2005 Puget Sound LiDAR Consortium (PSLC) Topographic LiDAR: Olympic Peninsula

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This graphic shows the lidar coverage for the 2005 Olympic Peninsula project area of Washington.

Date that the source FGDC record was last modified.

Converted from FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (version FGDC-STD-001-1998) using 'fgdc_to_inport_xml.pl' script. Contact Tyler Christensen (NOS) for details.

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Point Generation.

The points are generated as Terrascan binary Format using Terrapoint's proprietary Laser Postprocessor Software. This software combines the Raw Laser file and GPS/IMU information to generate a point cloud for each individual flight. All the point cloud files encompassing the project area were then divided into quarter quad tiles. The referencing system of these tiles is based upon the project boundary minimum and maximums. This process is carried out in Terrascan.

The bald earth is subsequently extracted from the raw LiDAR points using Terrascan in a Microstation environment. The automated vegetation removal process takes place by building an iterative surface model. This surface model is generated using three main parameters: Building size, Iteration angle and Iteration distance.

The initial model is based upon low points selected by a roaming window and are assumed to be ground points. The size of this roaming window is determined by the building size parameter. These low points are triangulated and the remaining points are evaluated and subsequently added to the model if they meet the Iteration angle and distance constraints (fig. 1). This process is repeated until no additional points are added within an iteration.

There is also a maximum terrain angle constraint that determines the maximum terrain angle allowed within the model.

Multiple process dates.

Collection. Two Navajo twin-engine aircraft (C-FVZM & C-GQVP) were used for this project. The aircrafts were based out of Astoria and Kelso Municipal Airport. The two Navajo were typically flying at an altitude of 3500 feet AGL (above ground level) for the duration of the survey.

Sensors Used:Two systems were used in parallel to accomplish data collection, both Terrapoint's 40 kHz ALTMS (Airborne Laser Terrain Mapping System), flying at an optimum height of 3500 ft AGL at 140 knots (C-FVZM & C-GQVP). The systems consist of a 36 degree full angle laser, a Trimble 4700 GPS receiver and a Honeywell H764 IMU unit. The nominal flight line spacing was 1070 feet, providing overlap of 50% between flight lines.

Processing.

1. Flight lines and data were reviewed to ensure complete coverage of the study area and positional accuracy of the laser points.

2. Laser point return coordinates were computed using the REALM survey suite and PosPac based on independent data from the LiDAR system, IMU, and aircraft.

3. The raw LiDAR file was assembled into flight lines per return with each point having an associated x, y, and z coordinate.

4. Visual inspection of swath to swath laser point consistencies within the study area were used to perform manual refinements of system alignment.

5. Custom algorithms were designed to evaluate points between adjacent flight lines. Automated system alignment was computed based upon randomly selected swath to swath accuracy measurements that

consider elevation, slope, and intensities. Specifically, refinement in the combination of system pitch, roll and yaw offset parameters optimize internal consistency.

6. Noise (e.g., pits and birds) was filtered using REALM software tools based on known elevation ranges and included the removal of any cycle slips.

7. Using TerraScan and Microstation, ground classifications utilized custom settings appropriate to the study area.

8. The corrected and filtered return points were compared to the RTK ground survey points collected to verify the vertical and horizontal accuracies.

9. Points were broken into processing bins and output areas and output as laser points, TINed and GRIDed surfaces. Bare earth DEMs meet PSLC specifications.

The NOAA Office for Coastal Management (OCM) downloaded topographic files in .txt format from PSLC's website. The files contained lidar elevation, intensity, return number, class, scan angle and GPS time

measurements. The data were received in Washington State Plane North Zone 4601, NAD83 coordinates and were vertically referenced to NAVD88 using the Geoid03 model. The vertical units of the data were

feet. OCM performed the following processing for data storage and Digital Coast provisioning purposes:

1. The All-Return ASCII txt files were parsed to convert GPS Week Time to Adjusted Standard GPS Time.

2. The All-Return ASCII files were converted from txt format to las format using LASTools' txt2las tool and reclassified to fit the OCM class list, 3=2 (ground), 5=3 (vegetation).

3. The las files were converted from orthometric (NAVD88) heights to ellipsoidal heights using Geoid03.

4. The las files' vertical units were converted from feet to meters.

5. The las files were converted from a Projected Coordinate System (WA SP North) to a Geographic Coordinate system (NAD83)

6. The las files' horizontal units were converted from feet to decimal degrees and converted to laz format.