DT0 File – What is .dt0 file and how to open it?
DT0 File Extension
DTED Level 0 File – file format by National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
DT0 (DTED Level 0 File) is a raster data format used by National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to store elevation data. It is a compressed format that uses a logarithmic encoding technique to reduce file size.
Definition and Purpose of DT0 Files
A DT0 file, also known as a DTED Level 0 File, is a raster data format used to store topographic elevation data. It is developed and maintained by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), an agency within the United States Department of Defense. DT0 files play a crucial role in various applications, including military operations, terrain analysis, flight simulation, and geographical information systems (GIS).
Structure and Content of DT0 Files
DT0 files have a binary file format and consist of a header section, followed by the elevation data. The header section contains metadata about the file, such as the geographic extent, resolution, and coordinate system. The elevation data is stored as a grid of elevation values, where each value represents the height above sea level at a specific point on the Earth’s surface. The resolution of DT0 files varies, with the most common resolutions being 1 arc-second (approximately 30 meters) and 3 arc-seconds (approximately 90 meters).
Using Specialized Software
To open a DT0 file, you will need specialized software that can handle DTED Level 0 data. One such software is the DTED Utilities package, developed by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). This free and open-source software provides a comprehensive set of tools for working with DTED data, including viewing, editing, and converting. Once you have installed DTED Utilities, you can open a DT0 file by selecting “File” > “Open” and navigating to the DT0 file on your computer.
Converting to a Different Format
If you do not have access to DTED Utilities or prefer to use a different software application, you can convert the DT0 file to a more common format. One popular option is to convert it to GeoTIFF, a raster image format that is supported by many GIS software packages. To do this, you can use the GDAL (Geospatial Data Abstraction Library) command-line utility. The syntax for converting a DT0 file to GeoTIFF is:
gdal_translate -of GTiff input.dt0 output.tif
Once the DT0 file has been converted to GeoTIFF, you can open it in any GIS software that supports this format.
DTED Level 0 File (DT0 File)
The DT0 file is a raster data format developed by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). It is used to store Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) at Level 0 resolution. DTED Level 0 data is characterized by a ground post spacing of 1 arc-second, resulting in extremely detailed elevation data. Each DT0 file covers an area of 1 degree of latitude by 1 degree of longitude.
Structure of a DT0 File
A DT0 file consists of a header record followed by elevation data. The header record contains metadata about the file, such as the geographic coordinates of the extent, the ground post spacing, and the data source. The elevation data is stored as a series of 16-bit signed integers, with each integer representing the elevation in meters above the WGS84 ellipsoid. The elevation data is arranged in a row-major order, with each row corresponding to a latitude line and each column corresponding to a longitude line.