Application of the topographic position index to heterogeneous landscapes

Topographic position index (TPI) is an algorithm increasingly used to measure topographic slope positions and to automate landform classifications. We applied TPI to a geoarchaeological research project in northwestern Belgium but its use led to erroneous landform classifications in this heterogeneous landscape. We asked whether deviation from mean elevation (DEV) was a better method for landform classification than TPI. We found that it enabled more accurate geomorphological assessment when using northwestern Belgium as a case study. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.