How to get elevation raster data at custom scales for a specific region?

Question

I'm new to GIS and trying to obtain elevation data for a specific region, transformed to raster data with a custom cell size of 10 meters.

My first attempt was to download a TBDEM dataset from USGS via the CoNED Viewer's download tool, which I think represents elevation data for both sea floor and land (integrated bathymetric–topographic DEM), for the region I selected in the CoNED Viewer.

Within the downloaded zip I found a file .tiff.xml file describing it as "a 2 meter cell size dataset" and "seamless land elevation and water depth information" which sounds great.

Then there is a .tiff file (800 MB) as well as a Spatial_Metadata_2m.gdb file (2 MB), which I guess go hand in hand representing that data.

How would you go about extracting the elevation data from the .tiff file and transform it to a custom grid (or cell?) size of 10 meters, on a Mac?

Are there easier to use tools or APIs to get elevation raster data at custom scales for a specific region?

Purpose: Terrain generation for a simulation game, so it doesn't need to be highly precise.

Answer 1

You could do this with Qgis, which is freely available (under the "GNU General Public License" ) including on a Mac. It is also a nice, straightforward program to use as a GIS beginner.

Once you have the software loaded (current version is 3.18.0), load the 2m raster tiff file, right click on the layer name in the Table of Contents, then choose "Save as" and select a file name and directory destination. The dialogue box will show the current extent and current resolution (pixel size) of the input raster. You can amend these as you wish. Depending on your original file, you might need to copy and paste its style to the new image. Also, be aware that cell size on the input is specified in the units of the CRS, so could show in decimal degrees rather than meters.