Publications
3D Elevation Program related official publications written by USGS staff.
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Status of the 3D Elevation Program, 2015
The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) is a cooperative activity to collect light detection and ranging (lidar) data for the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and U.S. territories; and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IfSAR) elevation data for Alaska during an 8-year period. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and partner organizations acquire high-quality three-dimensional elevation data for th
Authors
Larry J. Sugarbaker, Diane F. Eldridge, Allyson L. Jason, Vicki Lukas, David L. Saghy, Jason M. Stoker, Diana R. Thunen
The 3D elevation program - Precision agriculture and other farm practices
A founding motto of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), originally the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), explains that “If we take care of the land, it will take care of us.” Digital elevation models (DEMs; see fig. 1) are derived from light detection and ranging (lidar) data and can be processed to derive values such as slope angle, aspect, and topographic curvature. These three mea
Authors
Larry J. Sugarbaker, William J. Carswell, Jr.
The 3D Elevation Program and America's infrastructure
Infrastructure—the physical framework of transportation, energy, communications, water supply, and other systems—and construction management—the overall planning, coordination, and control of a project from beginning to end—are critical to the Nation’s prosperity. The American Society of Civil Engineers has warned that, despite the importance of the Nation’s infrastructure, it is in fair to poor c
Authors
Vicki Lukas, William J. Carswell, Jr.
Evaluation of single photon and Geiger mode Lidar for the 3D Elevation Program
Data acquired by Harris Corporation’s (Melbourne, FL, USA) Geiger-mode IntelliEarth™ sensor and Sigma Space Corporation’s (Lanham-Seabrook, MD, USA) Single Photon HRQLS sensor were evaluated and compared to accepted 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) data and survey ground control to assess the suitability of these new technologies for the 3DEP. While not able to collect data currently to meet USGS lidar
Authors
Jason M. Stoker, Qassim Abdullah, Amar Nayegandhi, Jayna Winehouse
Evaluating integration of inland bathymetry in the U.S. Geological Survey 3D Elevation Program, 2014
Inland bathymetry survey collections, survey data types, features, sources, availability, and the effort required to integrate inland bathymetric data into the U.S. Geological Survey 3D Elevation Program are assessed to help determine the feasibility of integrating three-dimensional water feature elevation data into The National Map. Available data from wading, acoustic, light detection and rangin
Authors
Cynthia Miller-Corbett
3D Elevation Program—Virtual USA in 3D
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) uses a laser system called ‘lidar’ (light detection and ranging) to create a virtual reality map of the Nation that is very accurate. 3D maps have many uses with new uses being discovered all the time.
Authors
Vicki Lukas, J. M. Stoker
Evaluating lidar point densities for effective estimation of aboveground biomass
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) was recently established to provide airborne lidar data coverage on a national scale. As part of a broader research effort of the USGS to develop an effective remote sensing-based methodology for the creation of an operational biomass Essential Climate Variable (Biomass ECV) data product, we evaluated the performance of airborne lidar d
Authors
Zhuoting Wu, Dennis G. Dye, Jason M. Stoker, John M. Vogel, Miguel G. Velasco, Barry R. Middleton
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Puerto Rico
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, scientific research, national security, recreation, and many others. For the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, elevation data are critical for flood risk management, landslide mitigation, natural resources conservation, sea level rise and subsidence, coastal zone manage
Authors
William J. Carswell
USGS lidar science strategy—Mapping the technology to the science
Summary
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) utilizes light detection and ranging (lidar) and enabling technologies to support many science research activities. Lidar-derived metrics and products have become a fundamental input to complex hydrologic and hydraulic models, flood inundation models, fault detection and geologic mapping, topographic and land-surface mapping, landslide and volcano hazards
Authors
Jason M. Stoker, John Brock, Christopher E. Soulard, Kernell G. Ries, Larry J. Sugarbaker, Wesley E. Newton, Patricia K. Haggerty, Kathy Lee, John A. Young
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Hawaii
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Hawaii, elevation data are critical for infrastructure and construction management, flood risk management, geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation, natural resources conservation, coastal z
Authors
William J. Carswell
Status report for the 3D Elevation Program, 2013-2014
The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) goal is to acquire, manage, and distribute enhanced three-dimensional elevation data for the Nation and U.S. territories by 2023. This status report covers implementation activities during 2013–2014 to include meeting funding objectives, developing a management structure, modernizing systems, and collecting and producing initial 3DEP data and products. The Nation wi
Authors
Vicki Lukas, Diane F. Eldridge, Allyson L. Jason, David L. Saghy, Pamela R. Steigerwald, Jason M. Stoker, Larry J. Sugarbaker, Diana R. Thunen
Mapping benefits from updated ifsar data in Alaska: improved source data enables better maps
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and partners in other Federal and State agencies are working collaboratively toward Statewide coverage of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (ifsar) elevation data in Alaska. These data will provide many benefits to a wide range of stakeholders and users. Some applications include development of more accurate and highly detailed topographic maps; improvement
Authors
Kari J. Craun