Short Citation
Office for Coastal Management, 2025: U.S. Coastal Lidar Elevation Data - Including The Great Lakes And Territories, 1996 - Present, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/48242.
Full Citation Examples

Abstract

Many different partners and groups, and several Center-led data projects, have contributed to the lidar data collection housed and distributed by the NOAA Office for Coastal Management. The data span more than two decades and were collected using many different sensors. The collection includes data from topographic and bathymetric lidar sensors. Data are available for all of the coastal states and range from shoreline strips to full county coverage. The products have been delivered to the Center in various formats, projections, datums, and units. Once received, the data are reviewed, checked for errors, and standardized to LAZ format, geographic coordinates and ellipsoid heights in meters. Data are on a NAD83 or ITRF realization depending upon the collection specifics.

catalog.json

SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (STAC) for datasets that are in entwine point tile (EPT) format. Not all datasets in this collection are in EPT format. In particular, most topobathy datasets are not because EPT does not properly represent the classification numbers used for bathymetry points in the ASPRS LAS topobathy domain profile.
https://noaa-nos-coastal-lidar-pds.s3.amazonaws.com/laz/index.html

LAS/LAZ - LASer

Table of download access links for each dataset in the collection.
https://coast.noaa.gov/dataviewer

Online application to create customized products from the data. Allows subsetting, reprojection, datum change, and derived product generation. Data are processed and a link is provided to download the results.

Access Constraints:

None

Use Constraints:

Users should be aware that temporal changes may have occurred since this data set was collected and some parts of this data may no longer represent actual surface conditions. Users should not use this data for critical applications without a full awareness of its limitations.

COASTAL BATHYMETRY, elevation, Elevation Theme, National Geospatial Data Asset, NGDA, TERRAIN ELEVATION

No Child Items for this record.

Point of Contact
NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
coastal.info@noaa.gov
(843) 740-1202
https://coast.noaa.gov

Metadata Contact
NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
coastal.info@noaa.gov
(843) 740-1202
https://coast.noaa.gov

Geographic Area 1

Leaflet © OpenStreetMap

-178.3° W, -64.5° E, 68.35° N, -14.56° S

Time Frame 1
1996 - Present

Title:	U.S. Coastal Lidar Elevation Data - Including The Great Lakes And Territories, 1996 - Present
Short Name:	NGDA OCM lidar holdings parent
Status:	On Going
Creation Date:	1996
Revision Date:	2023-09-01
Publication Date:	1999
Abstract:	Many different partners and groups, and several Center-led data projects, have contributed to the lidar data collection housed and distributed by the NOAA Office for Coastal Management. The data span more than two decades and were collected using many different sensors. The collection includes data from topographic and bathymetric lidar sensors. Data are available for all of the coastal states and range from shoreline strips to full county coverage. The products have been delivered to the Center in various formats, projections, datums, and units. Once received, the data are reviewed, checked for errors, and standardized to LAZ format, geographic coordinates and ellipsoid heights in meters. Data are on a NAD83 or ITRF realization depending upon the collection specifics.
Purpose:	Lidar data is used to study the surface of the earth for elevation, erosion, inundation, flooding, and coastal hazards applications.
Notes:	10858

Theme Keywords

Thesaurus

Keyword

Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords

EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > TOPOGRAPHY > TERRAIN ELEVATION

Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords

EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > BATHYMETRY/SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHY > BATHYMETRY > COASTAL BATHYMETRY

ISO 19115 Topic Category

elevation

NGDA Portfolio Themes

Elevation Theme

NGDA Portfolio Themes

National Geospatial Data Asset

NGDA Portfolio Themes

NGDA

UNCONTROLLED

NGDA Portfolio Themes

NGDAID37

Spatial Keywords

Thesaurus

Keyword

Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords

CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Instrument Keywords

Thesaurus

Keyword

Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords

LIDAR > Light Detection and Ranging

Platform Keywords

Thesaurus

Keyword

Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Platform Keywords

Airplane > Airplane

Organization:	Office for Coastal Management
City:	Charleston
State/Province:	SC

Data Set Scope Code:	Data Set
Data Set Type:	Binary
Maintenance Frequency:	As Needed
Data Presentation Form:	Point cloud (Digital)
Distribution Liability:	Any conclusions drawn from the analysis of this information are not the responsibility of NOAA, the Office for Coastal Management, or its partners.

