The first publication - LaDiCaoz and LiDARimager--MATLAB GUIs for LiDAR data handling and lateral displacement measurement, Zielke and Arrowsmith, Geosphere, February 2012, v. 8, p. 206-221 - presents MATLAB-based software for calculating “lateral displacements of offset sublinear geomorphic features such as stream channels or alluvial fan edges” in order to constrain slip from paleoearthquakes.  The LiDiCaoz software was developed for and used in the San Andreas fault offset study highlighted in March 2010 in Science.

In the second publication - LiDAR and Field Observations of Slip Distribution for the Most Recent Surface Ruptures along the Central San Jacinto Fault, Salisbury et al., Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 2012, v. 102, p. 598-619 - the authors use lidar topography to measure tectonically offset features along the Clark strand of the San Jacinto fault to illustrate the pattern of paleoearthquakes.  A ScienceNewsOnline.com highlight of the research is available here.

Figure 1. Zielke and Arrowsmith, 2012. OpenTopography generated hillshade of the San Andreas fault at Bidart Fan in the Carrizo Plain, California.

Of particular interest to the lidar community is Ben Brook’s (UH Manoa) talk, ”The Balloon and Lidar” about his work with Craig Glennie (University of Houston) to build a balloon (or backpack) based lidar system. The system has the potential to bridge the gap between terrestrial and airborne lidar, providing detailed scans of features such as fault scarps and landslides from the air.

Video embedded below (apologies for the autostart - seems to be the default for Ignite videos):

Their guest lecture and short course training was held on the 15th of December 2011, and was attended by 38 graduate and undergraduate students. The activity split into two parts, with the main guest lecture entitled: Tectonic Geomorphology, Structural Geology and Paleoseismology of Fault Zones From High Resolution Topography given by Ramon.  The lecture was followed by hands-on training in lidar data analysis led by Ramon and Gayatri.  Photos courtesy of Gayatri Marliyani, ASU:

Greetings!

I am a graduate student under the direction of Dr. Ramon Arrowsmith in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University.

For the next few weeks, we are conducting a research study with Dr. Rockwell at San Diego State University to test the repeatability, accuracy, and precision of lateral displacement measurements derived from high-resolution topographic Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data.  The study is designed for users of all geologic backgrounds, so we cordially invite you, your colleagues, students, and friends to take a few minutes and help us validate our measurement methods.  All are welcome to participate, so please pass this message to anyone you think may be interested.  The deadline for submissions is March 16th.

Your participation will involve a brief introduction to one of three measurement methods, measuring ten offset features, and completing a brief experience questionnaire.  You may choose to use more than one measurement method if you like.  Any contributions you can make are greatly appreciated.  The surveys, along with more background information, can be found at:

http://stockdale.sese.asu.edu/Validation/validationindex.html

Your measurement estimates will aid in the development of methods used to assess the effects of earthquake ruptures.  All results will be kept confidential, and responses will be tied to an identifier rather than to a name.  The results of this study may be used in reports, presentations, or publications.

If you have any questions concerning the research study or are interested in using it as a classroom activity, please contact Barrett Salisbury via email at jbsalisb@asu.edu.

Cheers, and thank you for your time!

Barrett Salisbury (M.S.), Dr. Ramon Arrowsmith, and Dr. Thomas Rockwell

Department of Geosciences; Full-time; 12 month appointment; Position anticipated to last up to two years, depending upon funding availability and performance. Position to start immediately.

Responsibilities:
We seek a postdoctoral fellow interested in working with a dynamic interdisciplinary team to develop research applications in remote sensing and visualization. The post-doc will focus on programming and analysis of hyperspectral, multispectral, TLS, and LiDAR data for scientific application to vegetation, geormorphology, and/or hydrology. Examples of research opportunities include: developing algorithms to better analyze TLS and LiDAR data in semiarid regions, developing tools to fuse datasets, visualization of point-clouds, and web-based LiDAR processing. The post-doc will also assist in developing tools and methodologies for remote sensing data analysis in an immersive 3D environment (IQ-station) and will have opportunities to collaborate with scientists at across institutions.

Qualifications:
The position requires a PhD in natural resource science, computer science, engineering, or related field. Proficiency in C++, C sharp and/or other major programming languages (IDL, Matlab, etc). Excellent communication skills are a must. Publication record and GIS experience are desirable.

Salary:
Commensurate with experience and qualifications; competitive benefits package.

Application:
Please submit a cover letter describing your research interests, experience, and qualifications for this position, curriculum vitae, and contact information for three professional references. Apply here: https://isujobs.net/applicants/jsp/shared/position/JobDetails_css.jsp?postingId=138227

Review of applications will begin immediately; search will continue until position is filled. For further information about ISU and the Department visit us at http://www.isu.edu/; http://bcal.geology.isu.edu/index.shtml.

