OpenTopography Blog

Information and discussion related to high-resolution LiDAR topography for the Earth sciences

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Category: Meetings

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AAPG Rocky Mountain Section Meeting Lidar Session

Posted on Mon, January 11, 2010 by Chris Crosby in Meetings

An interesting Lidar-oriented session at the AAPG Rocky Mountain Section Meeting in Durango Colorado June 13-16, 2010.  Announcement via the GEOMOD-LIDAR-L and ASU LIDAR listservs:

Greetings all,

The AAPG Rocky Mountain Section Meeting will be held in Durango Colorado June 13-16, 2010. In addition to a broad range of technical sessions, the meeting features a session “Multi-scale Observations and the Application of Remoting Sensing and Lidar to Rocky Mountain Petroleum Exploration”.  This technical session is being co-chaired by Tim F. Wawrzyniec () and Gary Weissmann ().

We invite contributions from all geologic and geophysics disciplines centered around the principle theme of field-based studies that are combined with digital geospatial characterization as applied to geologic problems.  Although lidar technology is of specific interest, we encourage the submission of talks that include studies where seismic, ground-pentrating radar, or other remote sensing approaches that have been deployed to build imagery to enhance our understanding of geologic process.

If you are interested in contributing, please contact either of the technical chairs if you have any questions.  Otherwise, follow either of the following links:

http://www.fourcornersgeologicalsociety.org/meeting_2010/index.asp

or

http://www.aapg.org/meetings/rms/

The deadline for submission is February 1, 2010.

On behalf of the technical committee thanks for your attention and hopefully we will see you in Durango!

Cheers
Tim & Gary

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LiDAR-Specific Sessions at Fall AGU Meeting

Posted on Fri, August 28, 2009 by Chris Crosby in Meetings

There will be two sessions at the 2009 Fall American Geophysical Union (AGU) Meeting in San Francisco (December 14-18, 2009) specifically targeted at Earth science applications of LiDAR.

One session is focused on terrestrial LiDAR (TLS):

G17: Ground Based Geodetic Techniques and Science Applications
Conveners:  Gerald W Bawden- US Geological Survey, Benjamin Brooks - University of Hawaii, David Phillips - UNAVCO

Ground-based geodesy is a rapidly expanding and evolving technology and because of their portability, relative ease of use, long acquisition ranges, and sub-cm spatial resolution, tools such as terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) and/or ground-based radars (GBR) promise to expand our detailed understanding of the fundamental processes that drive a broad range of spatial (3D) and temporal (4D) science applications. This special session invites contributions that discuss both the technical aspects of the technology and process-based geoscience studies using ground-based geodetic tools such as, but not limited to, TLS and GBR. What are the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of the technologies? How is the technology being used to address static and dynamic scientific problems? We envision contributions from many disciplines such as natural hazards, geomorphology, structural geology, glaciology, hydrology, snow science, biological science, tectonic, and volcanology.

while the other emphasizes airborne data:

G13: Airborne Geodetic Imaging: Advances in Instrumentation and Methods
Conveners:  William Eugene Carter - University of Florida, Ramesh L Shrestha - University of Florida, Mahta Moghaddam - University of Michigan

Modern airborne geodetic imaging sensors, including airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM), interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR, UAV SAR), multi-band digital photography, and hyperspectral imaging make it possible to collect high resolution (few meters down to sub-meter scales) topographic data over areas of hundreds to thousands of square kilometers, in time periods of hours. The resolution of these geodetic images is sufficient for developing and testing theories pertaining to land surface processes, and are increasingly being used for such other applications as surface-water hydrology, bathymetric mapping, landscape ecology, mapping of wildlife habitats, and forestry research and management. The focus of this session will be on recent advances in geodetic imaging technologies and methods, and more specifically on advances in the state-of-the-art of the instrumentation, operating procedures, processing, and filtering of observations to achieve the highest resolution and accuracy. Also of interest will be presentations focusing on possible improvements to the information content that might be achieved by combining observations from different geodetic imaging sensors (particularly of different resolutions), and combining geodetic imaging data with other types of observations. Presentations reporting scientific results obtained using geodetic images will be welcome, but the emphasis should be on the geodetic aspects of the research as opposed to discoveries more appropriate for presentation in sessions organized under other disciplines.

The AGU abstract submission deadline is September 3rd, 2009, 23:59 EST

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LiDAR Short Courses at the 2009 Geological Society of America Meeting

Posted on Thu, July 16, 2009 by Chris Crosby in Meetings • Workshops

The 2009 GSA Annual Meeting in Portland, OR will include two workshops devoted to LiDAR derived topography and applications to geoscience.  Ramon Arrowsmith and I taught a LiDAR-oriented GSA short course in 2007 (Denver) and found it to be an excellent way to introduce geologists to LiDAR topography.  You can find information and materials from our 2007 course here: Processing and Analysis of GeoEarthScope and Other Community LiDAR Topography Datasets

Additional information about the 2009 LiDAR short courses as well as the many other workshops offered by GSA is available on their Short Course Program page.

2009 GSA LiDAR Short Courses:

501. INTERFACE WORKSHOP: Recent developments in the methods and applications of terrestrial laser scanning (ground-based LiDAR) in geologic research and education
Fri., 16 Oct., 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Instructors: John Oldow and Carlos Aiken, Univ. of Texas at Dallas; David Phillips, UNAVCO

This workshop will provide faculty, students, and professionals with the basic principles of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS), aka ground-based LiDAR, workflows and best practices for the acquisition and processing of TLS data, an overview of various TLS platforms, and examples of science and education applications. This one-day workshop will consist of lectures and hands-on application of TLS equipment and data processing. TLS provides very high-resolution images over relatively small areas, is relatively inexpensive to acquire, and has been used successfully to support a wide range of geoscience investigations from outcrop mapping to deformation monitoring.

GEON / OpenTopography are collaborators on the INTERFACE project and this should be an excellent workshop for geologists interested in learning about the exciting potential of Terrestrial Laser Scanning.

The second workshop is devoted to airborne LiDAR topography data of the type hosted by OpenTopography.  This 1.5 day course features a long list of very qualified instructors (including me!) and should be an excellent overview and introduction to LiDAR topography for geologic applications.

515. Introduction to the acquisition, visualization, and interpretation of airborne LiDAR-derived digital elevation models
Sat., 17 Oct., 9 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sun., 18 Oct., 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Instructors: Ian Madin, Oregon Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries; Ralph Haugerud, USGS; Michael Oskin, Univ. of California at Davis; Chris Crosby, Univ. of California at San Diego; Ramon Arrowsmith, Arizona State Univ.

LiDAR-derived elevation datasets are becoming widely available and offer digital elevation models (DEMs) of unprecedented resolution and accuracy. This course will teach geoscientists to acquire, visualize, and analyze LiDAR-based DEMs. Guided tutorials on individual workstations will use ESRI ArcGIS software, GEON software products, and LiDAR viewing freeware. The field portion of the class will compare recent high-resolution LiDAR images with the real environment of the surrounding area. The instructors are geologists who have worked with LiDAR data for many years at UC-Davis, Arizona State Univ., the GEON program, and the Puget Sound and Oregon LiDAR Consortia.
This course will be held in the Portland State University Geology Department GIS training laboratory.

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Report from the Workshop on Studying Earth Surface Processes with High-Resolution Topographic Data

Posted on Fri, April 17, 2009 by Chris Crosby in Meetings • News

The National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) has released the report from the workshop organized by their steering committee last summer (June 15-18, 2008) in Boulder, CO on Studying Earth Surface Processes with High-Resolution Topographic Data.  The workshop, attended by 50 researchers, provided an opportunity for discussion of current research activities utilizing LiDAR as well as to identify emerging research opportunities, community challenges, and technological and education needs.

