The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) and Arizona State University have been awarded a $1.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to operate an internet-based national data facility for high-resolution topographic data acquired with LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology. The facility will also provide online processing tools and act as a community repository for information, software and training materials. [right, hillshade image in Google Earth, using LiDAR data in northern Calif. along the San Andreas fault. Credit, OpenTopography]
The 3-year project will build on SDSC’s OpenTopography portal which grew out of the GEON project. The facility will handle “raw LiDAR point cloud data, standard LiDAR-derived digital elevation models, and easily accessible Google Earth products to better serve LiDAR users at various levels of expertise."
The GEON/OpenTopography team are partners with AZGS in another NSF project to develop the Geoscience Information Network.