2010 Lidar Point Cloud for French Frigate Shoals, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Lidar-derived elevation data were collected over low-lying areas within the northwestern Hawaiian Islands during the summer of 2010. The U.S. Geological Survey and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration contracted Aerial Surveying, Inc., which used Riegl 140 and 240 systems on a Beechcraft Queen Air aircraft. Data are provided in LAS 1.2 format and were validated in April 2011 with survey-grade GPS.

Use Cases

• Modeling sea level rise impacts based on high-resolution digital elevation models.
• Conducting habitat assessments using classified ground and vegetation point data.
• Simulating tsunami inundation scenarios based on terrain elevation.
• Validating other remote sensing products using the high-accuracy ground points collected in 2011.

Strengths

• Data collection used specific Riegl 140 and 240 lidar systems on a Beechcraft Queen Air aircraft.
• Includes validation from a 2011 survey using survey-grade GPS receivers.
• Point clouds are classified according to the ASPRS LAS 1.2 standard.

Limitations

• Accuracy statements are based on open terrain; derived products may be less accurate in areas of extreme terrain and dense vegetation.
• Classified data sets may have varying point density due to some pulses not reaching the ground.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Airborne lidar survey contracted to Aerial Surveying, Inc.

Time Range

Summer 2010 (collection), April 2011 (validation)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:17:02.164143; freshness should be verified.

Geography

French Frigate Shoals, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands