Not so long ago, LiDAR data was considered a luxury commodity. Collection and processing were expensive and coverage was limited to specifically targeted project areas. Fast forward to today and LiDAR is ubiquitous and readily available to the masses. Unfortunately this availability is expanding at a rate that is out-pacing the requisite knowledge and skills needed to effectively utilize the data.

In this presentation we address this conundrum by first considering the basic structure of LiDAR before embarking on a series of workflows in Global Mapper that illustrate several applications for LIDAR data. We will begin by considering a number of options for editing, filtering, and generally improving the quality of the data. We will then walk through the procedure for transforming the point cloud into an accurate Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and for creating vector contour lines. Finally we will explore several terrain analysis procedures derived from this surface model including volume calculation, cut-and-fill analysis, and change detection.

Presenter Bio: David McKittrick is a Senior Application Specialist at Blue Marble Geographics in Hallowell, Maine. A graduate of the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland, McKittrick has spent over 25 years in the field of GIS and mapping, focusing on the application and implementation spatial technology. McKittrick has designed and delivered hundreds of GIS training classes, seminars, and presentations and has authored dozens of articles and papers for a variety industry and trade publications.