As the Nation’s civilian mapping agency, the USGS leads the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) on behalf of a large community of partners and users to acquire and deliver lidar data (IfSAR in Alaska) for the Nation. While most citizens may not directly interact with lidar technology, we all feel its impact through improvements in safety, efficiency, and environmental conservation. As lidar advances and new applications emerge, its importance to everyday life will continue to grow. The USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) helps to bring valuable lidar data to users across the country to inform critical decisions that are made every day and to improve our understanding of the natural and constructed world, save lives and property, and plan for the future.
Through partnerships USGS has achieved 94.7 percent of the Nation with baseline 3DEP data available or in progress. As we complete the 3DEP baseline, we are transitioning to the next generation of the program which is designed based on the 3D Nation Elevation Requirements and Benefits Study to provide an estimated $7.6 billion in annual benefits if fully funded through community-wide investment. The next generation 3DEP calls for a shorter collection cycle and repeat coverages of higher quality elevation data for the U.S. and its territories. While the initial 3DEP baseline provides an all-important reference, the addition of multiple repeat topographic lidar coverage significantly expands analysis capabilities. The new data, when compared to the baseline 3DEP data, will support assessments of landscape change resulting from construction, landslides, lava flows, surface mining, sinkholes, and shoreline erosion along with a host of other applications necessary for a more resilient environment and economy. While additional research and development are needed, an expanded effort to collect inland bathymetry data will support habitat restoration, improved flood inundation mapping and hydrologic modeling, protection of drinking water supplies, bridge engineering, improved recreation opportunities, and other applications.
The next generation of 3DEP, along with the new 3D Hydrography Program, are components of the 3D National Topography Model that integrate elevation and hydrography to model the nation’s topography in 3D. The 3D National Topography Model is the terrestrial component of the joint 3D Nation vision of the USGS and NOAA to build a modern elevation foundation from the peaks of our mountains to the depths of our waters. Building on the 3DEP baseline of national lidar, we are on the cusp of the next revolution in topographic mapping with the 3D National Topography Model.
For the 3DEP community, World Lidar Day celebrates all those who have helped made national lidar data coverage possible including the many federal, state, local, Tribal partners; the vibrant private sector mapping firm community that collect the data; and the many users who harness the power of lidar data in a broad range of applications. World Lidar Day is also a celebration of the growing impact and benefits of lidar technology that underpin a bright future for 3D topographic mapping that will support new and unimagined ways to model and understand our world.