Hurricane Irma Topobathymetric Lidar: Miami to Key Largo, 2018-2019

5,065 LAS tiles of combined topographic and bathymetric lidar data covering 285,529 acres of the Florida Keys. The data were collected by Quantum Spatial, Inc. for NOAA across 23 missions between November 2018 and March 2019, following Hurricane Irma. It includes detailed classifications for ground, water surface, bathymetric bottom, water column, and submerged features.

Use Cases

• Modeling coastal erosion and sediment transport based on detailed ground and bathymetric bottom classifications.
• Analyzing hurricane-induced changes to submerged topography and coastal features based on point classifications.
• Creating high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) for flood risk assessment using the classified ground and water surface data.
• Studying water column properties and submerged features for marine habitat mapping.

Strengths

• Data collection spanned 23 missions over a 4-month period, providing temporal coverage.
• Includes 13 distinct ASPRS-standard classification codes for detailed feature analysis.
• Covers a specific area of approximately 285,529 acres with data compiled into 5,065 consistently sized tiles.

Limitations

• Classifications for temporal bathymetric differences (46,71,72,81,85) are noted as automated only, without manual review.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected by Quantum Spatial, Inc. using Riegl VA880G+, VQ880GII, and VQ880GH lidar systems from aircraft.

Time Range

2018-11-20 to 2019-03-23

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 21:30:00.085589; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Eastern coast of Miami south and westward to the Marquesas Keys, Florida, USA.