2m Digital Terrain Shaded Relief Model Combining LIDAR and Stereo-Enhanced Photogrammetric Data, Niwot Ridge LTER Project Area, Colorado

Citation: Manley, W.F.,
Parrish, E.G., and Lestak, L.R., 2009, High-Resolution Orthorectified
Imagery and Digital Elevation Models for Study of Environmental Change at
Niwot Ridge and Green Lakes Valley, Colorado: Niwot Ridge LTER, INSTAAR,
University of Colorado at Boulder, digital media. This dataset is a Digital Terrain Shaded Relief Model (DTM) for the Niwot Ridge
Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project area at 2 m resolution, and is well
suited for visualization of bare-earth terrain. The DTM is derived from the first
reflective surface or a Digital Surface Model (DSM) that was created from 12 micron
digital stereo aerial photography. Elevation points were both automatically filtered
and hand-adjusted to better represent bare earth conditions. Green Lakes Valley
LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) point data were appended to the filtered and
edited data. Breakline information (ie. ridge tops, lake edges, and streams) was
added. A final 2 meter gridded DTM and shaded relief model was then generated. The
DTM is useful for terrain analysis and derivation of layers such as slope angle,
aspect, shaded relief images, and contours. The DTM and shaded relief model covers a
total area of 98 km2 and is available in Environmental Systems Research Institute's
(ESRI's) GRID format for a total dataset size of 125 MB. They share a UTM zone 13
projection, NAD83 horizontal datum and NAVD88 vertical datum, with FGDC-compliant
metadata. The DTM is available through an unrestricted public license, and can be
obtained online or on DVD by request (see Distributor contact information below).
Imagery available in this series includes orthorectified aerial photography for
1953, 1972, 1985, 1990, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. Together, the digital
elevation models and imagery will be of interest to land managers, scientists, and
others for observation and analysis of natural features and ecosystems. NOTE: This
EML metadata file does not contain important geospatial data processing information.
Before using any NWT LTER geospatial data read the arcgis metadata XML file in
either ISO or FGDC compliant format, using ArcGIS software (ArcCatalog >
description), or by viewing the .xml file provided with the geospatial dataset.