2025 USGS Topobathy Lidar DEM: John Day River, OR

Create custom data files by choosing data area, map projection, file format, etc. A new metadata will be produced to reflect your request using this record as a base.

Bulk download of data files in the original coordinate system.

The Data Access Viewer (DAV) allows a user to search for and download elevation, imagery, and land cover data for the coastal U.S. and its territories. The data, hosted by the NOAA Office for Coastal Management, can be customized and requested for free download through a checkout interface. An email provides a link to the customized data, while the original data set is available through a link within the viewer.

Link to the USGS Project Report that provides information about the project, vertical accuracy results, the point classes and sensors used.

Link to the reports, breaklines, metadata, and spatial metadata.

Link to the NV5 Geospatial, Inc. lidar report

Below is the information from the original data metadata Abstract created by the data collection vendor NV5 Geospatial, Inc. This Abstract describes the original data as it was delivered to the USGS and that the NOAA OCM Digital Coast Data Access Viewer (DAV) is accessing.

Product: Topobathymetric Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data covering the OR John Day Topobathymetric Lidar project area.

Geographic Extent: This dataset and derived products encompass an area covering approximately 7,021 acres of Northeast Oregon.

Dataset Description: Lidar flight line swaths were processed to create 165 classified LAS 1.4 files delineated in 1,000m x 1,000m tiles. Each LAS file contains lidar point information, which has been calibrated, controlled, and classified. The data was developed based on a horizontal projection/datum of UTM Zone 11 N, NAD83(2011), Meters and vertical datum of NAVD88 Geoid 18, Meters. Class 2 (ground) and class 40 (bathymetric bottom) lidar points were used to create a 165 1.0 meter topobathymetric Raster DEMs delineated in 1,000m x 1,000m tiles. This version of the topobathymetric model has been clipped. Areas of bathymetric voids were triangulated from the nearest bathymetric returns. Users should be aware that bathymetric voids can indicate deeper areas beyond the penetration capabilities of the laser and view these as low confidence areas. Non-Vegetated Vertical Accuracy (NVA) was assessed using 35 check points located on bare earth in clear, unobstructed areas. Vegetated Vertical Accuracy (VVA) was assessed using 35 check points in Tall Grass, Forest, and Shrub landcover types. Additional products include classified LAS files, intensity images, maximum surface height rasters, and a bathymetric void shape.

Ground Conditions: Ground condition was free of snow and acquisition occurred free of smoke, fog and cloud cover.

Lidar Pre-Processing:

1. Review flight lines and data to ensure complete coverage of the study area and positional accuracy of the laser points.

2. Resolve kinematic corrections for aircraft position data using kinematic aircraft GPS and static ground GPS data.

3. Develop a smoothed best estimate of trajectory (SBET) file that blends post-processed aircraft position with sensor head position and attitude recorded throughout the survey.

4. Calculate laser point position by associating SBET position to each laser point return time, scan angle, intensity, etc. Create raw laser point cloud data for the entire survey in *.las format. Convert data to orthometric elevations by applying a Geoid 18 correction.

5. Apply refraction correct to bathymetric returns by flightline.

6. Import raw laser points into manageable blocks to perform manual relative accuracy calibration and filter erroneous points. Classify ground points for individual flight lines.

7. Using ground classified points per each flight line, test the relative accuracy. Perform automated line-to-line calibrations for system attitude parameters (pitch, roll, heading), mirror flex (scale) and GPS/IMU drift. Calculate calibrations on ground classified points from paired flight lines and apply results to all points in a flight line. Use every flight line for relative accuracy calibration.

8. Adjust the point cloud by comparing ground classified points to supplemental ground control points.

Lidar Post-Processing:

1. Classify data to ground and other client designated classifications using proprietary classification algorithms.

2. Manually QC data classification

3. Calculate final NVA and VVA vertical accuracy statistics and calculate native and ground density information.

Breaklines: Water boundary polygons were developed using an algorithm which weights lidar-derived slopes, intensities, and return densities to detect the water's edge. The water's edge was then manually reviewed and edited as necessary.

bathymetric void shape: Ground and bathymetric bottom points within and near the water's edge breakline were used to construct a Delaunay triangulation. Triangulation across the water's edge breakline to terrestrial ground points may occur. Insufficiently mapped areas denoted as "Void" were identified as areas composed of triangles with edge length maximums greater than or equal to 4.56 meters. Sufficiently mapped areas denoted as "Covered" were identifed as areas composed of triangles with edge length maximums less than 4.56 meters. The bathymetric void shape is clipped to the water's edge breakline extent and percent area is calculated. This shape was used to clip the final topobathymetric DEMs to avoid interpolation over areas lacking bathymetric returns.

The NOAA Office for Coastal Management (OCM) created references to the USGS GeoTIFF files that were ingested into the NOAA Digital Coast Data Access Viewer (DAV). No changes were made to the data. The DAV will access the raster data as it resides on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

These are the GeoTIFF files that are being accessed:

https://prd-tnm.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html?prefix=StagedProducts/Elevation/OPR/Projects/OR_JohnDayTB_D25/OR_JohnDayTB_Topobathymetric_1_D25/TIFF/

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