December 2002 Lidar Point Data of Southern California Coastline: Dana Point to Point La Jolla

This data set contains lidar point data (latitude and longitude) from a strip of Southern California

coastline (including water, beach, cliffs, and top of cliffs) from Dana Point to Point La Jolla. The data set was created by

combining data collected using an Optech Inc. Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper (ALTM) 1225 in combination with geodetic quality

Global Positioning System (GPS) airborne and ground-based receivers. The Bureau of Economic Geology, the University of Texas

at Austin owns and operates an ALTM 1225 system (serial number 99d118). The system was installed in a single engine Cessna 206

(tail number N4589U) owned and operated by the Texas State Aircraft Pooling Board. The lidar data set described by this document

was collected on 3-4 December 2002 (33702 and 33802) between 20:33 and 23:29 UTC on 33702 and 20:26 and 21:19 UTC on 33802

(see Lineage, Source_Information, Source_Contribution for pass information). Conditions on both days were clear skies, no fog or

low clouds. A second flight on 33802 was required due to low cloud formation on 33702. 99d118 instrument settings for this

flight were; laser pulse rate: 25kHz, scanner rate: 26Hz, scan angle: +/-20deg, beam divergence: narrow (wide for offshore pass),

altitude: 700-820m AGL, and ground speed: 78-112kts. Two GPS base stations (Scripps pier and San Onofre Power Plant, see Lineage,

Source_Information, Source_Contribution for coordinates) were operating during the survey. Data represented is all points

including terrain, vegetation, and structures. This data also contains returns from the water surface. No processing has been

done to remove returns from terrain, vegetation, structures or water surfaces.

Original contact information:

Contact Name: Julie Thomas/Randy Bucciarelli

Contact Org: SCBPS/CDIP, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Title: Project Managers

Phone: 858-534-3032

The data described in this document will be compared with previous and forthcoming data sets to determine rates of shoreline

change along the Southern California coastline. The SCBPS program is designed to improve the understanding of beach sand transport

by waves and currents, thus improving local and regional coastal management.

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quarter quad names: Del Mar, Dana Point, Encinitas, La Jolla, Las Pulgas Canyon, Oceanside, San Clemente, San Luis Rey,

San Onofre Bluff

The ALTM 1225 has the following specifications: operating altitude = 410-2,000 m AGL; laser pulse rate = 25 kHz; laser scan

angle = variable from 0 to +/-20deg from nadir; scanning frequency = variable, 28 Hz at the 20deg scan angle; and beam

divergence = 0.2 milliradian (half angle, 1/e). The ALTM 1225 does not digitize and record the waveform of the laser reflection,

but records the range and backscatter intensity of the first and last laser reflection using a constant-fraction discriminator and

two Timing Interval Meters (TIM). ALTM elevation points are computed using three sets of data: laser ranges and their associated

scanning angles, platform position and orientation information, and calibration data and mounting parameters (Wehr and Lohr, 1999).

Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers in the aircraft and on the ground provide platform positioning. The GPS receivers record

pseudo-range and phase information for post-processing. Platform orientation information comes from an Inertial Measurement

Unit (IMU) containing three orthogonal accelerometers and gyroscopes. An aided-Inertial Navigation System (INS) solution for the

aircraft's attitude is estimated from the IMU output and the GPS information. Wehr, A. and U. Lohr, 1999, Airborne laser scanning

- an introduction and overview, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, vol. 54, no.2-3, pp.68-82.

None planned, as needed

This data was collected in partnership with Scripps Institution of Oceanography,

The University of California, San Diego. Any conclusions drawn from analysis of this information are not the responsibility

of the Bureau of Economic Geology or the University of Texas at Austin, NOAA, the OCM or its partners.

This data can be obtained on-line at the following URL: https://coast.noaa.gov/dataviewer

;

none

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.

Selected portions from each lidar data set (last return only) were used to generate a

1m x 1m digital elevation model (DEM). Data estimated to have a horizontal accuracy of 0.01-0.03m from ground surveys using

kinematic GPS techniques were superimposed on the lidar DEM and examined for any mismatch between the horizontal position

of the ground GPS and the corresponding feature on the lidar DEM. Horizontal agreement between the ground kinematic GPS and

the lidar was within the resolution of the 1m x 1m DEM.

Ground GPS surveys were conducted within the lidar survey area to acquire ground "truth"

information. The ground survey points are estimated to have a vertical accuracy of 0.01-to-0.03m. The parking lot at Torrey

Pines State Park and the Scripps Pier were surveyed using kinematic GPS techniques. A lidar data set was sorted to find data

points that fell within 0.5m of a ground GPS survey point. The mean elevation difference between the lidar and the ground GPS

was used to estimate and remove an elevation bias from the lidar. The standard deviation of these elevation differences provides

estimates of the lidar precision. The December 2002 lidar data set was determined to have an elevation bias of 0.02 m when compared

to ground truth. The bias was removed so that mean lidar elevations have an RMSE of 0.0945m and vertical accuracy (1.96*RMSE) of

0.185m.

Data were edited by an automated method to remove obvious outliers above a threshold of 150m.

Not Applicable