LiDAR Digital Ground Model Point Density

Metadata also available as - [Outline]

Frequently-anticipated questions:


What does this data set describe?

    Title: LiDAR Digital Ground Model Point Density
    Abstract:
    Polygonal areas describing the number of LiDAR bare-earth elevation points per unit area. The density value is provided as both a quantitative value and a qualitative descriptor. The strong variation in sample spacing due to vegetation and other factors requires that the density interpretation be generalized in order to present the data in a reasonable number of polygons per tile.
    Supplemental_Information:
    Density interpretations are derived from both the Puget LiDAR Consortium data as well as the King County ESA/SAO project data. Various filtering and smoothing algorithms applied to the randomly-spaced data by each respective vendor may have an effect on the resulting density interpretation.

    The density data is available in the same tiling scheme as the the primary bare-earth digital ground elevation data (dgm). The King County tile scheme is based on the underying PLSS as described by the idxptrmbr tile index. Individual tiles are identified as TxxRxx_den.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    County, King, 200307, LiDAR Digital Ground Model Point Density: King County, King County, WA.

    Online Links:

    • None

    Other_Citation_Details:
    This product is derived from LiDAR 'bare-earth' elevation model data obtained from the PSLC (Puget Sound LiDAR Consortium) and from the King County ESA/SAO (Endangered Species Act/Sensitive Areas Ordinance) project.

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -121.500000
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -121.100000
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: +47.800000
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: +47.100000

  3. What does it look like?

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Beginning_Date: Nov-2000
    Ending_Date: Feb-2003
    Currentness_Reference: Ground condition

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Vector Digital Data

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      Indirect_Spatial_Reference:
      The density data is organized in a standardized tile scheme. The highest resolution tiles are provided in a tiles that approximate the PLSS township-range grid for the project area. The tiles are defined by a minimum bounding rectangle (MBR) defined around each township-range, and identified by the township number as t## cocanenated with the range number as r##. A resulting representative tile_id would be t22r04.

      This MBR is defined by right angle corners and four orthogonal bounds that are adjusted to the nearest 100 foot State Plane Zone 5061, HPGN position. This results in a series of overlapping tiles that fully encompass all sections within that township. The tiling scheme is defined by the spatial index called idxptrmbr (index polygons for township- range, minimum bounding rectangle). Tiles have only been created for those townships where sufficient LiDAR data was available for contouring.

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • String

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: State Plane Coordinate System 1983
      State_Plane_Coordinate_System:
      SPCS_Zone_Identifier: Washington, North
      Lambert_Conformal_Conic:
      Standard_Parallel: 47.500000
      Standard_Parallel: 48.733333
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -120.833333
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 47.000000
      False_Easting: 1640416.666500
      False_Northing: 0.000000

      Planar coordinates are encoded using Row and column
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 6
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 6
      Planar coordinates are specified in Survey feet

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983, 1991 Adjustment (HPGN).
      The ellipsoid used is GRS 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 20925604.4720406.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.26.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    Shapefile dbf attribute file
    Point Density class grid code and descriptive attributes (Source: Software assigned and user indexed)

    grid-code
    Grid code value after reclass (Source: Defined by ArcInfo GRID RECLASS function as discussed in Process)

    ValueDefinition
    11.Void to Low. Sample points absent to up to 10 pts/100 sq meter density.
    22.Low. Sample point density from 10 to 20 pts/100 sq meters.
    33.Medium. Sample point density from 20 to 40 pts/100 sq meters.
    44.High. Sample point density greater than 40 points/100 sq meters.

    den_lvl
    Relative qualitative descriptor of average bare-earth point density within polygon. (Source: User-defined upon inspection of actual point count averages per unit area)

    ValueDefinition
    1. Void to LowPolygon has no or very few elevation control points. Even low point areas may have numerous small void areas that are below the resolution of the interpretation.
    2. LowRelative low point density. Low point density areas may contain multiple small void areas below the resolution of the interpretation.
    3. MediumRelative medium density point density. Medium density polygons may include multiple low and possibly void areas below the resolution of the interpretation.
    4. HighRelative high point density. High point density polygons may include multiple polygons of lower density, including void areas that are below the resolution of the interpretation.

