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Use the World Elevation services

In this topic

  1. Use the Terrain service
  2. Use the Terrain3D service

Use the Terrain service

Once you've published the terrain image service, the service can be used in ArcGIS 10.6.1 or later and ArcGIS Online. Terrain is a dynamic image service comprising multiple sources and resolutions ranging from 1,000 meters to 0.25 meters. It can be used for visualization and analysis.

Use in ArcGIS Desktop

ArcGIS Pro

To use the Terrain service in ArcGIS Pro, complete the following steps:

  1. Start ArcGIS Pro and choose the Map project template.
  2. On the Insert tab, choose Connections > New ArcGIS Server.
  3. Provide the server URL where you published the Terrain service.
  4. On the Map tab, click Add Data > Data.
  5. Click Servers, double-click the server connection, and select the Terrain service. The Terrain service is added to the map. By default, the service renders as an elevation (DEM) raster.
  6. Right-click Terrain, and click Properties > Processing Templates.
  7. From the Processing Template drop-down list, choose one of the functions defined on the service.
  8. Click OK.

    The map dynamically renders the elevation derivative selected from the drop-down list.

Use in ArcMap

To use the Terrain service in ArcMap, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Catalog window, make an ArcGIS server connection to the server that is hosting the elevation services.
  2. Start ArcMap and add or drag the Terrain service to the map. By default, the service renders as an elevation (DEM) raster.
  3. Right-click Terrain and click Properties > Processing Templates.
  4. From the Function drop-down list, choose one of the functions defined on the service.
  5. Click OK.

    Terrain service layer properties

    The raster function dynamically renders the elevation derivative selected from the drop-down list.

Use Terrain for analysis

The Terrain service includes data with resolutions ranging from more than 1,000 meters to approximately 0.25 meters in some limited areas, and each record (raster item) is populated with the Dataset_ID and ProductName tags, which can be used for filtering. Since the service is composed of multiple-resolution datasets, the records need to be filtered based on a single resolution (or dataset) before consuming it for analysis. Use the Make Image Server Layer geoprocessing tool to create a temporary layer that can be used in other geoprocessing tools. In the following scenario, analysis is done in the Redlands, California, area:

  1. Add the Terrain service to ArcMap.
  2. Zoom to the Redlands area of interest (AOI) and click Identify on the Terrain service.

    A list of raster items is returned.

  3. Examine the LowPS (cell resolution in meters) values of rasters in the Identify result window.
  4. Determine the resolution you need to work with.

    Note the ProductName field value. This example is for the NED_1r3_arcsec dataset, which has a resolution of approximately 10.3 meters.

    Terrain service Identify results with the NED_1r3_arcsec dataset selected

  5. Open the Make Image Server Layer tool.
  6. Define the parameters.
    1. Specify the input image service.
    2. Set Expression to "ProductName" = 'NED_1r3_arcsec'.
    3. Optionally, set the output coordinates from the env setting, if the request being made is different from the image service coordinates (Web Mercator).
    4. Specify the extent.
    5. Specify the Output Cell Size value as 10.3.

      Make Image Service Layer dialog box for Terrain layer

    6. Click OK to run the tool.

This generates a temporary layer with cell size, coordinate system, extent, and expression parameters defined in the tool. This temporary elevation layer can now be used in other geoprocessing tools for further analysis.

The request size of the output layer is limited to 5,000 by 5,000 pixels (property defined on mosaic datasets).

For information about the Make Image Server Layer tool, see Make Image Server Layer in the ArcMap help under Tools > Tool reference > Data Management toolbox > Layers and Table Views toolset.

For information about using mosaic datasets and image services in geoprocessing tools, see Using mosaic datasets and image services in analysis and geoprocessing in the ArcMap help under Manage Data > Data types > Raster and images > Processing and analyzing raster data.

Use in ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS

To use the Terrain service in ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS, complete the following steps:

  1. Go to the REST endpoint of the Terrain service, for example, http://localhost:6080/arcgis/rest/services/Terrain/ImageServer.
  2. Click ArcGIS Online Map Viewer.

    The Terrain service opens in the map viewer in a browser. By default, it renders as elevation (DTM).

  3. Click Terrain > More Options > Image Display > Renderer to choose from the server functions defined on the service.

    More Options list for Terrain layer

  4. Choose Grayscale_Hillshade Renderer (that is, server raster function) from the drop-down list and click Apply.

    The map renders the hillshade. Similarly, any other available renderer can be selected for visualization in the map viewer.

Data coverage map

You can explore the DataExtentsMap.mxd file at \\<server-ip>\CollectionB_source_documents\data\WorldElevation\DataExtentsMap. This map provides the coverage extent of various datasets composing the Terrain service. The map document (.mxd) can be published as a map service.

For information about publishing a map document (.mxd) as a map service, see Publish a map service from ArcMap in the ArcMap help under Publish services > Publish map services > Publishing your map as a service.

Use the Terrain3D service

The following sections describe how to use the Terrain3D service.

Use in ArcGIS Pro

To use the Terrain3D service in ArcGIS Pro, complete the following steps:

  1. Start ArcGIS Pro and choose the Global_Scene project template.
  2. On the Insert tab, choose Connections > New ArcGIS Server.
  3. Provide the server URL where you published the Terrain3D service.
  4. On the Map tab, click Add Data > Elevation Source.
  5. Click Servers, double-click the server connection, and select the Terrain3D service.

    The elevation source is added to the ground.

  6. Optionally, turn off or remove the default ArcGIS Online elevation layer (WorldElevation3D/Terrain3D) from Ground.
  7. Zoom to any location and tilt the scene to view the oblique views.

With ArcGIS Pro, you can add your unique 2D and 3D data layers to the scene. Your data is added to the elevation surface. If your data has defined elevation (z-coordinates), this information is honored in the scene. You can then share your work as a web scene with others in your organization or with the public.

For information about scenes in ArcGIS Pro, see Scenes in the ArcGIS Pro help under Maps and scenes > Author maps and scenes.

Use in ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS

To use the Terrain3D service in ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS, complete the following steps:

  1. Open the web scene from ArcGIS Online or from your Portal for ArcGIS deployment.
  2. Click the Modify scene button Modify scene to open Designer.
  3. Click Add Layer > Enter Layer URL.
  4. In the Enter Layer URL pane, enter the REST endpoint of the Terrain3D service published on your server, for example, http://localhost:6080/arcgis/rest/services/Terrain3D/ImageServer.
  5. Click Add to add the layer to your scene.

    The elevation surface is added as Ground.

Using Scene Viewer in ArcGIS Online, you can create and interact with 3D scenes. Your data is added to the elevation surface. If your data has defined elevation (z-coordinates), this information is honored in the scene. You can then share your work as a web scene with others in your organization or with the public.

For information about using the 3D scene viewer, see Get started with Scene Viewer in the ArcGIS Online help.

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In this topic
  1. Use the Terrain service
  2. Use the Terrain3D service