2012 IEEE GRSS Data Fusion Contest: This year the Contest is designed to investigate the potential of multi-modal/multi-temporal fusion of very high spatial resolution imagery. Three data sets of three different types (optical, SAR, and LIDAR) over downtown San Francisco are made freely available by DigitalGlobe, Astrium Services, and USGS. They will include very high spatial resolution QuickBird, WorldView-2, TerraSAR-X, and LIDAR imagery. Optical and SAR data sets will be composed of a total of eight images from two acquisition times in 2007 and 2011.

To enter the contest, participants are required to submit a manuscript on a research topic of their own choosing. Papers should describe in detail the problem addressed, the method used, and the final result. Deadline: May 1, 2012.

The winning teams will be eligible to win up to $800 and an open access publication on an IEEE GRSS Journal ($3,000 value). More than 600 users from universities and corporations across the globe have registered in just over a month.

Here the link to the Contest web-page: http://www.grss-ieee.org/community/technical-committees/data-fusion/data-fusion-contest/ where more information is available.

The Data Fusion Contest is annually proposed since 2006, and it is organized by the Data Fusion Technical Committee of the Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society. The Committee serves as a global, multi-disciplinary, network for geospatial data fusion, connecting people and resources. It aims at educating students and professionals, and at promoting best practices in data fusion applications.The Contest is open not only to IEEE members, but to everyone, with the aim of evaluating existing methodologies at the research or operational level to solve remote sensing problems using data from different sensors.

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to draw your attention to an exciting Remote Sensing of Volcanoes session in the upcoming Joint Assembly between the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the Asia Oceania Geoscience Society (AOGS) to be held in Singapore this August 13th to 17th.

Follow this link for details about the conference: http://www.asiaoceania.org/aogs2012/public.asp?page=home.htm

Remote Sensing of Volcanoes (SE 106) is aimed at the geohazard monitoring community as well as deposit mappers. Researchers from both groups are invited to contribute abstracts that address new techniques, exciting data sets and interpretations involving some aspect of remote sensing in volcanology. Interdisciplinary approaches to studying volcanological phenomena are especially encouraged to contribute. Specific themes will include (but are not limited to): LiDAR and spectroscopy plume and deposit interrogations, edifice DEM interpretations, and thermal mapping and monitoring.

This is an excellent opportunity to facilitate collaborations with scientist working in the Asia/Oceania region.

Follow this link for abstract submission instructions: http://www.asiaoceania.org/aogs2012/public.asp?page=abstract.htm

Abstract submission is now open and will be until March 12, 2012

Please direct inquiries to the conveners:

Patrick L Whelley
pwhelley@buffalo.edu

Jose L Palma
josepalm@buffalo.edu

Best wishes

Patrick

OpenTopography was an active part of this workshop and we are very interested in data product, format, and metadata standards for TLS data.  We plan to work closely with UNAVCO to facilitate access to TLS datasets via OpenTopography, and will use this report in part to guide our development activities.  As a reminder, OT already hosts several TLS datasets which can be accessed at the bottom of the list on our Point Cloud and Custom DEM page.

Comments and feedback on the report are welcome and encouraged.  Please send them to David Phillips:  dap@unavco.org

Knowledge exchange workshop on terrestrial laser scanning
April 2-3 2012

As part of the NERC EO Technology Cluster Lidarnet project we are planning a 2 day workshop at the University of Leicester, UK.  The workshop aims to attract a cross section of people from researchers, through applications specialists, instrument developers and vendors. We plan to have a mix of activities including key-note talks, an applications poster session, hands-on demonstrations, and interactive discussions.

For further information see:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/eotechcluster/events/knowledge-exchange-workshop-on-terrestrial-laser-scanning.aspx

or email LiDARnet@le.ac.uk

Dr Nick Tate
Department of Geography
University of Leicester.

Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) in Geomorphology- EGU 2012 (Vienna, 22-27 April 2012)

Dear Colleague,
We would like to invite abstracts on the subject of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) in Geomorphology for a session at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2012 (Vienna, 22-27 April 2012).  This is part of a larger session on ’High definition topography - data acquisition, modelling, interpretation‘ (GM2.1) convened by Dirk Rieke-Zapp (University of Bern), Alexander Reiterer (Technical University of Munich), Jim Chandler (Loughborough University), James Brasington (University of Canterbury), Mark Powell and Nick Tate (University of Leicester) and Damia Vericat (University of Lleida and Forestry and Technology Centre of Catalonia).

We welcome abstracts which:
1.  Showcase recent applications of TLS in geomorphic contexts
2.  Provide examples and good practice guidance on the collection and processing of TLS data in geomorphic contexts, and
3.  Identify both the possibilities and constraints in using this technology for geomorphic research.
The session is supported by the ISPRS Commission V Working Group V/6 - “Close range morphological measurements for the Earth Sciences” and LiDARnet.
The papers presented at the EGU session will be considered for a special edition of an international journal that would be co-edited by James Brasington, Mark Powell, Nicholas Tate, and Damia Vericat. Information on abstract submission can be found at http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2012/. The deadline for abstracts is January 17.