Morro Bay 2022 Topobathymetric Lidar DEM with 1m Resolution

Morro Bay, California, is covered by a 1-meter resolution digital elevation model derived from topobathymetric lidar data. The dataset covers approximately 4,215 acres and consists of 96 tiles, collected by NV5 Geospatial for NOAA's Office of Coastal Management in June 2022. The data includes classified point clouds with categories for ground, water surface, bathymetric bottom, water column, and submerged objects like oyster reefs.

Use Cases

• Modeling coastal erosion and sediment transport based on detailed ground and submerged topography.
• Mapping submerged habitats like oyster reefs based on the 'submerged object' classification.
• Analyzing water surface dynamics using the near-infrared and green water surface classifications.
• Creating high-resolution bathymetric charts for navigation or coastal management based on the bathymetric bottom data.

Strengths

• Data has a high 1-meter pixel resolution for the derived digital elevation models.
• Point cloud includes multiple classifications (e.g., ground, water surface, bathymetric bottom) following ASPRS standards.
• Covers a defined area of approximately 4,215 acres with data from 96 individual tiles.

Limitations

• One tile (MRR22_088) is noted as having no valid bathymetric bottom or ground points, creating a data gap.
• 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

Data were collected by NV5 Geospatial using a Riegl VQ880GII lidar system from an airplane.

Time Range

2022-06-14

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 22:17:13.758025; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Morro Bay, south central Pacific Coast of California, near Los Osos.