2021 Bathymetric Lidar Point Cloud for Sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan

NOAA's 2021 bathymetric lidar dataset for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan, provides a classified point cloud in LAS v.1.4 format. The data was acquired on August 31 and September 3, 2021, using a Leica HawkEye4X sensor by contractors Woolpert, Inc. and NV5, with a vertical accuracy of less than or equal to 15 cm RMSE for bathymetric points. It includes classifications for ground, water surface, bathymetric points, and submerged objects.

Use Cases

• Coastal erosion modeling based on high-resolution topographic and bathymetric elevation data.
• Benthic habitat classification and mapping using the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS).
• Shoreline and underwater feature detection based on point classifications for ground, water surface, and submerged objects.
• Digital elevation model (DEM) creation for coastal zone management, as mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• High-resolution data with a point density greater than or equal to 1 pulse per square meter.
• Bathymetric lidar vertical accuracy of less than or equal to 15 cm RMSE.
• Point cloud includes specific classifications for ground, water, bathymetry, and submerged objects.
• Bare earth Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are also available from the lidar data.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data coverage is limited to specific survey lines and dates in August and September 2021.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Acquired via airborne Leica HawkEye4X topo-bathy lidar sensor, processed by Woolpert, Inc. and NV5.

Time Range

August 31 and September 3, 2021

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:19:00.262859; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan, USA