Terrestrial laser scanner data covering the summit craters of Láscar Volcano, Chile

The datasets included in this data publication are: (1) the TLS combined point cloud (consisting of ∼15 million data points), (2) a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with 1 m pixel spacing which was generated from (1), and (3) a shaded relief of (2) in kmz format. These datasets are supplement to de Zeeuw-van Dalfsen et al. (2017), who used them to study structural and geomorphological features at the nested summit craters of Láscar Volcano, Chile. However, in the paper the data were used in a local reference frame while we here provide both the TLS point cloud and the DEM product in global coordinates (WGS 1984 UTM Zone 19 South).
Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is a technique where a laser pulse is actively emitted from a LiDAR instrument and the echo that returns from a target object is recorded. The distances between the instrument and the target points are calculated from the round-trip travel time of the laser pulse (Fornaciai et al., 2010). A terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) uses this technique in a scanning mode where the laser beam is deflected into different directions by an oscillating mirror while at the same time the scanner’s head is rotating. We used a long-range RIEGL LMS-Z620 instrument with a field of view of up to 80° by 360° in the vertical and horizontal plane, respectively. The maximum repeatability of this instrument is 5 mm, but this value increases with increasing distance between the scanner and the target, when viewing geometries or the target reflectivity are not optimal or when atmospheric conditions vary and are not ideal. From the acquired 3D point cloud topographic details can be retrieved over a maximum distance of 2 km. However, newer instruments can reach distances of 6 km or more.