2017 - 2018 USGS Lidar: NW New Jersey 6 County

Product: These lidar data are processed Classified LASv1.4 files, formatted to 2,843 individual 5,000 ft x 5,000 ft tiles; used to create intensity images, 3D breaklines and hydro-flattened DEMs as necessary.

Geographic Extent: 6 counties, New Jersey, covering approximately 2,358 square miles.

Dataset Description: Sussex, Passaic, Warren, Morris, Hunterdon, Somerset county, New Jersey 2018 Lidar project called for the Planning, Acquisition, processing and derivative products of lidar data to be collected at a nominal pulse spacing (NPS) of 0.7 meter. Project specifications are based on the U.S. Geological Survey National Geospatial Program Base Lidar Specification, Version 1.3. The data was developed based on a horizontal projection/datum of NAD83 (2011), State Plane New Jersey, feet and vertical datum of NAVD88 (GEOID12B), feet. Lidar data was delivered as processed Classified LASv1.4 files, formatted to 2,843 individual 5,000 ft x 5,000 ft tiles, as tiled intensity imagery, and as tiled bare-earth DEMs; all tiled to the same 5,000 ft x 5,000 ft schema.

Ground Conditions: Lidar was collected in early 2017 and 2018, while no snow was on the ground and rivers were at or below normal levels. In order to post process the lidar data to meet task order specifications and meet ASPRS vertical accuracy guidelines, The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. established a total of 30 ground control points that were used to calibrate the lidar to known ground locations established throughout the project area. An additional 140 independent accuracy check points, 79 in Open Terrain/Bare-Earth and Urban landcovers (79 NVA points), 61 in Grass, Brush and Trees categories (61 VVA points), were used to assess the vertical accuracy of the data. These check points were not used to calibrate or post process the data.

This metadata record supports the data entry in the NOAA Digital Coast Data Access Viewer (DAV). For this data set, the DAV is leveraging the Entwine Point Tiles (EPT) hosted by USGS on Amazon Web Services.

To acquire detailed surface elevation data for use in conservation planning, design, research, floodplain mapping, dam safety assessments and elevation modeling, etc. Classified LAS files are used to show the manually reviewed bare-earth surface. This allows the user to create Intensity Images, Breaklines and Raster DEM. The purpose of these lidar data was to produce high accuracy 3D hydro-flattened Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with a 2 ft cell size. These raw lidar point cloud data were used to create classified lidar LAS files, intensity images, 3D breaklines, and hydro-flattened DEMs as necessary.

USGS Contract: G16PC00051 CONTRACTOR: The Sanborn Map Company, Inc SUBCONTRACTOR: Keystone Aerial Surveys, Inc., Lidar data were acquired by Sanborn and Keystone. All follow-on processing was completed by the prime contractor.

The following are the USGS lidar fields in JSON:

{

"ldrinfo" : {

"ldrspec" : "USGS Lidar Base Specification v1.3",

"ldrsens" : "Leica ALS70-HP",

"ldrmaxnr" : "4",

"ldrnps" : "0.61",

"ldrdens" : "2.69",

"ldranps" : "0.47",

"ldradens" : "4.5",

"ldrfltht" : "2350",

"ldrfltsp" : "140",

"ldrscana" : "30",

"ldrscanr" : "55.8",

"ldrpulsr" : "240.0",

"ldrpulsd" : "4",

"ldrpulsw" : "0.53",

"ldrwavel" : "1064",

"ldrmpia" : "1",

"ldrbmdiv" : "0.25",

"ldrswatw" : "1259",

"ldrswato" : "23",

"ldrgeoid" : "National Geodetic Survey (NGS) Geoid12B"

},

"ldrinfo" : {

"ldrspec" : "USGS Lidar Base Specification v1.3",

"ldrsens" : "Optech Galaxy",

"ldrmaxnr" : "4",

"ldrnps" : "0.60",

"ldrdens" : "2.5",

"ldranps" : "0.47",

"ldradens" : "4.5",

"ldrfltht" : "1500",

"ldrfltsp" : "150",

"ldrscana" : "42",

"ldrscanr" : "61.0",

"ldrpulsr" : "250.0",

"ldrpulsd" : "4",

"ldrpulsw" : "0.33",

"ldrwavel" : "1064",

"ldrmpia" : "1",

"ldrbmdiv" : "0.25",

"ldrswatw" : "1225",

"ldrswato" : "20",

"ldrgeoid" : "National Geodetic Survey (NGS) Geoid12B"

