APPLICATIONS OF LIDAR DATA FOR PLANNING, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT, AND POLICY-MAKERS IN MID-ATLANTIC STATES

The utility of airborn lidar data will be shown in this presentation as we review how lidar data has been employed by science and management personnel in State and Federal agencies to accomplish mission functions that include short and long term inundation prediction, flooding mitigation strategy, transportation and other infrastructure protection, improved storm-water management resulting from lidar data combined with improved surface water mapping, and water monitoring instrumentation. Also the presentation will look at better watershed definition from lidar data and how it can be used to improve small watershed predictive surface runoff modeling and as a tool to focus storm-water mitigation practices.

Other applications such as lidar data being used for view-shed analysis and land-cover change-analysis will be discussed. Coastal change is being monitored using topographic/bathymetric datasets including Hurricane Sandy funded data that has recently been posted by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. The U.S. Geological Survey is investigating how topographic lidar may be used as the primary data source to improve the mapping of streams at large scale. Canopy mapping for carbon-sequestration calculations have been undertaken by the University of Maryland using leaf-on lidar data.

A brief look will be given at lidar applications for emergency response such as virtual structure modeling. This tool is now standard practice for urban area exercises conducted by first responders from tall building fire and evacuation to bridge collapse. Lidar data also supplies information to organizations involved in planning security and developing response scenarios surrounding a large sports or political events.