GLIN==> NOAA’s Lake Superior Bathymetric Lidar Collection Complete

Lidar is a laser-based technology used to map land, beach, and underwater
elevations. Planes equipped with lidar sensors have

been surveying much of Lake Superior’s nearshore bathymetry since early
July, and as of August 12, 2010, this bathymetric lidar data collection
effort is complete.



 Over 900 linear kilometers of data were collected in forty-seven days. This
exceeded the requirements of the contract by close to 200 linear kilometers,
as the original requirement was for collection of 725 linear kilometers of
data.  Fugro Lads used the LADS MkII system to collect the bathymetric lidar
along the shoreline up to 1000 m lakeward or to the extinction of the laser.
The same system was used to collect lidar points on land to approximately 30
m inland, so that this collection could be tied to existing and future
topographic lidar collections.



 This effort, funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, was
extremely successful and will yield data that is greater than 85% very good
or good depth coverage.  Data in these categories typically extends out to
around 20m depth. The raw data will now undergo a refinement process and a
quality assurance process. The final data will be delivered to the federal
government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal
Services Center (Center), and the data will be served from the Center’s
Digital Coast website (www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/) by the winter of
2011.  Through this website the data will be available for use, free of
charge.



Standardized data protocols for processing, assuring quality, and serving
the data will be followed, which means a wide variety of organizations can
use these data for many different uses. Uses for this dataset are
wide-ranging, including planning for restoration efforts, remediating stamp
sands, evaluating essential fish habitat, enhancing navigation, and
developing scenarios for lake level drop.


 President Barack Obama has committed to making Great Lakes restoration a
national priority. The Great Lakes provide drinking water to over 30 mill
ion Americans and support a multi-billion dollar economy.  Since February
2009, President Obama has proposed significant funding as part of his Great
Lakes Restoration Initiative, the most significant investment in the Great
Lakes in two decades.


For more information on President's initiative, action plan, or to comment
go to www.greatlakesrestoration.us


 --
Lynne Chaimowitz
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

Find out about our research online @ http://www.glerl.noaa.gov

Learn more about the great efforts of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
@ http://www.greatlakesrestoration.us
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