LiDAR Archives - Geography Realm

A lidar image of Washington DC show elevations of the buildings and streets.

Lidar Explained

October 24, 2022March 31, 2022 by Caitlin Dempsey

Lidar is a technology developed to map the elevation of features on and below the surface of the Earth.

Topographical map of Johnson’s Reef from NASA’s Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) in June 2003. Source: NASA/USGS, public domain

Mapping the Entire Surface of the Earth with LiDAR

March 31, 2022February 24, 2020 by Elizabeth Borneman

A project called the Earth Archive plans to use Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) to map the entire surface of the Earth.

3D Map of Puerto Rico’s Forest Shows How Hurricane Maria Reduced Tree Height

December 17, 2018 by Caitlin Dempsey

Researchers who compared before and after LiDAR measurements of Puerto Rico’s tropical forests found that Hurricane Maria damaged or uprooted 40-60% of the tallest trees.

Tree establishment at large villages of the Jemez Province. (Upper) Number of trees and dates of establishment at Kwastiyukwa (LA 482), Tovakwa (LA 484), and Kiatsukwa (LA 132/133). (Lower) locations of sampled trees at Kwastiyukwa (Left), Tovakwa (Center), and Kiatsukwa (Right). From: Liebmann et al, 2016.

Using LiDAR to Show How Native American Depopulation Impacted Forests in the United States

March 31, 2022March 25, 2016 by Elizabeth Borneman

Researchers have used LiDAR to understand the impacts of Native American population decline on forest fires in the United States.

A blue and white map showing changes to a river.

Cartography of an Oregon River

July 12, 2023December 28, 2015 by Elizabeth Borneman

Dan Coe used a geospatial technology called LiDAR to map changes in the flow of the Willamette River in Oregon.