1. Project status ? On top of it, know/have exactly what I need
Pretty sure what I want to do, need to acquire data
Have some thoughts, but not too sure on area/data
Still scanning my memory banks
Project ? …. Are you talking to me ?
Data: BC – we have much landsat already ( )
Landsat: global archive available (1972/82 – 2010)
SPOT : online for most of Canada ( )

2. Jackpine Creek -> 2008

3. Jackpine Creek 2004 (Albers) ScienceDaily (Apr
Jackpine Creek (Albers) ScienceDaily (Apr. 4, 2011) — A University of Alberta-led research team has determined that the mountain pine beetle has invaded jack pine forests in Alberta,

4. LiDAR = Light Detection And Ranging ...also known as LASER altimetry
.. is an increasingly common form of active remote sensing -
It is commonly used to create high resolution DEMs - 1 foot or <1 metre  (airborne)
Objects reflect more in UV-visible- NIR (than microwaves) and enable higher resolution mapping.
SONAR SOund NAvigation and Ranging : sound propagation for communication/ navigation
SODAR: SOnic Detection And Ranging : sound propagation upwards (atmospheric)

5. What is LiDAR ?
Controlled bursts of LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation)
Distance to object given by TIME
requires 3 units:
laser emitter/receiver,
GPS,
IMU (Inertial measurement unit)
Used in 60s-70s for scanlines, feasible for images with development of GPS (1990s)
now widely available

6. Range finding LiDAR for topographic mapping
Laser bursts are emitted at these wavelengths:  (why these ??? *)
355 nm (UV)        532 nm (green)        1064 nm (Near IR)
* [Taser guns are at 650 nm ; phasers at 350nm ]
Unaffected by clouds above (unlike photos / airborne scanning) .. why?

7. LiDAR – 1064 nm, 532nm, 355nm - why those wavelengths ?
Lasers produce light the same way as a neon sign – a substance is stimulated to an excited state, causing the release of extra energy as a photon of light.
Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet) is a crystal that is used as a lasing medium for solid-state lasers. It emits at a wavelength of 1064 nm.
According to the Planck-Einstein equation:
Where h= Planck’s constant, and c = the speed of light, halving the wavelength, has the effect of doubling the energy released, and one-third the wavelength (355) triples the energy (= the second and third harmonics)
… Not solved by googling or LiDAR marketing companies
Solved by Patrick Daley, GEOG432 (Fall 2009)

8. LiDAR applications: detailed DEMs

10. LiDAR applications: detailed DEMs

12. Volume estimation:
Ground Zero

13. Sea Level rise from ICe in Svalbard (SLICES): 20 m interpolated model of Slakbreen

15. Returns give distance (hence heights) for multiple levels:
the only remote sensing technique able to distinguish between multiple ground layers

16. Vegetation: Tree Canopy Height
Air photo Vegetation surface DSM Bald Earth Model (BEM)

17. Aleza Lake Research Forest
Oldest research forest in BC, jointly operated by UBC and UNBC
60km north-east of Prince George

20. Canopy Height = Canopy Surface – Bare Earth
Canopy Surface Model
Each cell in a canopy surface model details the elevation of the highest feature within that cell
Height is more practical than elevation for describing vegetation
Canopy Height = Canopy Surface – Bare Earth

21. Canopy Height Model

22. Canopy Surface Model

27. Tree Stem Maps
Individual tree crowns are discernable from the Canopy Height Model so we developed a tree finding algorithm to identify tree stem locations

28. Vegetation Data Products
LiDAR Data – tree stems

29. Tree Stems (displayed by tree height)

30. Tree Stems (displayed by crown shape)

31. Forests for the World orthophoto

32. City 1 metre DEM (from 1m contours)

33. LiDAR Forests for the World, 2009

34. UNBC / Cranbrook Hill LiDAR 2009

35. LiDAR Platforms
Airborne since 1970s  e.g. Optech (Ottawa)    and NorthWest Geo (Calgary)
Many others ….
ICESat (Jan 2003):  Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS):  
        
66m 'footprint' and 10cm vertical resolution, designed for polar icecaps
        
CALIPSO:  Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation
ALADIN   Wind LiDAR

36. LiDAR summary
Present drawbacks: (all reducing with technology increase)
The high cost of collecting lidar
High data volume
Steep learning curve in research and understanding
(involving utilizing the entire point cloud)
Advantages:
Very high resolution DEM for many applications
Multi-layer data for forestry and ecosystems
Increasing data supply – some free download
Increasing conference content in GIS/RS/Cartography
Many online resources e.g. :
USGS:
BC CARMS:

37. Stonehenge http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzYUx4l80m8
Stonehenge