LiDAR Forum Set for February (USA)

The International LiDAR Mapping Forum (ILMF), is scheduled for Feb. 17-19 in Denver, Colo., and will offer a first-hand look at the latest techniques and technologies and the expanding roster of applications for 3D bathymetric models and maps of shorelines and shallow water.

The three-day Technical Conference will feature world-leading experts in bathymetric LiDAR who will detail the latest technology advances and recent projects, highlighting actual experiences and lessons learned.

Bathymetry involves mapping coastal zones and shallow water by using aircraft equipped with a LiDAR system to measure and chart the depths and shapes of submerged terrain along shorelines and other shallow water areas to generate a 3D elevation model of the underwater topography.

The applications for coastal and shallow water bathymetric LiDAR data are incredibly diverse and growing rapidly in number. From flood hazard assessments and natural resource exploration to undersea cable and pipeline route planning, bathymetric maps are also an increasingly important tool for scientists studying future impacts of climate change on the environment.

Kicking off ILMF’s Coastal Zone & Bathymetric LiDAR track on Monday, Amar Nayegandhi, manager of elevation technologies at AEC firm Dewberry, will present “Determining reliable water surface returns in airborne LiDAR topobathymetry.” He will discuss results of a study using two LiDAR systems to simultaneously collect data under various conditions of water surface roughness, which play a big role in obtaining reliable water surface returns.

Amelia Vincent, Project Water Resources Engineer, URS Corporation, will deliver the next session in the track entitled “LiDAR Processing vs. H&H Modeling: The long term impact of short term savings” which will focus on the disadvantages to partially processing LiDAR from a hydraulics and hydrology (H&H) modeling perspective. Additionally, it will investigate why reducing the processing area to save money can mean long-term headaches and unexpected costs.

Later that afternoon, Swante Welander, marketing manager for Airborne Hydrography Airborne Hydrography AB, will discuss the first survey results from the new-generation Hawkeye III, a combined airborne multi-sensor LiDAR system with two bathymetric channels, and one topographic channel.

Following Welander on Wednesday is Optech Manager Joong-Young Park, who will demonstrate his company’s airborne LiDAR system. The Optech CZMIL emits short-pulse widths for increased vertical resolution, which helps separate the seafloor from the sea surface in turbid and dynamic water to create high-resolution 3D data and imagery at one-meter spatial resolution. Park’s presentation is titled, “Enhanced Depth Measurement from Airborne Bathymetric LiDAR Systems in Shallow and Turbid Water.”

In the Coastal Zone Mapping, Bathymetry track, a presentation on Tuesday will explore results of a recent study that used a RIEGL VQ-820-G airborne laser scanner to collect topo-bathymetric LiDAR data for a major coastal restoration project on Terra Ceia Island, on the southern shore of Tampa Bay, Fla. Alvan Karlin, senior GIS scientist at the state’s Southwest Florida Water Management Division, will discuss the advantages of topo-bathymetric LiDAR in densely vegetated areas and compare the study’s results to those from a 2007 study, when the area was last mapped.