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Kansas Data Access & Support Center
Elevation Data and LiDAR
This is a BETA web page This web page is still under development and is expected to be updated in the near future.
What is LiDAR?
Light Detection and Ranging, commonly called LiDAR (pronounced LIE-dar), is a technique for remotely sensing the shape of surfaces, typically using lasers. In the context of GIS, LiDAR refers to data collected using specialized equipment and airplanes to measure the elevation of the ground over a geographic area. The resulting elevation data creates a 3D model of the area, adding a "z" height value to the x,y coordinate pair.
What areas of Kansas have LiDAR data?
Since 2006, there have been three projects collecting LiDAR data in the state of Kansas. Each is described in detail under the Projects tab.

  • 2006 River Corridor LiDAR Project: available for download.
    Project region: Fort Riley Military Reservation, Junction City, Manhattan, Shawnee County, Douglas County, Jefferson County, Johnson County, Wyandotte County, Jackson County Missouri, Cass County Missouri, Kansas State University Konza Prairie, University of Kansas Ecological Preserve, and the Kansas River corridor

  • 2009 Rainwater Basin LiDAR Project: available for download.
    Project counties: Republic, Washington, Cloud, and Clay

  • 2010 LiDAR Project: some counties available for download.
    Project counties: Atchison, Leavenworth, Miami, Franklin, Coffey, Osage, Geary, Marshall, and portions of Riley and Pottawatomie counties

Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
DEM is a generic term for digital topographic or terrain data portraying bare earth z-values void of vegetation and manmade features. Elevations are provided in regularly spaced intervals in the x and y directions. Two common formats for DEM's are ESRI GRIDS and ERDAS IMAGINE IMG.
Digital Terrain Model (DTM)
DTM is similar to DEMs, but they may incorporate the elevation of significant topographic features on the land, plus mass points and breaklines that are irregularly spaced to better characterize the true shape of the bare earth terrain.
ESRI Grid
An ESRI data format for storing raster data that defines geographic space as an array of equally sized square cells arranged in rows and columns. Each cell stores a numeric value that represents a geographic attribute (such as elevation) for that unit of space. When the grid is drawn as a map, cells are assigned colors according to their numeric values. Each grid cell is referenced by its x,y coordinate location. From Esri's ArcGIS Resource Center.
LAS
LASer (LAS) File Format and Specification published by the American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing (ASPRS) for LiDAR data point records. The ASPRS Lidar Data Exchange Format (LAS) is an open data format for the 3-dimensional point cloud data that combines GPS, IMU, and laser pulse range data. This binary file format allows different LiDAR hardware and software tools to output data in a common format.
Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)
LiDAR is an optical remote sensing technology that measures properties of scattered light to find range and/or other information of a distant target. This technology is used to measure distance and derive highly accurate elevation data.
Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN)
Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) is a digital data structure used in a geographic information system (GIS) for the representation of a surface. A TIN is a vector based representation of the physical land surface or sea bottom, made up of irregularly distributed nodes and lines with three dimensional coordinates (x,y, and z) that are arranged in a network of nonoverlapping triangles. TINs are often derived from the elevation data of a rasterized digital elevation model (DEM). An advantage of using a TIN over a raster DEM in mapping and analysis is that the points of a TIN are distributed variably based on an algorithm that determines which points are most necessary to an accurate representation of the terrain. Data input is therefore flexible and fewer points need to be stored than in a raster DEM, with regularly distributed points. A TIN may be less suited than a raster DEM for certain kinds of GIS applications, such as analysis of a surface's slope and aspect. From Wikipedia.
Information Resources

  • LAS specifications: The ASPRS Standards Committee manages the LAS specification. The most recent version is the LAS 1.3 Specification (PDF).

  • Iowa Lidar Mapping Project

  • USGS CLICK Site: USGS hosts the Center for LIDAR Information Coordination and Knowledge (CLICK) to facilitate data access, user coordination and education of lidar remote sensing for scientific needs. This website contains a wealth of LIDAR information including a bulletin board for various discussion topics and a data viewer for point cloud data available for download.

  • USGS NED Site: The National Elevation Dataset (NED) is the primary elevation data product of the USGS. The NED is a seamless dataset with the best available raster elevation data of the United States. The NED is updated on a nominal tow month cycle to integrate newly available, improved elevation source data. All NED data are public domain. NED data are available at resolutions of 1 arc-second (about 30 meters) and 1/3 arc-second (about 10 meters), and in limited areas at 1/9 arc-second (about 3 meters). LIDAR data is typically integrated into the 1/9 arc-second NED.

TAC Elevation Data Committee
This subcommittee of the GIS Policy Board meets on an as needed basis. This group is working on coordinating the 2011 LIDAR project, and developing a State Implementation Plan for LIDAR.
Local government projects
There are three counties (Sumner, Cowley, and Montgomery) that are acquiring oblique imagery. As part of this process, LIDAR is collected. This data will be licensed by Pictometry and can be shared with county business contracts. It will not be made available at the DASC.
Conferences
The 2011 International LIDAR Mapping Forum will be held in New Orleans on February 7-9, 2011. Go to http://www.lidarmap.org/ILMF.aspx for more imformation.
Training opportunities
The Kansas Association of Mappers Conference will have a presentation by Travis Rome from NRCS on Working with LIDAR in ArcGIS on October 13th in Wichita. Go to www.kansasmappers.org for more information.
2006 River Corridor LiDAR Project

Files from this project are available for download in the Catalog.

USGS coordinated this project flown in March 2006 that covered 4,084 square miles over Fort Riley Military Reservation, Junction City, Manhattan, Shawnee County, Douglas County, Jefferson County, Johnson County, Wyandotte County, Jackson County Missouri, Cass County Missouri, Kansas State University Konza Prairie, University of Kansas Ecological Preserve, and the Kansas River corridor.

2006 River Corridor LiDAR Project - map 1

Project Area
2006 River Corridor LiDAR Project - Project Area

Partners included:

  • Cass County (MO)
  • Jackson County (MO)
  • Jefferson County (KS)
  • Johnson County (KS)
  • Douglas County (KS)
  • City of Topeka, KS
  • Shawnee County (KS)
  • Fort Riley Military Reservation
  • Kansas GIS Policy Board
  • Wyandotte County (KS)
  • City of Manhattan, KS
  • Kansas State University
  • Kansas Dept. of Transportation
  • Kansas Biological Survey
  • Junction City, KS

This project was contracted using the USGS Cartographic Services Contract (CSC) and flown by SANBORN. The following is a summary of the LIDAR collection specifications:

Bare Earth

  • 1.4 meter average point spacing Bare Earth
  • Vertical bare earth 18.5 cm RMS @ 95% confidence
  • Vertical bare earth 15.0 cm RMS @ 90% confidence
  • Vertical in vegetation 37 cm RMS @ 95% confidence
  • Horizontal 1 meter RMS @ 95% confidence
  • Data will support 2 ft contours (FEMA specifications)
  • Use automated and manual filtering for bare earth
    • 90% of artifacts removed
    • 95% of outliers removed
    • 95% of vegetation removed
    • 98% of buildings removed

3 Returns

  • First, middle, and last return LIDAR points
  • X, Y, Z, ASCII format
  • Match tiling of bare earth

Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN)

  • ARC exchange format

LIDAR Intensity Return Image

  • greyscale
  • GeoTIFF format

Products & Specs:

  • Bare earth LIDAR in LAS format
  • All returns in XYZ ASCII format
  • TINs
  • Intensity image in GeoTiff format
  • 2-meter tiled DEMs
  • 2-meter DEM county mosaic
  • 2-meter hillshade county mosaic

2009 Rainwater Basin LiDAR Project

Files from this project are available for download in the Catalog.

In 2008, the NRCS-KS, USGS, and State of Kansas GIS Policy Board partnered with the NRCS-NE and State of Nebraska to collect LiDAR for the Rainwater River Basin as it reached into the State of Kansas. The four counties collected under this project Republic, Washington, Cloud, and Clay. This project was contracted through the US Army Corps of Engineers - St. Louis District and flown by MERRICK & Company.

Project Area
2009 Rainwater Basin LiDAR Project - Project Area

Products & Specs:

  • All returns in LAS format (1.4 meter ground sample distance)
  • 1-meter resolution DEMs in IMG format
  • 1-meter resolution DEMs in ArcInfo GRID format
  • Tile size 5,000 m X 5,000 m
  • UTM projection
  • NAVD 88 datum (Geoid03)

2010 LiDAR Project

Files from this project are available for download in the Catalog.

In 2010, the State of Kansas GIS Policy Board, USGS, Kansas Dept. of Agriculture, USACE-KC District, and NRCS partnered to collect 9 counties of LIDAR (Atchison, Leavenworth, Miami, Franklin, Coffey, Osage, Geary, Marshall, and portions Riley and Pottawatomie counties). This project was contracted through the US Army Corps of Engineers – St. Louis District and flown by SURDEX Corporation.

Project Area
2010 LiDAR Project - Project Area

Products & Specs:

  • All Returns in LAS format (1.4 meter ground sample distance)
  • 1-meter resolution Bare Earth DEMs in ERDAS Imagine (.img) format
  • 1-meter resolution First-Return DEMs in ERDAS Imagine (.img) format
  • Hydro polygons in Geodatabase format
  • Tile size 5,000 m X 5,000 m
  • UTM projection
  • NAVD 88 datum (Geoid03)