    Den_desc
    Narrative description providing generalized quantitative range value for point density corresponding to relative description in den_lvl (Source: User-defined)

    ValueDefinition
    1.Up to 10 pts/100 sq. meters
    210 to 20 points/100 sq. meters
    320 to 40 points/100 sq. meters
    4Greater than 40 points/100 sq meters

    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    Polygons derived from density grid interpretation are coded with both qualitative and quantitative point density attributes. A quantitative range is provided as the polyons have been generalized and the data is attempting to quantify density on a randomly-spaced (near random) point distribution. Density is quantified in points per 100 sq. meters. Square meters are use rather than square feet as project specifications are stated in metric units.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: None


Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    Michael Leathers
    King County Geographic Information Center,
    GIS Data Coordinator
    201 S Jackson St, Suite 706
    Seattle, WA 98104
    USA

    206-263-4867 (voice)


Why was the data set created?

Serves as a guide to the amount of elevation control that was provided by the randomly-spaced elevation sample points. Production elevation models are provided as interpolated lattices based on a standard posting distance. These models do not provide information about the initial data point density used to derive the model. The density data can be use to inform the user as to the amount of LiDAR control in a given area, where data voids occur, and some general information about vegetation canopy density. Detailed investigations regarding LiDAR penetration rates and more accurate point density patterns should be derived from the underlying TINs at a higher point density resolution.


How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    3di (source 1 of 2)
    King County ESA/SAO contract wi, Boulder, CO, 2003, King County ESA/SAO Lowland LiDAR Project (Phase I) and King County ESA/SAO Upland LiDAR Project (Phase 2): 3di Technologies, Boulder, CO.

    Other_Citation_Details:
    The King County ESA/SAO project is comprised of two separate project areas (phases). Phase I (lowland phase) includes the portion of western King County and southern Snohomish County that completes that portion of the County not covered by the PSLC project. The second phase (upland phase) includes the remainder of the County.
    Type_of_Source_Media:
    CD-R and DVD+R containing x,y,z LiDAR elevation records in ASCII file format.
    Source_Contribution: Bare-earth ASCII elevation files

    PSLC (source 2 of 2)
    Puget Sound LiDAR Consortium, 2002, Puget Sound LiDAR Consortium LIDAR Elevation Data <http://duff.geology.washington.edu/data/raster/lidar/>: Puget Sound Regional Council, Seattle, WA.

    Other_Citation_Details:
    The Puget Sound LiDAR Consortium serves as a central clearinghouse for LiDAR elevation data acquired for large portions of the Puget Sound lowlands including Vashon Island and urban/suburban areas of King County. The PSLC is coordinated through the Puget Sound Regional Council. A cooperative agreement between the Consortium and King County is working to make all the LiDAR data, regardless of original source, publicly available.
    Type_of_Source_Media:
    King County received the PSLC contribution to merge with its ESA/SAO 3di data through several preliminary CD/DVD media deliveries for testing and cross-check with the 3di data. Final, complete delivery was made to King County on portable harddrive.
    Source_Contribution:
    Bare-earth ASCII files and ArcInfo format digital elevation models.

  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

    Date: 2002 (process 1 of 6)
    Vendor (Intensity) Production Step 1:

    LiDAR data processing was used to produce the x,y,z elevation points using vendor proprietary lidar data processing software. Within this integrated process an atmospheric correction was made, which is especially important in regions of relatively low elevation.

    Date: 2002 (process 2 of 6)
    Vendor (Intensity) Production Step 2:

    Data by flight line was combined in a merge process that eliminates redundant points. Data was also clipped into more manageable one km x one km bounds. Noise or anomalous returns were filtered from all data during this processing step. The data was quality checked using commercial software, Spectra Precision TerraModel and TerraVista.

    Date: 2002 (process 3 of 6)
    Vendor Production Step 3:

    All elevation data was processed on a point by point basis for ellipsoid to orthometric height conversion using the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) Geoid Model, GEOID99. Datum and coordinate system conversion from WGS84 to the Washington State Plane coordinate system was performed using U.S. Army Corps of Engineers CorpsCon software algorithms.

    Date: 2003 (process 4 of 6)
    King County Density Process Step 1:

    After receipt from 3di Technologies, the data media was cataloged, and the media contents were logged. The ASCII files were retiled into the King County idxp7500 tiling scheme. This resulted in creation of larger files where several 1 x 1 km 3di tiles were appended and clipped to form one 7500 ft x 7500 King County tile. The ASCII records were also appended with a integer identifier resulting in a final record format of identifier, easting, northing, and elevation value.

