Canaan Valley Institute (CVI) http://www.canaanvi.org , a non-profit, non-advocacy, organization established in WV in 1995 is pleased to announce the availability of airborne LiDAR and digital imagery data acquisition and processing at cost to academic researchers and institutions.  In 2005, CVI obtained and modified a Piper Navajo twin engine aircraft to accommodate an Optech Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper (ALTM) with an integrated Applanix DSS 4k by 4k digital camera.  Over the past four years CVI has surveyed over 2 million acres producing bare earth DEM (15 cm vertical accuracy), all points terrain models, 1 – 2 ft contours, floodplain mapping, wetland mapping, forest mapping, etc.  CVI utilizes these systems and equipment in support of research, education, and technology transfer primarily relating to Appalachian water quality, stream restoration, and landscape ecology.  In an effort to maintain these systems for future use and promote the overall sustainability of the program, CVI is reaching out to academic partners to make these resources available virtually at cost, which is significantly below the cost in the private market.  Finally, consistent with its mission CVI envisions the use of these resources and data to promotion economic and environmental sustainability in our nation’s watershed. 

Contact:  Paul Kinder, Director of Science and Technology, Canaan Valley Institute
304-678-7200 mobile, 304-291-5320 Morgantown, WV Office,
Paul.kinder@canaanvi.org

GEON is pleased to announce the 6th Cyberinfrastructure Summer Institute for Geoscientists (CSIG) to be held August 10-14 at the San Diego Supercomputer Center on the University of California, San Diego campus.  General and program information, as well as online registration is available at: http://www.geongrid.org/csig09

CSIG‘09 will expose participants to emergent Geoinformatics approaches to 3D and 4D integration of geoscience data.  Given the diverse interests of past CSIG participants, and the feedback that they provided, this year’s program will feature two “tracks” of instruction:

“Build”:  Overview of the technologies utilized to develop earth science cyberinfrastructure.
“Education”:  Utilization of cyberinfrastructure-based data systems and tools for earth science education and research.

Interested applicants at all levels are encouraged to apply, including graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and professionals in earth science and related disciplines. 

Course registration and accommodations are paid for with support received from the National Science Foundation (http://www.nsf.gov).  Selected participants will be responsible for funding their own travel to San Diego for the Institute. 

The Registration Deadline for the CSIG ’09 is June 7th.  Registration can be found at http://www.geongrid.org/csig09.

Please forward this information to anyone that may be interested in this year’s CSIG.

The National Elevation Dataset (NED), one of eight base layers of The National Map, provides basic elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications for the United States. Lidar (light detection and ranging) technology allows the creation of contours down to increments as low as 1-foot with great accuracy and precision, permitting more accurate mapping of flood zones and inundation areas. The addition of highly accurate elevation data acquired with lidar will greatly improve the NED, both in the enhanced quality of the data and in the range of science and data applications that it will enable.

I have not yet seen information on how the USGS will determine which portions of the US are to be targeted for LiDAR acquisitions with this funding, but it is clear that coastal regions and floodplains are likely to be high priority targets. 

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

This version covers the entire SRTM dataset (80% of the land on the Earth).  It is based on the SRTM V2 product.  A new “fill” algorithm was developed at CCIC, which significantly improved the cartographic quality of the layer without compromising the accuracy.

The global SRTM shaded relief KML file can be downloaded from: http://srtmkml.googlepages.com/

Via Google Earth blog

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.

This volume provides the first systematic, yet in-depth, introduction to the basic theories and principles of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology and data processing, which over the past decade has been successfully used for topographic mapping and 3-D visualization. The information collected in these pages meets the needs of all those working across the many fields LiDAR is impacting, including electrical engineering, signal processing, navigation theory, pattern recognition, and machine learning. Edited by leading experts with broad backgrounds in LiDAR topographic mapping and written by highly regarded specialists, it expands the toolboxes of researchers with novel ideas beyond their own experience.

I don’t have a copy of the book, but based on the Google Books preview it seems like it could be an excellent resource for people trying to get up to speed on LiDAR topography.

A couple months ago I began a project to import all 50,000+ USGS Topographic Maps into Google Earth. This is a huge undertaking that will likely take me several more months to finish all 50 US States. These maps are intended to provide a free alternative to expensive commercial products that often cost $80 or more per state or charge monthly access fees.  Plus you get the benefit of using the topo maps with Google Earth.

The Topo maps are saved as individual KMZ files which must be downloaded in their entirety before they will be visible in Google Earth.  Most of the maps are less than 5 megabytes, but some are as large as 20 megabytes so the speed at which the maps load will depend greatly on the speed of your Internet connection.

Currently, topo quads are available for Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Learn more and download the KML file at: http://www.gelib.com/usgs-topographic-maps.htm

A full list of winners in the KML in Research contest can be found here.  Congratulations to Ionut and NCALM!