What is lidar?
How do I get my area included in the upcoming survey?
What can I use lidar for?
What kind of data will I get?
    Sample data
Whom do I contact?

What is lidar?
Lidar (light detection and ranging) is a new tool that can provide very precise, accurate, and high-resolution images of the surface of the earth, vegetation, and the built environment. Airborne lidar uses a laser range finder mounted in a precisely navigated aircraft to scan the earth's surface at very high rates and collect very dense clouds of X-Y-Z coordinates. Lidar data are useful for anyone wanting to know the shape of the land surface or of the vegetation and buildings on the land. (Learn more in the "Seeing Landslides with Lidar" Cascadia issue [6 MB PDF].)

The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) has been involved in pilot efforts to collect high-resolution lidar in Oregon since 2003. In 2006-2007 we were successful in forming the Portland Lidar Consortium, which brought together 17 agencies ranging from the USGS to the City of Silverton to acquire 2200 square miles of seamless, high-quality public domain lidar data (current PLC status - April 4, 2008 [529 KB .jpg file, 8.5 x 11 inches]). Among the many benefits of the consortium approach are that large swaths of lidar data can be collected seamlessly, costs per unit area to collect the data are greatly reduced, expert quality assurance and quality control are uniformly applied to the data, statewide standardization of data can be assured, and small jurisdictions can benefit from the acquisition of lidar data at a greatly reduced cost when compared to the cost if jurisdictions acted independently.

Comparison of lidar-based digital elevation model (DEM) map on the left with conventional orthophoto on the right. Browse available Portland-area imagery here.

In 2007 the Oregon 74th Legislative Assembly directed DOGAMI to extend lidar collection efforts throughout the state. Legislators approved the consortium model for data collection and data sharing, and provided modest seed money. The ultimate goal is to provide high-quality lidar coverage for the entire state. To achieve this goal DOGAMI has formed the Oregon Lidar Consortium (OLC), which will develop cooperative agreements for the collection of high-quality lidar that benefits the public at large, the business community, and agencies at all levels of government.

DOGAMI is in the process of developing data specifications, selecting a vendor, and inviting funding partners to participate in the consortium. We have identified our area of primary interest as the inhabited portions of western Oregon (see map [1.3 MB PDF]), but we welcome partners with funding for interests outside of that area. The map currently shows our nominal inhabited area target along with several areas of interest expressed by potential partners. We have not yet selected a vendor, so we do not have firm price estimates, but the Portland Lidar Consortium collected its data through the Puget Sound Lidar Consortium (PSLC) at a cost of $475/square mile, which is a reasonable upper limit cost estimate.

Oregon Lidar Consortium Business Plan

PowerPoint presentations:

• How lidar works and Oregon-specific lidar mapping results
  (41 MB zip file containing auto-play presentation)
• How lidar works and transportation-oriented Oregon-specific lidar mapping results
  (42 MB zip file containing auto-play presentation)

How do I get my area included in the upcoming survey? back to top

The first step for interested parties is to contact DOGAMI and provide a map of your area of interest along with an estimate of your available funding.

What can I use lidar for? back to top

• Mapping geomorphology and natural hazards like landslides
• Mapping vegetation and forest attributes
  (also download "National Lidar Initiative Meeting: A US Forest Service Perspective" [75.6 MB zipped PowerPoint presentation] by Hans-Erik Andersen, Bob McGaughey, and Steve Reutebuch, USDA Forest Service)
• Engineering
• Viewshed analysis
• Flood mapping
• Anadromous fish habitat
• Stream Restoration
• Impervious surface analysis
• Airport approach obstruction analysis.

What kind of data will I get? back to top

All data acquired by the OLC will be freely available to all participants and to the public. The data will include actual lidar elevation points, both bare earth and classified all-returns (LAS and ASCII formats), along with 1- or 2-m DEMs (ESRI grid format) and intensity images (GeoTiff format).

Get samples of the data:

• zipped shapefile of tiles for lidar data delivery (Portland_Lidar_Tiles.zip)
• Data Report (LIDAR_Report_Sandy.pdf)
• Bare earth ASCII points (BE_029.txt)
• All returns ASCII points (ALL_029.txt)
• Intensity image (029.aux, .tif and .xml files)
• ARC Grid, 1m cell ("bin_29" folder)
• ASCII 1m grid (bin_29.aux, .txt, and grid.grd files)

Data hosted on other sites: