2019-2020 NOAA NGS Topobathy Lidar DEM: Coastal VA, NC, SC

3,075,010 acres of coastal elevation data were collected by NV5 Geospatial for NOAA from November 2019 to August 2020 using multiple Riegl and Leica sensor systems. The processed data includes classified point clouds in LAS format and 1-meter resolution Digital Elevation Models in GeoTIFF format. This dataset provides topobathymetric coverage, integrating land and seafloor elevations, for the Eastern coasts of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Use Cases

• Modeling coastal erosion and storm surge inundation based on integrated land and seafloor elevation data.
• Analyzing seafloor topography and nearshore bathymetry for navigation and habitat studies based on the bathymetric classifications.
• Creating high-resolution base maps for coastal zone management based on the 1-meter pixel resolution DEMs.
• Calibrating and validating satellite-derived bathymetry models based on the lidar intensity and return number data.

Strengths

• Covers approximately 3,075,010 acres, providing extensive spatial coverage for three U.S. states.
• Data adheres to ASPRS classification standards, suggesting a consistent and recognized classification schema.
• Includes both point cloud (LAS) and raster (GeoTIFF) derivatives, offering data in multiple common geospatial formats.
• Uses multiple high-precision sensor systems (e.g., Riegl VQ880GII, Leica Chiroptera 4x) across nine collection blocks.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale statistical processing.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality and completeness require manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected via airborne topobathymetric lidar sensors by NV5 Geospatial.

Time Range

2019-11 26 to 2020 08-25

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 21:19:41.586954; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Eastern coast of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, USA.