This report, prepared by members of the NCALM steering committee with contributions from participants at the WSESP, highlights key scientific opportunities presented at the workshop, and identifies some of the challenges for maximizing the scientific potential of research with high-resolution topographic data. During the final day of the workshop, participants identified key areas emerging in this field, new ways to detect and characterize processes, and approaches to detect changes in dynamic systems.  Three areas that attracted particular attention were 1) the connections between ecosystems and topography, 2) the flux of water, sediment, and other substances down hill slopes and through drainage networks, and 3) the use of repeat LiDAR surveys to study landscape change in response to geological and biological disturbances (e.g., earthquakes, fires, dam breaching, and timber harvest).

OpenTopography was represented at the workshop by Ramon Arrowsmith and I.  It was quite apparent during the workshop that there is a need in the Earth science LiDAR community for better access to datasets as well as a centralized repository for sharing software and tools.

The rapid emergence of new technology, datasets, and ideas poses challenges as well as opportunities for the Earth science community. Foremost among the challenges are the needs to 1) better facilitate sharing of public-domain LiDAR databases and tools for analysis and visualization, and 2) maximize dissemination of new ideas and discoveries.

The workshop attendees appreciated the need for a system such as the OpenTopography Portal and the report nicely articulates this need in sections III. Software, Tools, Tutorials, and Education and IV. Improvements in Gathering and Disseminating High-Resolution Topographic Data

I have posted the full Workshop report in the Documents portion of the OpenTopography Portal (under Resources).  Directly download the report (PDF) HERE

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Lidar Session at 2009 Portland GSA meeting

Posted on Mon, April 06, 2009 by Chris Crosby in Meetings

Abstract submission is now open for the 2009 GSA Annual Meeting in Portland, OR.  Ian Madin of DOGAMI is convening a session on LiDAR applications to geologic, geomorphic and geohazard mapping.

T145. Use of High-Resolution Lidar DEMs for Geologic, Geomorphic and Geohazards Mapping
High resolution lidar DEMs are becoming widely available, and can revolutionize geomorphic, geohazards and geologic mapping. This session will provide current examples of the use of this data

Abstracts are due by 11 August 2009.

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AGU Joint Assembly and Silvilaser 2009

Posted on Mon, February 23, 2009 by Chris Crosby in Meetings

A few recent announcements about upcoming meetings that may be of interest to the OpenTopography community:

”Application of Laser Scanning to Geophysical Studies” at the AGU Joint Assembly 24-27 May 2009 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada:

G04:  Application of Laser Scanning to Geophysical Studies

Laser Scanning methods (e.g. LiDAR) have opened up new realms of resolution in the surveying and characterization of the surface of the earth. This rapidly evolving technology enables new perspectives on geodetic and geophysical problems, while presenting new challenges in developing techniques and software to process, visualize and interpret the vast quantities of data it can produce. This session will focus on geophysical investigations using terrestrial or airborne laser scanning or studies that address technical issues of applying laser scanning to geophysical problems.

The abstract deadline is 4 March 2009.  Abstracts related to either airborne or terrestrial laser scanning are welcomed and encouraged.

Sincerely yours,
James Foster and David Phillips

Silvilaser 2009 - Lidar Remote Sensing for Vegetation Studies

Dear Colleague,

As you may know, the Silvilaser 2009 conference on Lidar Remote Sensing for Vegetation Studies will be organized in College Station, Texas, USA, October 14-16, 2009, on the Texas A&M University campus. Silvilaser 2009 is the 8th international conference on lidar applications for assessing vegetation, with a spectrum of topics that include ground-based, airborne, and satellite sensors. The range of applications is broad and contains forest inventory, mapping of biophysical parameters – biomass, carbon, and LAI - habitat, and 3D structure assessment. The aim of the conference is to bring together an international group of lidar scientists to present ongoing research on assessing vegetated ecosystems, to facilitate and reinforce international ties, and to discuss future research directions for studying vegetation with lidar sensors on all three platforms. 

The conference website has been updated, so please take a look and find information about topics, important dates, and the template for preparing a paper submission. The deadline for submission of papers for oral or poster presentations is April 3rd. Papers of up to eight pages will be blind-reviewed by the Scientific Committee for being accepted for presentation. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing (PE&RS) will publish a special issue with papers presented in the conference, in January 2011. PE&RS papers will be selected through the journal review process.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee, I kindly invite you to visit http://silvilaser.tamu.edu/ and consider submitting a paper or participating in the conference. Please forward the message to colleagues of yours that might be interested and accept my apologies for any cross-postings.

I look forward to seeing you in College Station. Best regards,

Sorin Popescu, Silvilaser 2009 Chair

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High resolution terrain session at MODSIM09

Posted on Sun, December 21, 2008 by Chris Crosby in Meetings

Another email announcement about an upcoming meeting with a session devoted to high resolution topography data.  This session looks quite interesting as the MODSIM09 conference has the stated goal of “Interfacing Modeling and Simulation with Mathematical and Computational Sciences”.  The abstract deadline is December 31st.  Email initially distributed via the ASU LiDAR listserv.

Dear lidar listserv members

At the Modelling and Simulation conference next July in Cairns, Australia, we are running a session on using and working with high resolution terrain data with a particular interest in lidar - see details below.

We extend an invitation to submit an abstract (up to 500 words) for this session. I apologise for the late notice, abstract submission closes at the end of December.  Abstracts can be submitted through the conference web site http://www.mssanz.org.au/modsim09/index.html

Best wishes

John Gallant
Research Team Leader - Terrain Analysis John.Gallant@csiro.au +61 2 6246 5734

F13. Terrain analysis and geomorphometry with high resolution terrain data
Organisers: Drs. Gregory Summerell (Gregory.Summerell@environment.nsw.gov.au)
John Gallant, Trevor Dowling and John Wilford

This session covers the broad area of high resolution terrain analysis and geomorphometry with regard to data capture, processing, integration and applications. The session aims to broaden these topics to include new or improved techniques that have lead to wider availability and use of high resolution terrain data, encourages knowledge sharing of experiences, problems and advances in this rapidly growing area of technology and science. The session wishes to build from previous MODSIM sessions on this topic where key areas identified for further development included: 1) the need to develop a library of algorithm techniques to avoid duplication of effort when using finer scaled terrain analysis data, 2) advances in utilising the multiple returns acquired from data acquisition techniques such as LiDAR, 3) developing the most efficient ways to utilise technology for data storage and handling, 4) integrating terrain analysis data at different resolutions to provide different but compatible elevation data for different purposes, and 5) development of tools for terrain analysis quality assessment. Papers that are showing progress on these issues are encouraged. In addition general topics of interest to this session also include: A) new applications of terrain analysis data made possible by higher resolutions, B) new methods to extract information from high resolution terrain data, C) applications in geomorphology, ecology, soil science or hydrology opened up by the new technology, D) any other topic related to the collection, processing and use of high resolution terrain information.

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SSA 2009 special session on LiDAR

Posted on Wed, November 26, 2008 by Chris Crosby in Meetings

Here is a call for abstracts for a special session at the 2009 Seismological Society of America meeting in Monterey, CA devoted to applying LiDAR data to the study of active faults.  Full announcement courtesy of Carol Prentice (USGS):

Dear Colleagues - we are organizing a special session for the 2009 Seismological Society of America meeting (April 8-10, in Monterey, CA
- see http://www.seismosoc.org/meetings/2009/index.php) on the application of LiDAR data to the study of active faults.

I hope you will consider submitting an abstract to this special session (deadline is January 11). If you do plan to submit an abstract, could you please as soon as possible - this will help us to put together the best possible session. Also, if you know that you will not be able to submit and abstract, that would be useful information as well.

Thanks very much, and please forward this to any colleagues who you think might be interested.

Carol Prentice (cprentice@usgs.gov)
Timothy Dawson
Ashley Streig

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