U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey

Elevation Data Product Needs and Requirements

Larry SugarbakerSenior Advisor - Geography

Enhanced Elevation Data…What’s different about it?

Business requirements are changing….fast

New data collection technologies are dramatically changing how we think about the surface of our planet.

The concept of elevation is changing from a bare earth surface characterization to a three dimensional model of multiple surface objects including bare earth, vegetation, buildings and other features.

Geospatial information systems must evolve (quickly) to meet these business requirements.

Lidar

Orthoimagery

Structures

Bare EarthElevation

Hydrology

Land Cover

Traditional Mapping Applications from Lidar

Contours

Lidar Point Cloud of Structures University of Nebraska

USGS study - 2003

Landslide Inventory

Geomorphologic mapping

Assessment of Farm Practices

Discuss the 1ft contour need from the old soil conservation document.

National Elevation Dataset - 10 meter

Lidar derived elevation dataset - 2 meter

Courtesy of NRCS

Slide 8

Summarize the proportionof Lidar returns by various heightstrata (i.e., estimate the amount of vegetation by height strata)

Estimating

Courtesy USFS

Estimating Vegetation Attributes Crown Cover by Height Strata

Lidar Shoreline Extraction

Edit Lidar Point Cloud

VDatum Contour Shoreline from DEM QA/QC

Courtesy of NOAA

How Many Business Uses? Mapping confined urban channels vs natural streams In the creation of seamless topo/bathy products Integration into the National Elevation Dataset Derivation of stream channel characteristics Mapping and monitoring coastal hazards Identify small hydrologic features (ditches, tile drain) Mapping fish habitat Characterizing wildlife habitat Identification of canopy gaps Flood inundation modeling Derivative hydrologic profiling Disaster response Fire science High-resolution floodplain mapping Characterization of canopy structure Defining drainage basins Jokulhaup monitoring Fault-rupture mapping Monitoring sea level rise Natural Hazards Identifying landslide-prone areas Creating topographic maps Glacier changes Carbon sequestration assessments Homeland security scenarios

Delineation of canopy surface and forest metrics Determination of watershed characteristics Delineation of building structures Characterization of urban settings Monitoring long-term shoreline change Mapping land cover and land use Measuring earthquake deformation Delineation of volcanic structure Monitoring volcano hazards Urban mapping Powerline mapping Hydrologic Modeling Bare earth products Monitoring debris flows Wave height surveys Sedimentation into rivers Monitoring geomorphic processes Identification of ponding areas Mapping wetland drainage Creation of synthetic drainage networks Identifying culverts Transportation mapping 3-D visualization of buildings Volume visualization Identifying bird habitats

Specifications TodayAgency Average Point Spacing Desired

USGS 1 meter for vegetation and structures, 3 meters for NED

FEMA 1 meter urban, 3 meter suburban, and 5-10 meters other

USFS < 1 pulse / m2

NRCS 3 meters

NOAA 1-5 meters for ecosystem management, 1 meter or less for feature extraction, 2 meters or less for shoreline

NDEP 1.4 m average post spacing

Army Corps 4 meters for hydrologic, 1 meter for topographic

Alaska 2-3 meters for earth science, finer for engineering

NASA Designing sensor at 5 meters resolution

   

State/Region Collected resolution- Derived DEMs

Louisiana 2-3 meters

Pennsylvania 1.4-2 meters

Iowa 1-2 meters

Ohio 2 meters

North Carolina 5 meters

Puget Sound Lidar < 1 meter

Base Lidar Specification Version 12National Geospatial Program

Mapping confined urban channels vs natural streamIn the creation of seamless topo/bathy productsIntegration of elevation data into the National Elevation DatasetDerivation of stream channel characteristicsMapping and monitoring coastal hazardsIdentification of small hydrologic features (ditches, tile drain studies)Mapping fish habitatIdentification of canopy gapsFlood inundation modelingDerivative hydrologic profilingDisaster responseFire scienceHigh-resolution floodplain mappingCharacterization of canopy structureDefining drainage basinsJokulhaup monitoringFault-rupture mappingMonitoring sea level riseNatural HazardsIdentifying landslide-prone areasCreating topographic mapsDelineation of canopy surfaceDetermination of watershed characteristicsDelineation of building structuresCharacterization of urban settingsMonitoring long-term shoreline changeMapping land cover and land useMeasuring earthquake deformationDelineation of volcanic structureMonitoring volcano hazardsUrban mappingHydrologic ModelingBare earth productsMonitoring debris flowsWave height surveysSedimentation into riversMonitoring geomorphic processesIdentification of ponding areasMapping wetland drainageCreation of synthetic drainage networksIdentifying culvertsTransportation mapping3-D visualization of buildingsVolume visualizationIdentifying bird habitatsGlacier changes

Specification 1

Specification 2

Specification 3

Specification 4

Specification 5

Specification 6

Standard

Requirements

Typical Project Flight Plan

What might a national plan look like?Don’t forget Alaska (and Hawaii)

2010 National Enhanced Elevation Study

Develop and refine requirements for a national program

Identify program implementation alternatives and associated benefits and costs to meets priority Federal, State and other national business needs

Quantify answers to key questions: Is it more cost effective for the Government to manage these

activities within the context of a national program? Are there additional national or agency benefits derived from

such a strategy? What does the optimized program look like?

Multiple studies already completed or in progress

Mapping the Zone (NRC 2009) Elevation Data for Floodplain Mapping

(NRC, 2007) Alaska Statewide Digital Mapping Initiative

(Produced for Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 2009)

NRCS Elevation Initiative (Under contract) USGS Enhanced Elevation Study

(Expected 2010) FEMA National Digital Elevation

Acquisition and Utilization Plan for Floodplain Map Updates (Due to Congress 2010)

The North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program (Cost benefit 2008)

FEMA cost benefit studies (1997, updated 2000)

Stakeholders USGS, FEMA, USDA, NOAA, USACE, NASA, NGA and

others States, local and tribal governments Organizations:

Association of American State Geologists National States Geographic Information Council National Association of Counties AmericaView Coastal States Organization ASPRS, AAG, URISA, etc. MAPPS Science consortiums Others…

Enhanced National Elevation Program

Authoritative enhanced elevation* data for Federal and State applications, along with derived products, integrated into agency business uses and operations:

Built on partnerships to meet multiple agency needs Using standards to maximize interoperability Conducted in concert with Federal and State programs Balancing requirements, benefits and costs Offering on-demand data coupled with data services Using best available technologies Spawning new applications and user communities

* Enhanced elevation data refers to precise three-dimensional measurements of the terrain, built-up features, vegetation structure and potentially other attributes as obtained primarily from advanced lidar technologies

Plans for FY 2010

Advance coordinated lidar program planning through NDEP steering committee

Enhance data consistency across agencies through best practices and standards

Expand collection activities – numerous projects funded by ARRA and participating agencies

Complete the elevation data requirements study