In April 2019, Quantum Spatial (QSI) was contracted by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management (OCM) in partnership with the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (GBNERR) to collect high resolution Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data in the spring of 2019 for four research sites within the GBNERR in New Hampshire. These four sites are “Sentinel Sites” within the GBNERR where vegetation and elevation parameters have previously been continuously monitored and surveyed using traditional methods that require extensive person hours and manual labor. The bare earth digital elevation model (DEM) represents the earth's surface with all vegetation and anthropogenic features removed. It is derived from NIR LiDAR data using TIN processing of the ground point returns. Some elevation values have been interpolated across areas in the ground model where there is no elevation data (e.g. over water, under dense vegetation). Air Shark collected the NOAA Great Bay UAS LiDAR data, on behalf of Quantum Spatial, for the NOAA Office for Coastal Management between 05/01/2019 and 05/09/2019. In addition to these bare earth Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data, the lidar point data that these DEM data were created from, are also available. A link to the lidar point data metadata record is provided in the Related Items section of this metadata record.

Quantum Spatial (QSI) and PrecisionHawk (PH) collected lidar for test sites within the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) using an unmanned aerial system (UAS). Four sites were flown, covering a total of 177 acres. A fixed-wing PH Lancaster (revision 5) platform was used, carrying a Velodyne Puck VLP-16 based lidar system. The system provides 2 returns (strongest and last) with a pulse rate of 300 kHz using a 903 nm wavelength laser. Flights were conducted from May 9-11, 2017 and were flown at 50 meters above ground level. Specifications for the collection included 30 pulses per square meter and 0.10 meter RMSE vertical accuracy in non-vegetated areas. The average first return density was over 105 points per square meter with an average ground classified density of over 3 points per square meter. Deliverables included the lidar point cloud in LAS/LAZ format. Data were delivered in UTM zone 16 NAD83(2011) horizontally and NAVD88 (Geoid12b) meters vertically. Lidar point clouds were projected back to geographic coordinates for storage in the Digital Coast Data Access Viewer and the vertical datum was converted to the ellipsoid. Original contact information: Contact Org: NOAA Office for Coastal Management Phone: 843-740-1202 Email: coastal.info@noaa.gov

Quantum Spatial (QSI) and PrecisionHawk (PH) collected lidar for test sites within the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) using an unmanned aerial system (UAS). Four sites were flown, covering a total of 177 acres. A fixed-wing PH Lancaster (revision 5) platform was used, carrying a Velodyne Puck VLP-16 based lidar system. The system provides 2 returns (strongest and last) with a pulse rate of 300 kHz using a 903 nm wavelength laser. Flights were conducted from May 9-11, 2017 and were flown at 50 meters above ground level. Specifications for the collection included 30 pulses per square meter and 0.10 meter RMSE vertical accuracy in non-vegetated areas. The average first return density was over 105 points per square meter with an average ground classified density of over 3 points per square meter. Deliverables included a 1-meter resolution bare-earth DEM in UTM zone 16 NAD83(2011). These data were ingested into the Digital Coast Data Access Viewer for custom processing. Original contact information: Contact Org: NOAA Office for Coastal Management Phone: 843-740-1202 Email: coastal.info@noaa.gov

Quantum Spatial (QSI) and PrecisionHawk (PH) collected lidar for a test site within the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (SFBNERR) Rush Ranch location using an unmanned aerial system (UAS). The target area covered approximately two square miles, although approximately three square miles of data were collected. A DJI Matrice 600 hexacopter platform was used, carrying a YellowScan lidar system. The system provides 2 returns (strongest and last) with a pulse rate of 300 kHz using a 903 nm wavelength laser. Flights were conducted from September 5-7, 2017 and were flown at 50 meters above ground level. Specifications for the collection included 30 pulses per square meter and 0.10 meter RMSE vertical accuracy in non-vegetated areas. The average first return density was over 400 points per square meter. Classified ground point density varied spatially depending on vegetation with areas of no penetration and areas with over 60 ground points per square meter. Deliverables included the lidar point cloud in LAS/LAZ format. Data were delivered in UTM zone 10 NAD83(2011) horizontally and NAVD88 (Geoid12b) meters vertically. Lidar point clouds were projected back to geographic coordinates for storage in the Digital Coast Data Access Viewer and the vertical datum was converted to the ellipsoid.

