Finite mixtures of normal distributions in the study of the error in altimetry

Abstract. The modelling of the altimetric error is proposed by means of the mixture of normal distributions. This alternative allows to avoid the problems of lack of normality of the altimetric error and that have been indicated numerous times. The conceptual bases of the mixture of distributions are presented and its application is demonstrated with an applied example. In the example, the altimetric errors existing between a DEM with 5 × 5 m resolution and another DEM with 2 × 2 m resolution are modelled, which is considered as a reference. The application demonstrates the feasibility and power of analysis of the proposal made.