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2017 NOAA/OCM Unmanned Aerial System Lidar DEM: Grand Bay NERR

Published by Office for Coastal Management | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Metadata Last Checked: February 07, 2026 | Last Modified: 2017-10-15T00:00:00.000+00:00
Quantum Spatial (QSI) and PrecisionHawk (PH) collected lidar for test sites within the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) using an unmanned aerial system (UAS). Four sites were flown, covering a total of 177 acres. A fixed-wing PH Lancaster (revision 5) platform was used, carrying a Velodyne Puck VLP-16 based lidar system. The system provides 2 returns (strongest and last) with a pulse rate of 300 kHz using a 903 nm wavelength laser. Flights were conducted from May 9-11, 2017 and were flown at 50 meters above ground level. Specifications for the collection included 30 pulses per square meter and 0.10 meter RMSE vertical accuracy in non-vegetated areas. The average first return density was over 105 points per square meter with an average ground classified density of over 3 points per square meter. Deliverables included a 1-meter resolution bare-earth DEM in UTM zone 16 NAD83(2011). These data were ingested into the Digital Coast Data Access Viewer for custom processing. Original contact information: Contact Org: NOAA Office for Coastal Management Phone: 843-740-1202 Email: coastal.info@noaa.gov

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