Search

The Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) on ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2) uses a 532 nm band photon-counting LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), which has certain penetrability to water bodies, and the measured data show that the bathymetric ability reaches nearly one Secchi depth. ATLAS has a limited number of beams and a fixed ground track, and only collects section elevation along the track direction. The fusion of active laser point cloud and passive optical remote sensing satellite image can fill the gap of shallow water depth data in a large range. This paper takes ATLAS as the research object, with the aim of exploring the effective algorithm flow of spaceborne active laser and passive optical fusion processing, and systematically evaluating the bathymetric accuracy of the fusion algorithm. An adaptive Gauss filtering technology based on the density of point cloud was firstly improved to achieve accurate denoising under the condition of uneven surface/underwater density. Subsequently, the depth of underwater points was calculated automatically through steps of water surface modelling, refraction correction, etc. Finally, the control points and check points were randomly extracted to solve the parameters of multispectral inversion model and verify the internal accuracy of the model. In this paper, the accuracy of ATLAS bathymetry was verified by Airborne LiDAR Bathymetry (ALB) data in Oahu Island, Hawaii, and the results indicate that the vertical root mean square error (RMSE) ranges from 0.56 m to 1.11 m. In Yongle islands and Qilianyu area of the South China Sea, WorldView-2 (WV2) 4 bands multispectral images and ATLAS data were used to carry out the active-passive fusion bathymetry, and the ALB and sonar data were used to evaluate the accuracy. Experimental results show that the internal compliance accuracy of the fusion model is better than 1.25 m (RMSE), and the real bathymetry accuracy is better than 1.42 m (RMSE). The above results reveal the great potential of active-passive fusion bathymetry based on ICESat-2 and other high-resolution remote sensing satellites, which can provide strong technical support for filling the blank of shallow water depth information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea-level rise (SLR) threatens islands and coastal communities due to vulnerable infrastructure and populations concentrated in low-lying areas. LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data were used to produce high-resolution DEMs (Digital Elevation Model) for Kahului and Lahaina, Maui, to assess the potential impacts of future SLR. Two existing LiDAR datasets from USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) were compared and calibrated using the Kahului Harbor tide station. Using tidal benchmarks is a valuable approach for referencing LiDAR in areas lacking an established vertical datum, such as in Hawai'i and other Pacific Islands. Exploratory analysis of the USACE LiDAR ground returns (point data classified as ground after the removal of vegetation and buildings) indicated that another round of filtering could reduce commission errors. Two SLR scenarios of 0.75 (best-case) to 1.9 m (worst-case) (Vermeer and Rahmstorf Proc Natl Acad Sci 106:21527-21532, ) were considered, and the DEMs were used to identify areas vulnerable to flooding. Our results indicate that if no adaptive strategies are taken, a loss ranging from $18.7 million under the best-case SLR scenario to $296 million under the worst-case SLR scenario for Hydrologically Connected (HC; marine inundation) and Hydrologically Disconnected (HD; drainage problems due to a higher water table) areas combined is possible for Kahului; a loss ranging from $57.5 million under the best-case SLR scenario to $394 million under the worst-case SLR scenario for HC and HD areas combined is possible for Lahaina towards the end of the century. This loss would be attributable to inundation between 0.55 km to 2.13 km of area for Kahului, and 0.04 km to 0.37 km of area for Lahaina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our objective is to identify and map individuals of nine tree species in a Hawaiian lowland tropical forest by comparing the performance of a variety of semi-supervised classifiers. A method was adapted to process hyperspectral imagery, LiDAR intensity variables, and LiDAR-derived canopy height and use them to assess the identification accuracy. We found that semi-supervised Support Vector Machine classification using tensor summation kernel was superior to supervised classification, with demonstrable accuracy for at least eight out of nine species, and for all combinations of data types tested. We also found that the combination of hyperspectral imagery and LiDAR data usually improved species classification. Both LiDAR intensity and LiDAR canopy height proved useful for classification of certain species, but the improvements varied depending upon the species in question. Our results pave the way for target-species identification in tropical forests and other ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current markets and international agreements for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) rely on carbon (C) monitoring techniques. Combining field measurements, airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR)-based observations, and satellite-based imagery, we developed a 30-meter-resolution map of aboveground C density spanning 40 vegetation types found on the million-hectare Island of Hawaii. We estimate a total of 28.3 teragrams of C sequestered in aboveground woody vegetation on the island, which is 56% lower than Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that do not resolve C variation at fine spatial scales. The approach reveals fundamental ecological controls over C storage, including climate, introduced species, and land-use change, and provides a fourfold decrease in regional costs of C measurement over field sampling alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Irrigated agriculture was central to the economies of many of the world’s best known complex societies. New high-resolution digital elevation models (DEM) derived from remotely sensed lidar data give archaeologists the opportunity to study field systems at a scale not previously possible. Here we describe a method called slope contrast mapping that takes advantage of the dissimilarity between artificial and natural slopes to identify and map discrete features. We use this relatively simple method in our own research to identify complexes of agricultural terraces in the North Kohala district, Hawai’i Island. It has also proved useful for mapping the natural landscape, specifically the extent of flat land between valleys suited for irrigated agriculture. