Terrain Slope Analysis in Antarctica using REMA Data

This project demonstrates the use of high-resolution Arctic DEM data (REMA) via the STAC API to compute least-cost paths over ice sheets in the British Antarctic Territory (BAT). The goal is to showcase a use of elevation-derived slope data in Antarctica. Other potential use cases include modeling potential ice flow paths or simulating optimal navigation routes across Antarctic terrain.

Use Case

• Core Example: Compute the least-cost path between two points using slope data derived from REMA DEMs.
• Broader Application: Model potential ice flow paths and understand glaciological processes.

Project Structure

BAT_slope_analysis/
├── data/ # Input datasets
│ └── bat_boundary/ # Antarctic boundary shapefiles
│   ├──── bat_boundary.shp
│   ├──── bat_boundary.shx
│   ├──── bat_boundary.dbf
│   ├──── bat_boundary.prj
│   ├──── bat_boundary.cpg
├── notebooks/ # Jupyter notebooks with analysis
│ └── least_cost_path.ipynb
├── README.md # Project documentation and download links
├── requirements.txt # Python dependencies
├── .gitignore # Git ignore rules

How to Run

1. Clone the repo:

   git clone https://github.com/mattmeccadata/BAT_slope_analysis.git
   cd BAT_slope_analysis

2. Set up the environment:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Open the notebook:

   jupyter lab

Data

-REMA elevation data - Source: REMA DEM via STAC API; collection: rema-mosaics-v2.0-32m - Derived: Slope raster computed from DEM

-British Antarctic Territory (BAT) boundary - Source: Harris, U. (2009) Antarctic Territorial Claims GIS, Ver. 1, Australian Antarctic Data Centre - https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/gis108, Accessed: 2025-06-24 - Region: BAT (British Antarctic Territory)

Dependencies

• geopandas
• shapely
• pystac-client
• stackstac
• rioxarray
• numpy
• xarray
• matplotlib
• scipy
• rasterio

See requirements.txt for the full list.

Output Files

Due to GitHub file size limits, outputs are available for download here:

• cost_surface.tif (Google Drive)
• least_cost.tif (Google Drive)
• slope_degrees.tif (Google Drive)

These are the full-resolution outputs generated by the Jupyter notebook.

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License

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/