Data Steward

CC ID: 626298

Date Effective From:	1999
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization):	NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
Address:	2234 South Hobson Ave Charleston, SC 29405-2413
Email Address:	coastal.info@noaa.gov
Phone:	(843) 740-1202
URL:	https://coast.noaa.gov

Distributor

CC ID: 626300

Date Effective From:	1999
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization):	NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
Address:	2234 South Hobson Ave Charleston, SC 29405-2413
Email Address:	coastal.info@noaa.gov
Phone:	(843) 740-1202
URL:	https://coast.noaa.gov

Metadata Contact

CC ID: 626301

Date Effective From:	1999
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization):	NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
Address:	2234 South Hobson Ave Charleston, SC 29405-2413
Email Address:	coastal.info@noaa.gov
Phone:	(843) 740-1202
URL:	https://coast.noaa.gov

Point of Contact

CC ID: 626299

Date Effective From:	1999
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization):	NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
Address:	2234 South Hobson Ave Charleston, SC 29405-2413
Email Address:	coastal.info@noaa.gov
Phone:	(843) 740-1202
URL:	https://coast.noaa.gov

Currentness Reference:	Ground Condition

Extent Group 1

Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 626304

W° Bound:	-178.3	Leaflet © OpenStreetMap
E° Bound:	-64.5
N° Bound:	68.35
S° Bound:	-14.56

Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1

CC ID: 626303

Time Frame Type:	Continuing
Start:	1996

Extent Group 2

Extent Description:	Western Pacific Territories

Extent Group 2 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 900167

W° Bound:	144.6166666666	Leaflet © OpenStreetMap
E° Bound:	144.9625
N° Bound:	13.68583333333
S° Bound:	13.22416666667
Description	Guam

Extent Group 2 / Geographic Area 2

CC ID: 900168

W° Bound:	145.11666666667	Leaflet © OpenStreetMap
E° Bound:	146.08333333333
N° Bound:	16.03
S° Bound:	14.0475
Description	Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands

Extent Group 2 / Time Frame 1

CC ID: 900169

Time Frame Type:	Continuing
Start:	2006

Spatial Representation

Representations Used

Vector:	Yes

Vector Representation 1

CC ID: 1270103

Point Object Present?:	Yes

Reference Systems

Reference System 1

CC ID: 1270105

Coordinate Reference System

CRS Type:

Geographic 3D

EPSG Code:

EPSG:4893

EPSG Name:

NAD83(NSRS2007)

▾ See Full Coordinate Reference System Information

Reference System 2

CC ID: 1270108

Coordinate Reference System

CRS Type:

Geographic 3D

EPSG Code:

EPSG:4957

EPSG Name:

NAD83(HARN)

▾ See Full Coordinate Reference System Information

Datum Name:

NAD83 (High Accuracy Reference Network)

Ellipsoid:

GRS 1980

Semimajor Axis:

6378137.0

Flattening Ratio:

298.257222101

Axis: Geodetic Lattitude

Order:	1
Abbreviation:	Lat
Units:	degree
Orientation:	north

Axis: Geodetic Longitude

Order:	2
Abbreviation:	Lon
Units:	degree
Orientation:	east

Axis: Ellipsoidal height

Order:	3
Abbreviation:	h
Units:	metre
Orientation:	up

Reference System 3

CC ID: 1270104

Coordinate Reference System

CRS Type:

Geographic 3D

EPSG Code:

EPSG:6319

EPSG Name:

NAD83(2011)

▾ See Full Coordinate Reference System Information

Datum Name:

NAD83 (National Spatial Reference System 2011)

Ellipsoid:

GRS 1980

Semimajor Axis:

6378137.0

Flattening Ratio:

298.257222101

Axis: Geodetic Latitude

Order:	1
Abbreviation:	Lat
Units:	degree
Orientation:	north

Axis: Geodetic Longitude

Order:	2
Abbreviation:	Lon
Units:	degree
Orientation:	east

Axis: Elipsoidal height

Order:	3
Abbreviation:	h
Units:	metre
Orientation:	up

Reference System 4

CC ID: 1270106

Coordinate Reference System

CRS Type:

Geographic 3D

EPSG Code:

EPSG:6321

EPSG Name:

NAD83(PA11)

▾ See Full Coordinate Reference System Information

Datum Name:

NAD83 (National Spatial Reference System PA11)

Semimajor Axis:

6378137.0

Flattening Ratio:

298.257222101

Axis: Geodetic Lattitude

Order:	1
Abbreviation:	Lat
Units:	degree
Orientation:	north

Axis: Geodetic Longitude

Order:	2
Abbreviation:	Lon
Units:	degree
Orientation:	east

Axis: Elipsoidal height

Order:	3
Abbreviation:	h
Units:	metre
Orientation:	up

Reference System 5

CC ID: 1270107

Coordinate Reference System

CRS Type:

Geographic 3D

EPSG Code:

EPSG:6324

EPSG Name:

NAD83 (MA11)

▾ See Full Coordinate Reference System Information

Datum Name:

NAD83 (National Spatial Reference System MA11)

Ellipsoid:

GRS 1980

Axis: Geodetic latitude

Order:	1
Abbreviation:	lat
Units:	degree
Orientation:	north

Axis: Geodetic longitude

Order:	2
Abbreviation:	lon
Units:	degree
Orientation:	east

Axis: Ellipsoidal height

Order:	3
Abbreviation:	h
Units:	metre
Orientation:	up

Reference System 6

CC ID: 1270109

Coordinate Reference System

CRS Type:

Geographic 3D

EPSG Code:

EPSG:6782

EPSG Name:

NAD83(CORS96)

▾ See Full Coordinate Reference System Information

Datum Name:

NAD83 (Continuously Operating Reference Station 1996)

Ellipsoid:

GRS 1980

Semimajor Axis:

6378137.0

Flattening Ratio:

298.257222101

Axis: Geodetic Lattitude

Order:	1
Abbreviation:	Lat
Units:	degree
Orientation:	north

Axis: Geodetic Longitude

Order:	2
Abbreviation:	Lon
Units:	degree
Orientation:	east

Axis: Ellipsoidal height

Order:	3
Abbreviation:	h
Units:	metre
Orientation:	up

Reference System 7

CC ID: 1270110

Coordinate Reference System

CRS Type:

Geographic 3D

EPSG Code:

EPSG:7907

EPSG Name:

ITRF96

▾ See Full Coordinate Reference System Information

Datum Name:

International Terrestrial Reference Frame 1996

Ellipsoid:

GRS 1980

Semimajor Axis:

6378137.0

Flattening Ratio:

298.257222101

Axis: Geodetic Lattitude

Order:	1
Abbreviation:	Lat
Units:	degree
Orientation:	north

Axis: Geodetic Longitude

Order:	2
Abbreviation:	Lon
Units:	degree
Orientation:	east

Axis: Ellipsoidal height

Order:	3
Abbreviation:	h
Units:	metre
Orientation:	up

Reference System 8

CC ID: 1270111

Coordinate Reference System

CRS Type:

Geographic 3D

EPSG Code:

EPSG:7909

EPSG Name:

ITRF2000

▾ See Full Coordinate Reference System Information

Datum Name:

International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2000

Ellipsoid:

GRS 1980

Semimajor Axis:

6378137.0

Flattening Ratio:

298.257222101

Axis: Geodetic Latitude

Order:	1
Abbreviation:	Lat
Units:	degree
Orientation:	north

Axis: Geodetic Longitude

Order:	2
Abbreviation:	Lon
Units:	degree
Orientation:	east

Axis: Ellipsoidal height

Order:	3
Abbreviation:	h
Units:	metre
Orientation:	up

Security Class:	Unclassified
Data Access Procedure:	Lidar data can be obtained on-line at the following URL: http://www.coast.noaa.gov/dataviewer/ The lidar data is dynamically generated based on user-specified parameters.;
Data Access Constraints:	None
Data Use Constraints:	Users should be aware that temporal changes may have occurred since this data set was collected and some parts of this data may no longer represent actual surface conditions. Users should not use this data for critical applications without a full awareness of its limitations.

Distribution 1

CC ID: 1270100

Start Date:	2023-09-01
End Date:	Present
Download URL:	https://noaa-nos-coastal-lidar-pds.s3.amazonaws.com/entwine/stac/catalog.json
Distributor:	NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM) (1999 - Present)
File Name:	catalog.json
Description:	SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (STAC) for datasets that are in entwine point tile (EPT) format. Not all datasets in this collection are in EPT format. In particular, most topobathy datasets are not because EPT does not properly represent the classification numbers used for bathymetry points in the ASPRS LAS topobathy domain profile.
File Type (Deprecated):	json
Compression:	Uncompressed

Distribution 2

CC ID: 900171

Start Date:	2014
End Date:	Present
Download URL:	https://noaa-nos-coastal-lidar-pds.s3.amazonaws.com/laz/index.html
Distributor:	NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM) (1999 - Present)
Description:	Table of download access links for each dataset in the collection.
File Type (Deprecated):	LAZ
Distribution Format:	LAS/LAZ - LASer
Compression:	Uncompressed

Distribution 3

CC ID: 900170

Start Date:	1999
End Date:	Present
Download URL:	https://coast.noaa.gov/dataviewer
Distributor:	NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM) (1999 - Present)
Description:	Online application to create customized products from the data. Allows subsetting, reprojection, datum change, and derived product generation. Data are processed and a link is provided to download the results.
File Type (Deprecated):	Zip
Compression:	Zip

URL 1

CC ID: 626295

URL:	https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/data/coastallidar.html
Name:	Coastal Lidar Data Page
URL Type:	Online Resource
File Resource Format:	html
Description:	General description of the Coastal Lidar Datasets with links to related resources. These are the topographic datasets.

URL 2

CC ID: 626296

URL:	https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/data/jalbtcx.html
Name:	Coastal Topobathy Lidar (JALBTCX)
URL Type:	Online Resource
File Resource Format:	html
Description:	General description of the Coastal Topobathy Lidar datasets with links to related resources. These are generally produced by the Joint Airborne Lidar Technical Center of eXpertise (JALBTCX) parntership.

URL 3

CC ID: 626297

URL:	https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast
Name:	Digital Coast homepage
URL Type:	Online Resource
File Resource Format:	html
Description:	Coastal management resources, including data, tools, and training.

URL 4

CC ID: 1270140

URL:	https://maps.coast.noaa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/DAV/ElevationFootprints/MapServer
Name:	Map services
URL Type:	Online Resource
Description:	Map services with data footprints and ancillary information about each dataset.

Activity Log 1

CC ID: 626325

Activity Date/Time:	2017-08-07
Description:	Date that the source FGDC record was last modified.

Activity Log 2

CC ID: 626324

Activity Date/Time:	2017-11-14
Description:	Converted from FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (version FGDC-STD-001-1998) using 'fgdc_to_inport_xml.pl' script. Contact Tyler Christensen (NOS) for details.

Vertical Positional Accuracy:	Vertical accuracy varies by dataset. Most datasets collected since 2015 will have 19.6 cm at 95% confidence or better vertically determined using GNSS based ground survey points.

Have Resources for Management of these Data Been Identified?:	Yes
Approximate Percentage of Budget for these Data Devoted to Data Management:	Unknown
Do these Data Comply with the Data Access Directive?:	Yes
Is Access to the Data Limited Based on an Approved Waiver?:	No
Actual or Planned Long-Term Data Archive Location:	NCEI-NC
How Will the Data Be Protected from Accidental or Malicious Modification or Deletion Prior to Receipt by the Archive?:	Source data are backed up to the Azure cloud or the received hard drives are stored. After ingestion, data are also backed up to Azure on a weekly basis.