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Technical and analytical improvements in aircraft-based remote sensing allow synoptic measurements of structural and chemical properties of vegetation across whole landscapes. We used the Carnegie Airborne Observatory, which includes waveform light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and high-fidelity imaging spectroscopy, to evaluate the landscapes surrounding four well-studied sites on a substrate age gradient across the Hawaiian Islands. The airborne measurements yielded variations in ground topography, canopy height, and canopy nitrogen (N) concentration more accurately than they could have been obtained by any reasonable intensity of ground-based sampling. We detected spatial variation in ecosystem properties associated with the properties of different species, including differences in canopy N concentrations associated with the native species Metrosideros polymorpha and Acacia koa, and differences brought about by invasions of the biological N fixer Morella faya. Structural and chemical differences associated with exotic tree plantations and with dominance of forest patches by the native mat-forming fern Dicranopteris linearis also could be analyzed straightforwardly. This approach provides a powerful tool for ecologists seeking to expand from plot-based measurements to landscape-level analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  We use a kinematic GPS and laser range finder survey of a 200 m-long section of the Muliwai a Pele lava channel (Mauna Ulu, Kilauea) to examine the construction processes and flow dynamics responsible for the channel–levee structure. The levees comprise three packages. The basal package comprises an 80–150 m wide ′a′a flow in which a ∼2 m deep and ∼11 m wide channel became centred. This is capped by a second package of thin (3 s−1 for the opening phase, with the initial flow advancing across the mapped section at ∼10 m/min. Short-lived overflows of fluid pahoehoe then built the levee cap, increasing the apparent channel depth to 4.8 m. There were at least six pulses at 90–420 m3 s−1, causing overflow of limited extent lasting no more than 5 min. Brim-full flow conditions were thus extremely short-lived. During a dominant period of below-bank flow, flow depth was ∼2 m with an effusion rate of ∼35 m3 s−1, consistent with the mean output rate (obtained from the total flow bulk volume) of 23–54 m3 s−1. During pulses, levee chunks were plucked and floated down channel to form blockages. In a final low effusion rate phase, lava ponded behind the lower blockage to form a syn-channel pond that fed ′a′a overflow. After the end of the eruption the roofed-over pond continued to drain through the lower blockage, causing the roof to founder. Drainage emplaced inflated flows on the channel floor below the lower blockage for a further ∼10 h. The complex processes involved in levee–channel construction of this short-lived case show that care must be taken when using channel dimensions to infer flow dynamics. In our case, the full channel depth is not exposed. Instead the channel floor morphology reflects late stage pond filling and drainage rather than true channel-contained flow. Components of the compound levee relate to different flow regimes operating at different times during the eruption and associated with different effusion rates, flow dynamics and time scales. For example, although high effusion rate, brim-full flow was maintained for a small fraction of the channel lifetime, it emplaced a pile of pahoehoe overflow units that account for 60% of the total levee height. We show how time-varying volume flux is an important parameter in controlling channel construction dynamics. Because the complex history of lava delivery to a channel system is recorded by the final channel morphology, time-varying flow dynamics can be determined from the channel morphology. Developing methods for quantifying detailed flux histories for effusive events from the evidence in outcrop is therefore highly valuable. We here achieve this by using high-resolution spatial data for a channel system at Kilauea. This study not only indicates those physical and dynamic characteristics that are typical for basaltic lava flows on Hawaiian volcanoes, but also a methodology that can be widely applied to effusive basaltic eruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental and biotic factors affecting spatial variation in canopy three-dimensional (3-D) structure and aboveground tree biomass (AGB) are poorly understood in tropical rain forests. We combined field measurements and airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) to quantify 3-D structure and AGB across a 5,016 ha rain forest reserve on the northeastern flank of Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii Island. We compared AGB among native stands dominated by Metrosideros polymorpha found along a 600–1800 m elevation/climate gradient, and on three substrate-age classes of 5, 20, and 65 kyr. We also analyzed how alien tree invasion, canopy species dominance and topographic relief influence AGB levels. Canopy vertical profiles derived from lidar measurements were strong predictors ( r2 = 0.78) of AGB across sites and species. Mean AGB ranged from 48 to 363 Mg ha−1 in native forest stands. Increasing elevation corresponded to a 53–84% decrease in AGB levels, depending upon substrate age. Holding climate constant, changes in substrate age from 5 to 65 kyr corresponded to a 23–53% decline in biomass. Invasion by Psidium cattleianum and Ficus rubiginosa trees resulted in a 19–38% decrease in AGB, with these carbon losses mediated by substrate age. In contrast, the spread of former plantation tree species Fraxinus uhdei corresponded to a 7- to 10-fold increase in biomass. The effects of topographic relief at both local and regional scales were evident in the AGB maps, with poorly drained terrain harboring 76% lower biomass than forests on well-drained relief. Our results quantify the absolute and relative importance of environmental factors controlling spatial variation in tree biomass across a rain forest landscape, and highlight the rapid changes in carbon storage incurred following biological invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing of invasive species is a critical component of conservation and management efforts, but reliable methods for the detection of invaders have not been widely established. In Hawaiian forests, we recently found that invasive trees often have hyperspectral signatures unique from that of native trees, but mapping based on spectral reflectance properties alone is confounded by issues of canopy senescence and mortality, intra- and inter-canopy gaps and shadowing, and terrain variability. We deployed a new hybrid airborne system combining the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO) small-footprint light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system with the Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) to map the three-dimensional spectral and structural properties of Hawaiian forests. The CAO-AVIRIS systems and data were fully integrated using in-flight and post-flight fusion techniques, facilitating an analysis of forest canopy properties to determine the presence and abundance of three highly invasive tree species in Hawaiian rainforests. The LiDAR sub-system was used to model forest canopy height and top-of-canopy surfaces; these structural data allowed for automated masking of forest gaps, intra- and inter-canopy shadows, and minimum vegetation height in the AVIRIS images. The remaining sunlit canopy spectra were analyzed using spatially-constrained spectral mixture analysis. The results of the combined LiDAR-spectroscopic analysis highlighted the location and fractional abundance of each invasive tree species throughout the rainforest sites. Field validation studies demonstrated <6.8% and <18.6% error rates in the detection of invasive tree species at ∼7 m2 and ∼2 m2 minimum canopy cover thresholds. Our results show that full integration of imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR measurements provides enormous flexibility and analytical potential for studies of terrestrial ecosystems and the species contained within them. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

High-resolution Scanning Hydrographic Operational Airborne Lidar Survey (SHOALS) laser-determined bathymetric data were used to define the morphology of spur-and-groove structures on the fringing reef off the south coast of Molokai, Hawaii. These data provide a basis for mapping and analyzing morphology of the reef with a level of precision and spatial coverage never before attained. An extensive fringing coral reef stretches along the central twothirds of Molokai's south shore (∼40 km); along the east and west ends there is only a thin veneer of living coral with no developed reef complex. In total, ∼4800 measurements of spur-and-groove height and the distance between adjacent spur crests (wavelength) were obtained along four isobaths. Between the 5m and 15m isobaths, the mean spur height increased from 0.7 m to 1.6 m, whereas the mean wavelength increased from 71 m to 104 m. Reef flat width was found to exponentially decrease with increasing wave energy. Overall, mean spur-and-groove height and wavelength were shown to be inversely proportional to wave energy. In high-energy environments, spur-and-groove morphology remains relatively constant across all water depths. In low-energy environments, however, spurand-groove structures display much greater variation; they are relatively small and narrow in shallow depths and develop into much larger and broader features in deeper water. Therefore, it appears that waves exert a primary control on both the small- and large-scale morphology of the reef off south Molokai. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristics of a small, lightweight portable lidar system for measuring aerosol (Mie) scatter at wavelengths of 1064 and 532 nm are described. It uses a 20-Hz Nd:YAG pulsed laser as a source anda 12,7-cmdiameter telescope as a receiver, By using a minimal number of commercially available components, the cost of construction has been reduced, The lidar has a useable range of 60-3000 m for clean marine conditions. lts performance has been demonstrated using measurements of tropospheric aerosols on the island of Hawaii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea salt aerosol concentrations in the clean marine boundary layer can be considered spatially homogeneous when averaged over space and time. Using this assumption, horizontal and slant lidar measurements are carried out at a Hawaii coastal site allowing accurate retrieval of the marine aerosol scattering coefficient. It is found that when the lidar calibration or the aerosol phase function is adjusted so that the derived scattering coefficients are constant with range, then the derived aerosol scattering coefficients are correct and agree with nephelometer measurements (within 25%) and sun photometer (within 7%). Examples of this calibration process are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]