Lidar & Landslides

Last updated 03/16/10
  1. Introduction
  2. Assignment using LiDAR Data in GRASS
  3. Poster
  4. Manuscript
  5. The Future

Introduction

While at a conference in Portland, OR, I became interested in the use of high-resolution LiDAR data in a geological context. I soon learned that LiDAR data would be available for two counties in Northern Kentucky (NKY) and decided that I would explore the potential uses of these datasets by using them to delineate and characterize landslides in the region. Myself, along with one instructor (who has many years of experience studying landslides and is an engineering geologist) and another student (Zach Mergenthal) who has considerable experience doing field mapping in our primary study region, agreed to work together to explore the potential of LiDAR data for aiding in identification, delineation, and detection of landslides in NKY.

Assignment using LiDAR Data in GRASS

To help students better understand landslide morphology and identification and to promote the integration of technology into a classical geomorphology curriculum, I created this assignment for an undergraduate geomorphology class. It uses a very small portion of data from the NKY LiDAR dataset and provides a step-by-step walkthrough of basic raster analysis techniques in GRASS that may be useful for landslide delineation and characterization. Below are links to the assignment and to the RiverRoad data used for a majority of the assignment. I did not include the Unknown location since it is much larger and would make the archive over 60MB. If you would like to play with the data, you can download it from OSIP (tile S1355405, ASCII DEM, Imagery).

Download Assignment (PDF, 3MB)
Download Data (ZIP, 540K)

Poster

To support community outreach through CINSAM I created a simple poster to show to students interested in science, engineering, and technology. I chose to use the RiverRoad dataset that was referenced heavily in the assignment I made because it is a prototypical landslide that is easily observed.

lidar poster

Click on the above image for a larger more readable image.

Manuscript

To supplement a certificate program in GIS I completed an independent research project that aggregated all of the findings of this project through the fall of 2010. The first release of this paper is available below.

Download Manuscript (PDF, 4.5MB)

The Future

  • Submission of an abstract to AEG (Anchorage, 2011) (Completed Summer 2011)