Lineage Statement:	Data are received from contracted collections, other NOAA offices, or other federal, state, or local agencies. The data are standardized for ingest into the Digital Coast Data Access Viewer and made available to the public.

Process Steps

Process Step 1

CC ID: 989103

Description:	Lidar data are obtained from another source or through NOAA contract. Information about the data is gathered, usually from metadata and project reports from the lidar provider. The primary information necessary includes: 1) projection 2) datums 3) geoid model 4) acquisition dates 5) units 6) classification scheme 7) vertical accuracy
Process Contact:	NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
Phone (Voice):	(843) 740-1202
Email Address:	coastal.info@noaa.gov

Process Step 2

CC ID: 989104

Description:	Data are standardized to geographic coordinates of the horizontal datum they originated in. Vertical values are converted to ellipsoid heights in meters by reversing the datum operation that was originally applied. Data are converted to LAZ format if they are not already in it.
Process Contact:	NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
Phone (Voice):	(843) 740-1202
Email Address:	coastal.info@noaa.gov

Process Step 3

CC ID: 989105

Description:	Data are ingested into the Digital Coast Data Access Viewer. This includes: 1) verification that the point classifications found match the expected classifications based on the metadata or reports. 2) data fall within the expected bounds. 3) vertical ranges are recorded for each data tile and point class. 4) geographic bounds for each tile are recorded. 5) point classification table used is recorded.
Process Contact:	NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
Phone (Voice):	(843) 740-1202
Email Address:	coastal.info@noaa.gov

Catalog Item ID:	48242
GUID:	gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:48242
Metadata Record Created By:	Anne Ball
Metadata Record Created:	2017-11-14 14:33+0000
Metadata Record Last Modified By:	Brianna Key
Metadata Record Last Modified:	2025-04-08 14:55+0000
Metadata Record Published:	2017-11-16
Owner Org:	OCM
Metadata Publication Status:	Published Externally
Do Not Publish?:	N
Metadata Last Review Date:	2017-11-16
Metadata Review Frequency:	1 Year
Metadata Next Review Date:	2018-11-16

Summary

Distribution Information

Controlled Theme Keywords

Child Items

Contact Information

Extents

Item Identification

Keywords

Theme Keywords

Spatial Keywords

Instrument Keywords

Platform Keywords

Physical Location

Data Set Information

Support Roles

Data Steward

Distributor

Metadata Contact

Point of Contact

Extents

Extent Group 1

Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1

Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1

Extent Group 2

Extent Group 2 / Geographic Area 1

Extent Group 2 / Geographic Area 2

Extent Group 2 / Time Frame 1

Spatial Information

Spatial Representation

Representations Used

Vector Representation 1

Reference Systems

Reference System 1

Coordinate Reference System

Axis: Geodetic latitude

Reference System 2

Coordinate Reference System

Axis: Geodetic Lattitude

Axis: Geodetic Longitude

Axis: Ellipsoidal height

Reference System 3

Coordinate Reference System

Axis: Geodetic Latitude

Axis: Geodetic Longitude

Axis: Elipsoidal height

Reference System 4

Coordinate Reference System

Axis: Geodetic Lattitude

Axis: Geodetic Longitude

Axis: Elipsoidal height

Reference System 5

Coordinate Reference System

Axis: Geodetic latitude

Axis: Geodetic longitude

Axis: Ellipsoidal height

Reference System 6

Coordinate Reference System

Axis: Geodetic Lattitude

Axis: Geodetic Longitude

Axis: Ellipsoidal height

Reference System 7

Coordinate Reference System

Axis: Geodetic Lattitude

Axis: Geodetic Longitude

Axis: Ellipsoidal height

Reference System 8

Coordinate Reference System

Axis: Geodetic Latitude

Axis: Geodetic Longitude

Axis: Ellipsoidal height

Access Information

Distribution Information

Distribution 1

Distribution 2

Distribution 3

URLs

URL 1

URL 2

URL 3

URL 4