},

"ldraccur" : {

"ldrchacc" : "0",

"rawnva" : "0.513",

"rawnvan" : "79",

"clsnva" : "0.508",

"clsnvan" : "79",

"clsvva" : "61",

"clsvvan" : "0.373"

},

"lasinfo" : {

"lasver" : "1.4",

"lasprf" : "6",

"laswheld" : "Withheld (ignore) points were identified in these files using the standard LAS Withheld bit.",

"lasolap" : "Swath "overage" points were identified in these files using the standard LAS overlap bit.",

"lasintr" : "16",

"lasclass" : {

"clascode" : "1",

"clasitem" : "Unclassified"

},

"lasclass" : {

"clascode" : "2",

"clasitem" : "Bare Earth Ground"

},

"lasclass" : {

"clascode" : "7",

"clasitem" : "Low Noise"

},

"lasclass" : {

"clascode" : "9",

"clasitem" : "Water"

},

"lasclass" : {

"clascode" : "17",

"clasitem" : "Bridge Decks"

},

"lasclass" : {

"clascode" : "18",

"clasitem" : "High Noise"

},

"lasclass" : {

"clascode" : "20",

"clasitem" : "Ignored Ground"

}

}}

Any conclusions drawn from the analysis of this information are not the responsibility of NOAA, the Office for Coastal Management or its partners.

Data is available online for bulk and custom downloads.

None

Users should be aware that temporal changes may have occurred since this data set was collected and some parts of this data may no longer represent actual surface conditions. Users should not use this data for critical applications without a full awareness of its limitations.

The project specifications require that only Non-Vegetated Vertical Accuracy (NVA) be computed for raw lidar point cloud swath files. The required accuracy (ACCz) is: 19.6 cm at a 95% confidence level, derived according to NSSDA, i.e., based on RMSE of 10 cm in the bare earth and urban land cover classes. The NVA was tested with 79 checkpoints located in open terrain/bare earth and urban (non-vegetated) areas. These check points were not used in the calibration or post processing of the lidar point cloud data. The check points were distributed throughout the project area and were surveyed using GPS techniques. Elevations from the unclassified lidar surface were measured for the x,y location of each check point. Elevations interpolated from the lidar surface were then compared to the elevation values of the surveyed control points. AccuracyZ has been tested to meet 19.6 cm or better Non-Vegetated Vertical Accuracy at 95% confidence level using RMSE(z) x 1.9600 as defined by the National Standards for Spatial Data Accuracy (NSSDA); assessed and reported using National Digital Elevation Program (NDEP)/ASRPS Guidelines.

Sanborn Determined Vertical Accuracy:

Tested 0.508 feet (15.48 cm) NVA at a 95% confidence level using RMSE(z) x 1.9600 as defined by the National Standards for Spatial Data Accuracy (NSSDA). The NVA of the raw lidar point cloud swath files was calculated against TINs derived from the final calibrated and controlled swath data using 79 independent check points located in Open Terrain/Bare Earth and Urban land cover classes.

USGS Determined Vertical Accuracy:

NVA = 15.48 cm at 95% Confidence Level or 7.9 cm RMSE

VVA = 11.37 cm at 95th Percentile

These LAS data files include all data points collected. No points have been removed or excluded. A visual qualitative assessment was performed to ensure data completeness. No void areas or missing data exist. The raw point cloud is of good quality and data passes Non-Vegetated Vertical Accuracy specifications.

Data covers the AOI specified for this project.

Data is backed up to tape and to cloud storage.

The NOAA Office for Coastal Management (OCM) ingested references to the USGS Entwine Point Tile (EPT) files hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) into the Digital Coast Data Access Viewer (DAV). The DAV accesses the point cloud as it resides on AWS under the usgs-lidar-public-container.