The 3D Elevation Program initiative: a call for action

Abstract

Top: A representative image of a lidar source point cloud. The data were collected by an airborne lidar instrument over Cannon Beach, Oregon, in 2008-2009. The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) acquired the data in partnership with multiple other organizations. When the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) is fully realized, similar high-resolution lidar (light detection and ranging) data will be available for the entire conterminous United States and Hawaii. They will support many applications, including flood risk management, hazard mitigation, and natural resource management. The colors in this point cloud indicate elevation, from low (blue) to high (red). Bottom: Examples of top-down views of a suite of derivative products that all were generated from the above lidar point cloud by the U.S. Geological Survey. North is at the top of the page. A, Hillshade (shaded-relief) model, which is used for visualizing the terrain. B, Digital elevation model (bare-earth DEM), which is used for general topographic analysis and mapping. Lower areas are shown as green, and higher areas are shown as brown. The brown area at left is a feature called Haystack Rock. The DEM and hillshade model are both derived from the lidar classified point cloud by filtering points and interpolating between points. C, Slope (bare-earth) model, showing the vertical change from one bare-earth elevation cell to its neighbor. Steep slopes are shown as red, and flat areas are shown as green. D, Laser-intensity model, showing the strength of the laser signal returned from a lidar pulse. Laser-intensity models allow compilation of breaklines, such as ridges and shorelines. The curving line represents a road. E, Height-above-ground model, showing the vertical difference between the highest nonground return and the ground return. Tree-canopy heights and building footprints and their associated heights can easily be extracted from this derivative. The dark-blue line represents an area of no trees, where a powerline has been cut through.

Fish assemblage–environment relationships suggest differential trophic responses to heavy metal contamination

“…The use of forested land cover allows for the application of a single variable with ecological relevance to in‐stream habitat (Meador & Goldstein, ). Topography was represented by the slope at each site using the same DEM for the Meramec River Watershed region that was used in hydrologic model development (Sugarbaker et al., ). Slope was used to characterise how quickly water moved through a stream reach.…”

Evaluation of landslide susceptibility mapping techniques using lidar-derived conditioning factors (Oregon case study)

“…Jaboyedoff, Choffet, et al (2012) have documented the importance of lidar DEMs in landslide research and suggest that the trend of using lidar data for landslide studies will increase substantially over the next 5À10 years given wider availability of the data. Programs such as the 3D Elevation Plan (Sugarbaker et al 2014) are in place to collect seamless lidar data across the entire United States given its tremendous value. The potential information available from lidar when combined with advanced statistical techniques can strengthen the accuracy of LSM by improving data precision, resolution, accuracy, and completeness, especially in forested areas (Gutierrez et al 2001;Haneberg et al 2009;Lato et al 2009;Ventura et al 2011).…”

Evaluation of Single Photon and Geiger Mode Lidar for the 3D Elevation Program

“…The 3D Elevation Program is accelerating the rate of three-dimensional (3D) elevation data collection in response to a call for action to address a wide range of urgent needs nationwide [1]. With constantly changing lidar technology, the 3DEP needs to keep up with emerging trends and instruments that could fulfill the goals of the program at a reduced cost to the taxpayer.…”