    Date: 2003 (process 5 of 6)
    King County Density Process Step 2:

    The retiled ASCII point files were AWKed to output .gen files of the format: 1, easting, northing, elevation. The constant value of 1 was used to indicate that all points should be treated as mass points.

    Digital Ground Model (bare-earth) .gen files were built for input to the TIN creation function. The .gen files included all points of the subject tile plus a 100-foot buffer of all adjacent tiles. The composite ASCII .gen file was AWKed to create an output file of form: 1,easting, northing, elevation. The constant value of 1 is used to indicate that all points should be treated as Masspoints during the tinning process.

    The retiled ASCII point files were built into TINs using ArcInfo CREATETIN command with no (0.0) proximity tolerance.

    Date: 2003 (process 6 of 6)
    King County Density Model Process Step 1:

    ArcInfo TINARC-point all idxp7500 TINs that comprise a township-range tile

    ArcInfo GRID POINTDENSITY tin # # SIMPLE,3.208,circle,17.7 to generate a grid interpretation of the point density

    Tins, and thus pointdensity grids, extend 100 ft beyond input idxp7500 tiles. ArcInfo GRID GRIDCLIP used to clip back only 25 overlap with adjacent tiles to remove lower density areas due to edge effect

    Resulting idxp7500 grids are GRID MERGED to form composite grid of density values.

    Merged grid GRID RECLASSED using pre-defined remap table to reduce continuous range of data values to discrete 4 classes.

    GRID BOUNDARYCLEAN function with ASCEND, TWOWAY arguments used to aggregrate and regroup pixel clusters into a reduced number of zones.

    For composite grids that have NODATA areas, a NULL mask applied.

    Final grids created by clipping merged grids to exact idxptrmbr tile bound.

    GRIDPOLY used to convert grid to polygon

    Attributes added to PAT and populated

    PROJECTDEFINE used to define projection header

    Coverage exported as shapefile.

  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?


How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    The density quantitative attribute range was calibrated through correlation of grid values generated by the PointDensity function to actual point counts. Final smoothing and dissolve functions to reduce the number of polygons will, in many cases, merge small areas into adjacent polygons. This will have an effect on the absolute accuracy of the density specification relative the polygon it describes. The density attribute also describes an average density for the points in that polygon. Actual point density and distribution often varies considerably at the sub-polygon level.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    The bounds of the density polygons is the result of some generalization, smoothing and aggregation of subpolygon density information. The posting resolution of the underlying grid from which the polygons were derived also affects the postional accuracy of the data. Horizontal accuracy of the density polygon bounds is approximately 6 - 12 feet.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    Not applicable

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

    Density interpretations will eventually cover all portions of the combined King County ESA/SAO and PSLC project areas.

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

    All polygons are attributed with a density attribute. There are no 'islands'.


How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints:
A cooperative data sharing arrangement between the Puget Sound LiDAR Consortium and King County is allowing certain formats of the LiDAR data to be distributed with out license or restriction. Certain processing and data handling charges for necessary cost recovery may apply. Access to raw mass point files is by special request and request evaluation only.
Use_Constraints:
This data is provided for use as a general guide to the amount of surface elevation control (sample spacing) used in creation of the bare-earth digital surface model. Even though the interpretation has been generalized, it is a important supplement for users in evaluating relative accuracies and control spacing where penetration to 'true ground' may vary considerably.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)

    Dennis Higgins
    King County GIS Center, Client Services
    Manager, Client Services Division
    201 S Jackson St, Suite 706
    Seattle, WA 98104
    USA

    206-263-4523 (voice)

  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    LiDAR Digital Ground Model point density, txxrxx_den.shp

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    King County disclaims any warranty of use of any digital product or data beyond that for which it was designed.

  4. How can I download or order the data?


Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 15-Jul-2003

Metadata author:
Michael Leathers
King County GIS Center,
GIS Data Coordinator
201 S Jackson St, Suite 706
Seattle, WA 98104
USA

206-263-4863 (voice)
mike.leathers@metrokc.gov

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)


Generated by mp version 2.7.17 on Fri Apr 18 17:52:11 2008