HR: 17:30h
AN: G12A-07    [PDF]
TI: Full-Waveform, Wide-Swath Lidar Imaging of Forested and Urban Areas in Leaf-On Conditions: Development, Results and Future Direction
AU: * Blair, B
EM: james.b.blair@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Laser Remote Sensing Branch, Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics,, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Hofton, M
EM: mhofton@geog.umd.edu
AF: University of Maryland, Department of Geography, Lefrak Hall, College Park, MD 20742 United States
AU: Rabine, D
EM: david@ltpmail.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Science Systems and Applications Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Welch, W
EM: wwelch@wmdllc.com
AF: Welch Mechanical Design, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20742 United States
AU: Ramos, L
EM: lramos@pop900.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Code 924, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Padden, P
EM: ppadden@cornfed.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Science Systems and Applications Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AB: Full-Waveform lidar measurements provide unprecedented views of the vertical and horizontal structure of vegetation and the topography of the Earth's surface. Utilizing a high signal-to-noise ratio lidar system, larger than typical laser footprints (10-20 m), and the recorded time history of interaction between a short-duration (10 ns) pulse of laser light and the surface of the Earth, full-waveform lidar is able to simultaneously image sub-canopy topography as well as the vertical structure of any overlying vegetation. These data reveal the true 3-D vegetation structure in leaf-on conditions enabling important biophysical parameters such as above-ground biomass to be estimated with unprecedented accuracy. An airborne lidar mission was conducted July-August 2003 in support of the North America Carbon Program. NASA's Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor (LVIS) was used to image approximately 2,000 sq. km in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maryland. Areas with available ground and other data were included (e.g., experimental forests, FLUXNET sites) in order to facilitate as many bio- and geophysical investigations as possible. Data collected included ground elevation and canopy height measurements for each laser footprint, as well as the vertical distribution of intercepted surfaces. Data will be publicly distributed within 6-12 months of collection. Further details of the mission, including the lidar system technology, the locations of the mapped areas, and examples of the numerous data products that can be derived from the return waveform data products will be presented. Future applications including detection of ground and vegetation canopy changes and a spaceborne implementation of wide-swath, full-waveform imaging lidar will also be discussed.
DE: 0400 Biogeosciences
DE: 1200 GEODESY AND GRAVITY
DE: 1294 Instruments and techniques
SC: Geodesy [G]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting