A cooperative program by the USGS, NASA, and the US Army Corps of Engineers used airborne lidar systems to survey coastal areas before and after Hurricane Katrina. The dataset contains high-resolution ground elevation estimates acquired approximately every square meter across several hundred meter wide swaths. This data enables comparison of pre- and post-storm topography to quantify coastal erosion, overwash, and infrastructure loss.
Use Cases
- Quantify coastal erosion and overwash by comparing pre-storm and post-storm elevation point-clouds.
- Assess infrastructure loss by detecting changes in building elevations and ground features between survey flights.
- Model sediment transport and deposition patterns from elevation differences captured by the CHARTS and EAARL lidar systems.
- Validate hydrodynamic storm surge models using high-resolution pre-event topographic data.
Strengths
- Elevation data captured at approximately one-meter spatial resolution.
- Data collected by two authoritative lidar systems: USACE's CHARTS and NASA's EAARL.
Limitations
- Specific row count, geographic extent, and temporal coverage for the Katrina event are unknown.
- Data completeness and availability for the entire affected coastline are unspecified.
Provenance
- Source
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), NASA, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
- Collection Method
- Airborne laser mapping (lidar) using the CHARTS and EAARL systems, scanning coastal swaths.
- Time Range
- Pre- and post-Hurricane Katrina (2005).
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Coastal areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina, specific regions unknown.