Viewshed Analysis for 34 wetlands

The code and data are used to compute surface terrain-only and LiDAR-enhanced viewsheds for 34 wetlands in Tampa, Florida, within and nearby the University of South Florida. Code with Simmons Park.zip contains the code and all data needed for the analysis for Simmons Park, including a study area boundary, DEM, DSM, and clipped LiDAR point cloud. The code estimates visibility from randomly placed observer locations (default 120) and outputs viewshed for each one. It also produces lp files for optimally selecting the best point count survey locations (defaults to 2 observers) based on maximizing visibility, which can be solved in IBM C-plex or similar solvers. Other sites.zip contains an archive of similar data for all other wetlands used in the study area. Users may adjust the python code to use with any of these sites, or sites in other geographic areas, by adjusting the file paths and parameters directly in the code (water level adjustment, line-of-sight tolerances, number of observers, etc.). Note that users will need an appropriate version of python with the necessary libraries installed in order to run the code. Also note the publication associated with this work is currently under review, and this page will be updated if and when it is accepted.