Facility Support: OpenTopography - A National Hub for High Resolution Topographic Data, Tools, and Knowledge

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0930731BaruThis collaborative grant to the San Diego Supercomputer Center and Arizona State University (PI: Arrowsmith/EAR-0930643) will support a three year Facility project to further develop and scale up the OpenTopography Portal (http://www.opentopography.org) for provision of high-performance, internet-based access to large volumes of high-resolution airborne and ground-based LIDAR topographic data sets and generation of derived data products. The proof-of-concept OpenTopography Portal (OpenTopo) was developed through NSF/Information Technology Research and EAR/Geoinformatics support to the San Diego Supercomputer Center as part of the GEON Project. That portal currently hosts and distributes a limited number of data sets acquired through the NSF/EAR supported National Center for Airborne Laser Swath Mapping (NCALM) at the University of Florida and from USGS and NASA-funded research. This support will enable significant upgrades and assimilation of large volumes of extant and future LIDAR data through: 1) provision of internet-based access to LIDAR topography data in multiple formats, including ?raw? point cloud data, standard LIDAR-derived DEMs, and easily accessible Google Earth products; and 2) development of additional collaborations with existing LIDAR topography data providers and hosts (e.g., NCALM, USGS, regional consortia, states, etc.) to link to their data archives and/or to host and distribute their data and processing software algorithms through a freely accessible web-interface. High-resolution digital elevation models derived from LIDAR (Light Distance And Ranging) methods (both airborne and ground-based) have been revolutionary for Earth science, environmental, and engineering applications. These data are among the most powerful tools available for study of the bare Earth surface, vegetative cover, and civil structures. Capable of generating digital elevation models (DEMs) more than an order of magnitude better resolved than those currently available from digitized USGS topo maps or from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission products, airborne LIDAR (or airborne laser swath mapping - ALSM) provides the ability to acquire meter-scale resolution, decimeter accuracy elevation data sets over large areas at relatively low expense. Ground-based or terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) offers even finer resolution mapping for specific targets. These data enable research on surface processes at fine scales and extents not previously possible yet essential for understanding processes (e.g., erosion, hillslope creep) at the scales at which they operate. OpenTopo will address the challenge of making massive LIDAR data sets and products readily accessible to end users through a freely accessible web-portal.