Abstract
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest
resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation,
and many others. For the State of Missouri, elevation data are critical for
agriculture and precision farming; natural resources conservation; flood risk
management; homeland security, law enforcement, and disaster response; infrastructure
and construction management; water supply and quality; and other business uses.
Today, high-density light detection and ranging (lidar) data are the primary sources
for deriving elevation models and other datasets. Federal, State, Tribal, and
local agencies work in partnership to (1) replace data that are older and of lower
quality and (2) provide coverage where publicly accessible data do not exist. A
joint goal of State and Federal partners is to acquire consistent, statewide
coverage to support existing and emerging applications enabled by lidar data.
The National Enhanced Elevation Assessment evaluated multiple elevation
data acquisition options to determine the optimal data quality and data replacement
cycle relative to cost to meet the identified requirements of the user community. The
evaluation demonstrated that lidar acquisition at quality level 2 for the
conterminous United States and quality level 5 ifsar data for Alaska with a
6- to 10-year acquisition cycle provided the highest benefit/cost ratios. The
3D Elevation Program (3DEP) initiative selected an 8-year acquisition cycle for
the respective quality levels. 3DEP, managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),
the Office of Management and Budget Circular A–16 lead agency for terrestrial
elevation data, responds to the growing need for high-quality topographic data
and a wide range of other 3D representations of the Nation’s natural and
constructed features.
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First posted March 26, 2014
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