The selected images highlight EarthScope LiDAR data from the Old Faithful area of Yellowstone National Park, part of the EarthScope Intermountain Seismic Belt data set and data from the Owens Valley fault, part of the EarthScope Southern & Eastern California LiDAR data set.

EarthScope lidar from the Panamint fault in Google Earth

ANNOUNCEMENT:

We are pleased to announce the availability of new EarthScope airborne LiDAR data products from California and Washington state.

With this release, DEM tiles and KML files from all California targets are now available!  This includes imagery of faults in the Mojave (Lenwood, Helendale, Calico, Blackwater), eastern California (Panamint, Tin Mtn, Mud Hills, Hunter Mtn, Owens) and San Cayetano.  Of these new targets, point cloud data are currently online for Panamint, Ash Hill, Tin Mtn and San Cayetano, with point data for all remaining targets to follow shortly.

Also with this release, KML files and point cloud data from the Yakima fold and thrust belt in Washington are now available.  DEM tiles will follow shortly.

EarthScope LiDAR data are freely available from the OpenTopography portal at http://opentopography.org in the following formats:

Google Earth hillshades:  The easiest way to explore this dataset, users can view filtered ("bare earth") and unfiltered hillshade images within Google Earth from two different illumination angles.  The Google Earth KMZ for the Alaska dataset features a new “slopeshade” illumination layer which provides an alternative visualization of the high relief landscapes in this region.  The hillshade KMZ file is available for downloaded at http://opentopography.org/kml

Standard DEM tiles:  For more advanced applications, filtered ("bare earth,” fg*) and unfiltered (ug*) 0.5 m resolution digital elevation models in Arc Binary grid format are also available for download as 1 km^2 tiles.  Users can browse and download the available data via an interactive map available at http://opentopography.org/dems

OpenTopography also provides access to raw point cloud data and and web-based tools to process these data into custom DEM products: http://www.opentopography.org/pointcloud

Best regards,
David Phillips and the EarthScope LiDAR team

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Funding agency
- National Science Foundation

Project management
- UNAVCO

Data acquisition, processing and distribution
- National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM): LiDAR data collection and processing
- Ohio State University (OSU): GPS data collection and processing
- Arizona State University (ASU): data distribution and analysis tools
- San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC): data distribution and analysis tools

The full press release is below and also available at: http://www.sdsc.edu/News%20Items/PR121109_opentopo.html.

The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego and Arizona State University have been awarded a $1.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to operate an internet-based national data facility for high-resolution topographic data acquired with LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology.  The facility will also provide online processing tools and act as a community repository for information, software and training materials.

The three-year project, which includes a grant of $1.4 million to SDSC and $300,000 to the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, will be based on SDSC’s OpenTopography portal, which will be scaled up to a national facility to make topography data available in multiple formats. This includes “raw” LiDAR point cloud data, standard LiDAR-derived digital elevation models, and easily accessible Google Earth products to better serve LiDAR users at various levels of expertise.

OpenTopography currently hosts and distributes a limited number of data sets acquired with funding from the NSF, NASA, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It is the product of the NSF-funded GEON (GeoSciences Network) project that has developed cyberinfrastructure for the integration of three- and four-dimensional earth science data.

“The fundamental goal of this project is to provide centralized access to community earth science LiDAR topography data,” said Christopher Crosby, SDSC’s project manager for the OpenTopography Facility.  “There is wealth of public domain LiDAR data available, but much of it is not yet easily accessible. We intend to leverage available cyberinfrastructure to make these powerful data sets, as well as online processing tools and knowledge resources, accessible to a large and diverse user community.”

The OpenTopography Facility will be primarily focused on large, community-oriented, scientific data sets, while building collaborations with existing LIDAR topography data providers and hosts such as the USGS and the NSF-funded National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) to link to their data archives and/or to host and distribute their data. An advisory committee representing OpenTopography users will prioritize which data sets are of greatest value to the community.

As one of the most powerful tools available to study the earth’s surface, overlying vegetation and man-made structures, high-resolution LiDAR data sets are widely regarded as revolutionary for earth science, environmental and engineering applications, as well as natural hazard studies. LiDAR makes it possible to generate digital elevation models (DEMs) at resolutions that are more than one order of magnitude better than those currently available. Moreover, large geographic areas can be surveyed at relatively low expense.

“LiDAR topography data is revolutionizing the way we study the geomorphic processes acting along the Earth’s surface,” said Ramon Arrowsmith, associate professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University and project co-investigator. “From earthquake hazards research to examining the impact of human development on natural systems, LiDAR is emerging as a fundamental tool.”

“High-resolution topographic data collection is burgeoning for research, planning and regulatory activities, yet the massive size of the data sets has made online community access to them difficult,” said Chaitan Baru, SDSC Distinguished Scientist and principal investigator for OpenTopography and GEON. “LiDAR is an interesting test case because of those data volumes and the on-demand access our users require, but ultimately the strategies developed in this work could be applied to all types of scientific data over a very wide range of domains.”

OpenTopography addresses the basic challenge of how to efficiently manage, archive, distribute process and integrate tens of terabytes of community geospatial data. Many organizations that acquire LiDAR topography do not have the disk space, bandwidth, and in-house expertise necessary to make these data available via the Internet for community-level access and analysis.

The OpenTopography LiDAR Facility is funded under NSF award number 0930731 (SDSC) and 0930643 (ASU).

