Internet-Based Access Will Focus on Large, Community-oriented Data Sets.

SDSC and Arizona State University were awarded a $1.7 million grant from the NSF to operate an internet-based national data facility for high-resolution topographic data acquired with LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology. The facility also provides online processing tools and acts as a community repository for information, software and training materials. The three-year project, which included a grant of $1.4 million to SDSC and $300,000 to the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, was based on SDSC’s OpenTopography portal, which was scaled up to a national facility to make topography data available in multiple formats. This includes “raw” LiDAR point cloud data, standard LiDAR-derived digital elevation models, and easily accessible Google Earth products to better serve LiDAR users at various levels of expertise.