MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH LIDAR: CONFESSIONS OF AN INVETERATE SURFICIAL MAPPER

Explicitly detailed representations of landscapes provide an endless source of fascination for all geomorphologists. These types of images and datasets were once restricted primarily to richly funded researchers and agencies and could only be enjoyed vicariously by envious mappers and modelers with small budgets. With the relatively recent proliferation of LiDAR datasets, the data wealth is beginning to trickle down to the ‘little guys’, and the results have profound impacts on the quality of geologic mapping and landscape analysis. At some point, it is inevitable that the preference for LiDAR data for these applications will be a determining factor of mapping and research priorities. Anyone who acquires a decent LiDAR dataset of a favorite field area (or better, one that is currently being mapped with traditional data) quickly recognizes its value and may even abandon or extensively modify mapping of the same area based on more traditional (old school?) data sources. Trust me. This reality has important implications for prioritizing research efforts and budgets.

The essential value of LiDAR as a mapping tool lies in the clarity with which it can render landscapes and the resulting effect this has in minimizing ambiguity in interpretation of landforms, their dimensions, and their precise locations. To date, I have had the chance to incorporate LiDAR datasets into mapping projects involving a wide array of geologic settings, including: dynamic alluvial river channels and deltas; valley-scale landslide complexes; intracanyon lava flows; coarse-grained flood deposits and related fluvial features; pluvial lake shoreline complexes; and an alluvial fan complex along a tectonically active range front. Through these efforts, I have concluded that LiDAR datasets are invaluable for surficial mapping in any geologic setting. It can improve the accuracy and veracity of a map, and can foster considerable scientific insight and conceptualization. The visual appeal of a nicely rendered LiDAR dataset combined with the intuitive awareness of its quantitative underpinnings can liberate understanding of the landscape at multiple scales. This sort of near-epiphanic intellectual event can facilitate and improve communication and collaboration among field geologists and landscape modelers.