RAPID: Request for Ground-Verification of the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory LIDAR Overflight

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This project will be a ground verification campaign for airborne LiDAR data gathering over the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory (LCZO). This airborne LiDAR will cover representative research watersheds of the LCZO and extend from the US Forest Service Luquillo Experimental Forest to the surrounding coastal areas. During the airborne data collection a complete set of carefully located (using GPS) biophysical measurements, such as diameter of trees, canopy closure, leaf-area index, and crown height will enable a much more effective modeling of the watershed topography and processes from the LiDAR point cloud. Because the over flight has been scheduled for the summer of 2010, the ground verification campaign must be conducted at the same time. Airborne LiDAR is similar to radar, except that it operates at a much shorter wavelength for detecting small-scale changes in topography. However, to be most effective, ground-based measurements must be done simultaneously to map relevant features such as vegetation height and type, since the LiDAR signal will be received from the top of the tree canopy as well as from the ground. This project will accomplish the task in the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory to insure that the research progam at this NSF-supported facility will be able to document small changes in watershed characteristics that are the result of climatically-driven weathering and erosion.