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The Bureau is
one of only two university research organizations in the country
to own and operate a lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) system,
making us a leader in remote sensing research and technology. We
use the airborne laser mapping technology of lidar to generate 3-D
electronic representations of diverse terrains,employing just one
of many specialized types of lidar known as ALTM (Airborne Laser
Terrain Mapping). This lidar type allows repeated, precise measurements
of a topographic surface whose change reflects a geologic, hydrologic,
or human-caused process. Current uses of ALTM include archaeological
investigations, land-use planning, flood-hazard mapping, landslide
studies, shoreline-change analysis, and water-resource development.
Bureau researchers are developing new, nonstandard ALTM data collection
and processing procedures to generate state-of-the-art, high-precision
terrain maps. These new procedures include flight-calibration procedures
and algorithms and vegetation-removal algorithms. Detailed information
regarding Bureau lidar research is posted on the Bureau's Website
at www.beg.utexas.edu/coastal.
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