This dataset is a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) point cloud of the coastal tidal parts of Skagit and Snohomish Counties in WA State. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office for Coastal Management contracted with Tetra Tech to acquire and process airborne LiDAR over an area of about 186 square miles. Data was to be acquired within a 2 hour window of low tide. Deliverables included classified LiDAR point clouds, breaklines and digital elevation models (DEM). LiDAR data was acquired on 13 and 14 of August 2019. The coastal area was covered in one flight on 8/14 while the inland area was covered on 8/13. The coastal flight took place on 8/14 with a tide window between -0.7 and +0.5 foot. For the airborne LiDAR flight Tetra Tech subcontracted with Eagle Mapping. The data was acquired with a Riegl LMS VQ780i sensor. A ground control survey was conducted to collect calibration points and check points. For the ground survey, Tetra Tech contracted with Compass Data. The LiDAR data and derivative products were to be based on the USGS LiDAR Base Specifications. The coordinate reference system is UTM Zone 10N meters, NAD83(2011). The vertical datum is NAVD88 with Geoid12B.

This dataset is a digital elevation model (DEM) derived from LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) point cloud data of the coastal tidal parts of Skagit and Snohomish Counties in WA State. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office for Coastal Management contracted with Tetra Tech to acquire and process airborne LiDAR over an area of about 186 square miles. Data was to be acquired within a 2 hour window of low tide. Deliverables included classified LiDAR point clouds, breaklines and digital elevation models (DEM). LiDAR data was acquired on 13 and 14 of August 2019. The coastal area was covered in one flight on 8/14 while the inland area was covered on 8/13. The coastal flight took place on 8/14 with a tide window between -0.7 and +0.5 foot. For the airborne LiDAR flight Tetra Tech subcontracted with Eagle Mapping. The data was acquired with a Riegl LMS VQ780i sensor. A ground control survey was conducted to collect calibration points and check points. For the aerial acquisition Tetra Tech contracted with Eagle Mapping. For the ground survey, Tetra Tech contracted with Compass Data. The LiDAR data and derivative products were to be based on the USGS LiDAR Base Specifications. The coordinate reference system is UTM Zone 10N meters, NAD83(2011). The vertical datum is NAVD88 with Geoid12B.

Product: Processed, classified lidar point cloud data tiles in LAS 1.4 format. Geographic Extent: Approximately 4,028 square miles encompassing the Big Island of Hawaii. Dataset Description: The HI Hawaii Island Lidar NOAA 2017 B17 lidar project called for the planning, acquisition, processing, and production of derivative products of lidar data to be collected at a nominal pulse spacing (NPS) of 0.35 meters. Project specifications were based on the U.S. Geological Survey National Geospatial Program Base Lidar Specification 2020 Revision A. The data was developed based on a horizontal datum/projection of NAD83 (PA11) UTM Zone 5N Meters (EPSG 6635) and a vertical datum of NAVD88 (GEOID12B) Meters. Lidar data was delivered as processed LAS 1.4 files formatted to 8,629 individual 1,000-meter x 1,000-meter tiles. Ground Conditions: Lidar was collected from January 30, 2018 through January 6, 2020 by Leica Geosystems, Inc. while no snow was on the ground and rivers were at or below normal levels. In order to post process the lidar data to meet task order specifications and meet ASPRS vertical accuracy guidelines, Woolpert established 70 ground control points that were used to calibrate the lidar to known ground locations established throughout the project area. Additional independent accuracy checkpoints were collected by NOAA and used to assess the vertical accuracy of the data. These checkpoints were not used to calibrate or post process the data. This dataset has been noted to have issues with ground classification in areas of dense vegetation. Please read the data use constraints section for further details.

