Data were collected in collaboration between the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) project and the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory (CZO), both funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The dataset contains 1 m Digital Surface Models (first-stop), Digital Terrain Models (bare-earth), and 10 points/m² LAS-formated point cloud tiles. The DSMs and DTMs are available in GeoTIFF format with associated shaded relief models. The Digital Terrain Model (DTM) is a ground-surface elevation dataset better suited for derived layers such as slope angle, aspect, and contours. Accessory layers consist of index map layers for point cloud tiles, DEM extent, and flight lines. Other LiDAR DSMs, DTMs, and point cloud data available in this series include snow-off data for 2010. Together, the LiDAR Digital Elevation Models (DEM) and point cloud data will be of interest to land managers, scientists, and others for study of topography, snow, ecosystems and environmental change. The Boulder Creek CZO will be using the LiDAR data to further their mission of focusing on how water, atmosphere, ecosystems, & soils interact and shape the Earth's surface. The "Critical Zone" lies between rock and sky. It is essential to life - including human food production - and helps drive Earth's carbon cycle, climate change, stream runoff, and water quality.

Read the FGDC-compliant metadata files that are available for each dataset (in .html, .txt, and .xml formats). These files provide numerous details that may be of interest. Also included are flight lines, survey reports, reference materials, and DEM extent shapefiles.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to weather and equipment failures the snow-on surveys were flown during 2 different time periods in May, between which there were substantial snow accumulations. Do not combine data from May 5/9, 2010 and May 20/21, 2010.

Publications associated with this dataset can be found at NCALM's Data Tracking Center