dataset · Global
Global 30m Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND)
Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) is a terrain model that normalizes topography to the relative heights along the drainage network and is used to describe the relative soil gravitational potentials or the local drainage potentials. Each pixel value represents the vertical distance to the nearest drainage. The HAND data provides near-worldwide land coverage at 30 meters and was produced from the 2021 release of the Copernicus GLO-30 Public DEM as distributed in the [Registry of Open Data on AW
Visit source ↗Source details
Licence: Copyright 2022 Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF). Produced using the Copernicus WorldDEM™-30 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European
Evidence quality: 42.7
Listed in aws-odr public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).
Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z
What's in it
- Data offered docs-verified
- HAND raster: vertical height of each pixel above its nearest drainage · Terrain normalised to relative heights along the drainage network
- Coverage docs-verified
- Near-worldwide land coverage (Global)
- Resolution docs-verified
- 30 m
- Update frequency docs-verified
- None (static); may be updated only if the Copernicus GLO-30 Public dataset is updated
- Formats llm-inferred
- Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG) · STAC v1.0.0 catalogue
- Access docs-verified
- Free, open; public AWS S3 bucket, no AWS account needed; licence CC0 1.0 Universal per docs
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Indicative flood-prone area screening for FRA using height above nearest drainage · Drainage and SuDS outfall siting screening by height above watercourse · Groundwater and wetness screening for soakaway or infiltration feasibility
- Audience llm-inferred
- flood consultants · hydrologists · drainage engineers · GIS analysts
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- 30 m grid cannot resolve small channels, culverts or kerbs · Derived from the Copernicus GLO-30 DEM, so source DEM errors carry through · No accuracy assessment stated in the docs · Update timing depends on the upstream GLO-30 dataset; no schedule · Licence text credits Copernicus/DLR/Airbus source data; check attribution wording in client reports
Evidence
- arn:aws:s3:::glo-30-hand, arn:aws:sns:us-west-2:879002409890:glo-30-hand-object_created
- https://registry.opendata.aws/glo-30-hand/
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.