Identification of microrelief shapes along the line objects over DEM data and assessing their impact on the vehicle movement

Relief is one of the key components of the landscape. Therefore, its mapping and exploring has been done for centuries. Ways of examination the impact of the relief have been considerably extended by using geographic information systems. But until recently, it was difficult to study in detail the micro-relief components of relief. This was due to the fact that there were not sufficiently detailed digital elevation models, or they were created only for small areas. The new generation of digital elevation models produced by the airborne laser scanning technology is already so detailed and has reached such a high accuracy that now it is possible to study elements of micro-relief. Many of these elements are bound to linear objects in the landscape, especially roads and waterways. Micro-relief in their vicinity considerably affects the possibilities of vehicle movement across these objects. To identify these objects in DEM, to determine their trafficability and to explore the technical parameters of vehicles is the main focus of this paper.