NOAA USGS Lidar DEM of Hawaiian Islands 2022-2023

NOAA and USGS provide a 0.5-meter bare-earth raster digital elevation model (DEM) derived from Quality Level 1 lidar data collected between 2020 and 2023. The dataset consists of 16,760 individual 500-meter x 500-meter GeoTIFF tiles covering approximately 1,428 square miles across the islands of Kahoolawe, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, and Oahu. Data acquisition followed the National Geospatial Program Lidar Base Specification Version 2.1 with an aggregate nominal pulse spacing of 0.35 meters.

Use Cases

• Model coastal erosion and flood risk using the 0.5-meter bare-earth DEM for high-resolution terrain analysis.
• Analyze extreme terrain features and persistent low cloud patterns from the multi-mobilization acquisition notes.
• Process the 500-meter x 500-meter GeoTIFF tiles for large-scale topographic mapping and change detection.
• Apply the NAVD88 (GEOID12B) vertical reference system for precise elevation studies in geospatial applications.

Strengths

• High-resolution 0.5-meter bare-earth DEM derived from QL1 lidar data with an aggregate nominal pulse spacing of 0.35 meters.
• Extensive spatial coverage of approximately 1,428 square miles across five major Hawaiian Islands.
• Data formatted into 16,760 standardized 500-meter x 500-meter GeoTIFF tiles for consistent processing.
• Collection and processing followed established specifications (National Geospatial Program Lidar Base Specification v2.1, ASPRS standards).

Limitations

• Acquisition was ended before complete coverage due to extreme terrain and persistent low clouds, resulting in clipped work units.
• Areas of low point density and small data voids are present and identified with low confidence polygons.
• Primary data files are in PDF and HTML formats, which may require extraction or conversion for direct geospatial analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Airborne lidar acquisition and processing by Woolpert and USGS, following QL1 specifications.

Time Range

2020-2023 (acquisition period)

Freshness

Data collected between 2020 and 2023, with a platform last updated date of 2026-03-13.

Geography

Hawaiian Islands: Kahoolawe, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, and Oahu.