OpenTopography-related scientific presentations:
Visualization of High-Resolution LiDAR Topography in Google Earth (Poster, IN33A-1034).  C. J. Crosby, V. Nandigam; R. Arrowsmith; J. L. Blair.  Wed, 12/16/09, 1:40-6 p.m., Poster Hall, Moscone South. - this abstract is in one of the sessions associated with the Geo-Visualization with Virtual Globes track at AGU, and as such there will be live demos on a large flat screen monitor instead of the standard paper posters.  These are really fun sessions - plan to stop by.

Wallace Creek Virtual Field Trip: Teaching Geoscience Concepts with LiDAR (Poster, ED51A-0519).  S.E. Robinson, R. Arrowsmith; C. J. Crosby.  Friday, 12/18/09, 8-12:20 p.m., Poster Hall, Moscone South.

Internet-Based Software Tools for Analysis and Processing of LIDAR Point Cloud Data via OpenTopography Portal (Oral presentation, IN51C-02).  V. Nandigam; C. J. Crosby; C. Baru; R. Arrowsmith.  Friday, 12/18/09, 8:15 a.m., Moscone South 102.

This is the second workshop this fall that OpenTopography has been involved in.  Resources from past OpenTopography short courses, including the recent October 2009 GSA Lidar Short Course, can be found on our Short Courses page. 

Slopeshade image of Alaska Denali-Totschunda EarthScope data in Google Earth

Announcement:

We are pleased to announce the availability of new EarthScope airborne LiDAR data products from Alaska!  Data from the Denali and Totschunda faults are now available as hillshade images that can be viewed in Google Earth, as standard 0.5 m DEM tiles, and in raw point cloud format.

Like the rest of the EarthScope LiDAR data, these products are freely available from the OpenTopography portal at http://opentopography.org in the following formats:

Google Earth hillshades:  The easiest way to explore this dataset, users can view filtered ("bare earth") and unfiltered hillshade images within Google Earth from two different illumination angles.  The Google Earth KMZ for the Alaska dataset features a new “slopeshade” illumination layer which provides an alternative visualization of the high relief landscapes in this region.  The hillshade KMZ file is available for downloaded at http://opentopography.org/kml

Standard DEM tiles:  For more advanced applications, filtered ("bare earth,” fg*) and unfiltered (ug*) 0.5 m resolution digital elevation models in Arc Binary grid format are also available for download as 1 km^2 tiles.  Users can browse and download the available data via an interactive map available at http://opentopography.org/dems

OpenTopography also provides access to raw point cloud data and and web-based tools to process these data into custom DEM products: http://www.opentopography.org/pointcloud

We are also working hard to finalize the release of additional EarthScope LiDAR data in time for the Fall AGU meeting.  Please stay tuned for further announcements and check the OpenTopography portal regularly over the course of the next two weeks for new data.

Best regards,
David Phillips and the EarthScope LiDAR team

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Funding agency
- National Science Foundation

Project management
- UNAVCO

Data acquisition, processing and distribution
- National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM): LiDAR data collection and processing
- Ohio State University (OSU): GPS data collection and processing
- Arizona State University (ASU): data distribution and analysis tools
- San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC): data distribution and analysis tools

Additional resources from past OpenTopography short courses can be found on our Short Course page.

• Guest Users:  Access to 50 million points per job.  No access to the customized myLiDARjobs which allows you to view all previously submitted jobs, monitor jobs that are currently running, and resubmit jobs.
• Registered Users:  Access to 100 million points per job and myLiDARjobs.
• Power Users:  Access to 150 million points per job and myLiDARjobs.  Power User status requires completing a simple form to explain why you feel you need elevated data access privileges.

In order to make it clear what level of status users hold, and to simplify status increase requests, users will now see a myOpenTopo Authorization Status link on the myOpenTopo page when logged into OpenTopography.  Following this link will take you to a page which shows your current status and provides a form to fill out if you wish to request an increase from Registered to Power User.

New myOpenTopo Authorization Status page:

Questions or concerns can be addressed to: info@opentopography.org

Workshop organizers:
J Ramon Arrowsmith, Arizona State University
Christopher Crosby, San Diego Supercomputer Center / OpenTopography
Ken Hudnut, US Geological Survey
Susan Eriksson, UNAVCO

Workshop overview:
As a result of research in the Eastern California Shear Zone, the B4 project, and the recently completed GeoEarthScope data acquisition, most of Southern California’s active faults have now been scanned using LiDAR. These exciting new data powerfully depict the effect of repeated slip along these active faults as well as surface processes in a range of climatic regimes. These community datasets are of great interest to the SCEC and greater academic communities, the geologic consulting community, and educators.

We invite participants to a 2 day introductory training on LiDAR technology, data handling, digital elevation model (DEM) production, data analysis including fault trace and geomorphic mapping applications, integration with other geospatial data, and discussion of educational uses of these data. The course will be held at the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UCSD.

This workshop will provide an overview of the hardware and software technologies associated with LiDAR topographic data acquisition and analysis, will highlight recent research results, and provide a forum for dialogue and discussion about anticipated technological and data gathering developments. Participants are welcome to bring their own laptops, but to make for a more satisfying learning experience, we will provide laptop computers with a variety of software pre-installed (ArcGIS, GlobalMapper, Matlab, and others).

How to apply:
Please send the following information to:
1. Contact information
2. Brief bio/curriculum vitae (1-2 pages maximum)
3. Short statement about your interests with respect to high-resolution topography, your overall research, and any relevant experience.
4. Brief statement on your computing experience, including preferred operating system, familiarity with GIS software, and comfort with command line-based tools.

There is funding available for partial travel and lodging support for the workshop; preference will be given to students.
The application deadline is October 22, 2009 Update: Deadline extended until Wed Nov. 4th

Workshop announcement in PDF format