year = {2025}, url = {https://data.linz.govt.nz/layer/121859-new-zealand-lidar-1m-dem/services/csw/} } % PHL_TA @misc{datasetphilippines, author = {{Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation (DREAM) Program}}, title = {{LiPAD --- {LiDAR} Portal for Archiving and Distribution}}, year = {2016}, url = {https://lipad.dream.upd.edu.ph/} } % USA_GC @misc{datasetusa, author = {{U.S. Geological Survey}}, title = {{3D Elevation Program (3DEP) Digital Elevation Models}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://apps.nationalmap.gov/downloader/} } ``` --- ## 9. Version History | Version | Date | Changes | Author | |---|---|---|---| | 1.0 | 2026-03-30 | Initial release; GER_BN 20,000+ handcrafted annotations | Correa et al. | | 1.1 | 2026-05-11 | Expanded to 13 cities; reorganized into labelled/unlabelled; added per-region metadata; synchronized with FAIR + OGC 23-008r3 | Correa et al. | --- ## 10. Acknowledgments & Funding - **Data providers**: European Commission / ESA (Copernicus), Prefeitura de São Paulo (GeoSampa), OpenTopography, CNIG (Spain), Maanmittauslaitos (Finland), Geobasis NRW (Germany), LINZ (New Zealand), UP Diliman TCAGP / DREAM (Philippines), USGS (United States) - **Imagery providers**: CNES / Airbus DS (Pleiades), Maxar (WorldView-3), SPOT Image (SPOT 6) - **Institutional support**: Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) --- ## 11. Contact & Support - **General inquiries**: sabrina.correa@ufv.br - **Dataset maintainer**: Sabrina Correa, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - **Issues / bug reports**: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/paeslemesa/matchgeo/issues) - **Discussions**: [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/paeslemesa/matchgeo/discussions) --- **Last Updated**: 2026-07-09