Midnight Sun Golf Course Classified LiDAR Point Cloud, Digital Surface Model, Digital Terrain Model, Digital Photos, and Orthophoto Mosaic; Fairbanks, AK; 10 September 2023

The Midnight Sun Golf Course in Fairbanks, Alaska is a legacy farm field that is part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Funded Permafrost Grown project. This 65 hectare (ha) parcel was initially cleared for agriculture purposes but changed land-use practices to a golf course around 25 years ago. The land-use conversion was in part due to ice-rich permafrost thaw following clearing. We are studying the long-term effects of permafrost thaw following initial clearing for cultivation purposes. We are working with the current landowners to provide information regarding ongoing thermokarst development on the property and to conduct studies in reforested portions of the land area to understand land clearing and reforestation on permafrost-affected soils. In this regard, we have acquired very high resolution light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data and digital photography from a DJI M300 drone using a Zenmuse L1. The Zenmuse L1 integrates a Livox Lidar module, a high-accuracy inertial measurement units (IMU), and a camera with a 1-inch CMOS on a 3-axis stabilized gimbal. The drone was configured to fly in real-time kinematic (RTK) mode at an altitude of 60 meters above ground level using the DJI D-RTK 2 base station. Data was acquired using a 50% sidelap and a 70% frontlap. Additional ground control was established with a Leica GS18 global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and all data have been post-processed to World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) universal transverse mercator (UTM) Zone 6 North using ellipsoid heights. Data outputs include a two-class classified LiDAR point cloud, digital surface model, digital terrain model, and an orthophoto mosaic. Image acquisition occurred on 10 September 2023. The input images are available for download at http://arcticdata.io/data/10.18739/A2PC2TB1T.