Data Management Plan (Deprecated)

Original Data:

These files contain classified topographic and bathymetric lidar data as unclassified valid topographic data (1), valid topographic data classified as ground (2), invalid topographic data classified as low points (7), water (9), points that fall in topographic areas that were acquired with the bathymetric sensor (21), valid bathymetric data (29). Classes 1,2,7,9 are defined in accordance with the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) classification standards, while classes 21 and 29 are classes specific to the data collection. These data were collected with a RIEGL VQ-480 and a Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging Lidar (CZMIL) airborne lidar system along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The VQ-480 sensor has a pulse repetition rate of 150 kHz at near infrared laser wavelength. CZMIL integrates a lidar sensor with topographic and bathymetric capabilities, a digital camera and a hyperspectral imager on a single remote sensing platform for use in coastal mapping and charting activities.

Data coverage generally extends along the shoreline from the waterline to 500 meters onshore. Native lidar data are not generally in a format accessible to most Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Specialized in-house and commercial software packages are used to process the native lidar data into 3-dimensional positions that can be exported to standard formats and imported into GIS software for visualization and further analysis. Horizontal positions, provided in UTM Zone 16N coordinates in meters, are referenced to the NAD83 (2011) Epoch 2010 datum. Vertical elevations in meters are also referenced to this datum (GRS80 ellipsoidal height). The 3-D position data are sub-divided into a series of LAS files, each derived from a single flightline. The National Geodetic Survey's (NGS) GEOID03 model is used to transform the vertical positions from ellipsoid to orthometric heights referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). Once converted to orthometric heights, the data are then converted to the International Great Lakes Datum of 1985 (IGLD85) using the VDatum program from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The 3-D position data are sub-divided into a series of LAS files, each covering approximately 5 kilometers of shoreline. The format of the file is LAS version 1.2.

In addition to the lidar point data, the topobathy bare earth Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) at a 1 meter grid spacing, created from the lidar point data, are also available from the NOAA Digital Coast Data Access Viewer (DAV). A link to the bare earth 1 meter DEM data is provided in the URL section of this metadata record. DEMs at a 1 meter grid spacing, created from all classifications, are available by request at coastal.info@noaa.gov.

Lineage Statement:
The NOAA Office for Coastal Management (OCM) received the data from the USACE Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX). NOAA OCM processed the data to the NOAA Digital Coast Data Access Viewer (DAV) to make the data publicly available for bulk and custom downloads.

Process Steps:

• VQ-480 These data were collected using the RIEGL VQ-480 lidar system, operated by Fugro Pelagos through contract. The system collects topographic lidar data at maximum pulse rate of 150 kHz in a wavelength near infrared. Aircraft position, velocity and acceleration information are collected a POS AV 510 equipment. All logged raw data were transferred to the office and processed in RiPROCESS software. Aircraft position data are processed using POSPac software and the results combined with the lidar data to produce 3-D positions for each lidar shot. Upon processing and export to LAS format, QA/QC is performed with Fledermaus and FPI Workbench tools. Data are classified as 0 (valid topographic data), 21 (points that fall in topographic areas that were acquired with the bathymetric sensor), 29 (valid bathymetric data). The data are then shifted vertically to the International Great Lakes Datum of 1985 (IGLD85) using the VDatum program from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). CZMIL These data were collected using the CZMIL system. It is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The system collects lidar data at 20 kHz and RGB imagery at 2 Hz. A CASI-1500 hyperspectral line scanner is integrated with the system as well. Aircraft position, velocity and acceleration information are collected through a combination of Novatel and POS A/V 510 equipment. All raw data streams are transferred to the office for downloading and processing in CZMILs Hydro Fusion software. Aircraft position data are processed using POSPac software and the results are combined with the lidar data to produce 3-D positions for each lidar shot. Upon inspection and QA/QC in the software packages Fledermaus and PFM_ABE, anomalous data are flagged as invalid. NOAA's VDatum software then converts all valid data from ellipsoid to orthometric heights based on the NGS' GEOID12A model and exports valid lidar data as a series of unclassified LAS files.
• VQ-480 The flightline LAS files are imported into GeoCue [V7.0.3.5], which is a geospatial workflow production and management software tool employed by JALBTCX to perform and monitor production of data products. Upon import into GeoCue, the flightline LAS files are divided into a series of boxes, each of which are 1500 meters in length and width. A customized classification macro, built upon the TerraScan [V11] module within Microstation V8i, classifies valid topographic data as ground points (2) and unclassified points (1). Upon completion the macro, the classification results undergo quality control and any misclassified points are manually edited. In areas of dense vegetation the bare earth ground points might be incorrectly classified due to the inability of the laser to penetrate the canopy and reach the bare ground. In these areas, JALBTCX defaults to the algorithm's ground surface instead of manually reclassifying those points. The final classification results are comprised of individual lidar points with classifications of ground (2) or unclassified (1). They are partitioned into a series of 5km delivery boxes, one Classified LAS file per box. The format of the file is LAS version [1.2]. Data are classified as 1 (valid non-ground topographic data), 2 (valid ground topographic data), 21 (points that fall in topographic areas that were acquired with the bathymetric sensor), 29 (valid bathymetric data). CZMIL LAS files are imported into GeoCue V2012.1.27.7, which is a geospatial workflow production and management software tool employed by JALBTCX to perform and monitor production of data products. Upon import into GeoCue, A customized classification macro, built upon the TerraScan V13 module within Microstation V8i, classifies valid topographic data as ground points (2), valid bathymetric data as bathy (29), and unclassified points (1). Upon completion the macro, the classification results undergo quality control and any misclassified points are manually edited. In areas of dense vegetation the bare earth ground points might be incorrectly classified due to the inability of the laser to penetrate the canopy and reach the bare ground. In these areas, JALBTCX defaults to the algorithms ground surface instead of manually reclassifying those points. The final classification results are comprised of individual lidar points with classifications of ground (2) or unclassified (1). They are partitioned into a series of 5km or quarter quad delivery boxes, one Classified LAS file per box. The format of the file is LAS version 1.2. Data are classified as 1 (valid non-ground topographic data), 2 (valid ground topographic data), 29 (valid bathymetric data).
• 2024-08-23 00:00:00 - The NOAA Office for Coastal Management (OCM) received laz files from USACE JALBTCX for the Lake Michigan coastline. The lidar data had elevation and intensity measurements. The data were in geographic (NAD83 2011) coordinates and IGLD85 elevations in meters. The data were classified as: 1 - Unclassified, 2 - Ground, 7 - Noise, 9 - Water, 21 - points that fall in topographic areas that were acquired with the bathymetric sensor, 29 - Bathymetric Point. OCM processed all classifications of points to the Digital Coast Data Access Viewer (DAV). Classes available on the DAV are: 1, 2, 7, 9, 21, 29. OCM performed the following processing on the data for Digital Coast storage and provisioning purposes: 1. An internal OCM script was run to check the number of points by classification and by flight ID and the gps and intensity ranges. 2. The LAZ files were converted from IGLD85 elevations to NAD83 (GRS80) ellipsoidal heights using the GEOID 03 model. 3. Internal OCM scripts were run on the laz files to assign the geokeys, to sort the data by gps time and zip the data to database and to AWS S3.

Data is available for bulk and custom downloads.