These data were collected by NOAA using a Riegl VQ880G sensor. The data were acquired from May 11, 2016 through May 14, 2016. The data includes topobathy data in LAS 1.2 format classified as created, unclassified (1); ground (2); noise (7); bathymetric noise (22); water column (25); bathymetric bottom (26); water surface (27); International Hydrographic Organization S-57 object, not otherwise specified (30); in accordance with project specifications. The project consists of approximately 85 square miles of data along the shores of Boca Grande. This dataset contains 1,053 500 m x 500 m lidar tiles.

Original Product: Classified LAZ 1.4 files, formatted to 825 individual 750m x 750m tiles covering the NOAA AK Coastal Communities 2023 project area. Original Dataset Geographic Extent: This dataset and derived products encompass five areas covering approximately 92,475 acres of Southwest Alaska. Original Dataset Description: The NOAA AK Communities 2023 Lidar project called for the planning, acquisition, and processing of lidar data collected to Quality Level 1 (QL1) standards. Project specifications are based on the U.S. Geological Survey National Geospatial Program Lidar Base Specification Version 2023, Revision A. The data was developed based on the NAD83 2011 horizontal datum and the NAVD88 Geoid 12b vertical datum. Data was projected in UTM Zone 4N, Meters. Lidar data was delivered as calibrated and classified LAZ 1.4 files. Non-Vegetated Vertical Accuracy (NVA) was assessed using 101 check points located on bare earth in clear, unobstructed areas. Vegetated Vertical Accuracy (VVA) was assessed using 26 check points in Tall Grass, Forest, and Shrub landcover types. Single swath nominal pulse spacing (NPS) was designed to be 0.35 at nadir. Aggregate Nominal Pulse Spacing (ANPS) was calculated to be 0.269 with the Riegl VQ-780ii-S and 0.298 with the Riegl 1560iiS using all valid first return points. Derived products include: Intensity Imagery, Hydro-flattened Bare Earth Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), Maximum Surface Height Rasters (MSHRs), and 3D waters edge breaklines. Ground Condition: Ground conditions were free of snow and acquisition occurred free of smoke, fog and cloud cover.

Original Product: Classified LAZ 1.4 files, formatted to 1611 individual 750m x 750m tiles covering the NOAA AK Communities 2023 project area. Original Geographic Extent: This dataset and derived products encompass six areas in southwest Alaska, covering approximately 183,738 acres. Original Dataset Description: The NOAA AK Coastal Communities 2023 Lidar project called for the planning, acquisition, and processing of lidar data collected to Quality Level 1 (QL1) standards. Project specifications are based on the U.S. Geological Survey National Geospatial Program Lidar Base Specification Version 2023, Revision A. The data was developed based on the NAD83 2011 horizontal datum and the NAVD88 Geoid 12b vertical datum. Data was projected in UTM Zone 4N, Meters. Lidar data was delivered as calibrated and classified LAZ 1.4 files. Non-Vegetated Vertical Accuracy (NVA) was assessed using 124 check points located on bare earth in clear, unobstructed areas. Vegetated Vertical Accuracy (VVA) was assessed using 37 check points in Tall Grass, Forest, and Shrub landcover types. Single swath nominal pulse spacing (NPS) was designed to be 0.35 at nadir. Aggregate Nominal Pulse Spacing (ANPS) was calculated to be 0.269 using all valid first return points. Derived products include: Intensity Imagery, Hydro-flattened Bare Earth Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), Highest Hit Digital Surface Models (DSMs), and 3D waters edge breaklines. Ground Condition: Ground conditions were free of snow and acquisition occurred free of smoke, fog and cloud cover.