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LiDAR Point Cloud Data from the NGEE Arctic UAS Campaigns at the Teller 27 Field Site from 2017 and 2018, Seward Peninsula, Alaska

Dataset ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.5440/2350811· OSTI ID:2350811

Minimally processed Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) point cloud data were collected from Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) heavy-lift unoccupied aerial system (UAS) quadcopter and hexacopter platforms operated by Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic) scientists from the EES-14 group at LANL. These data were collected in August 2017 and July 2018 at the NGEE Arctic field site near mile marker 27 of the Bob Blodgett Nome–Teller Memorial Highway between Nome, Alaska and Teller, Alaska. A Vulcan Raven X8 Airframe (Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire, UK), DJI Matrice 600 Pro Airframe (Shenzhen, China), and Routescene UAV LiDARSystem (Edinburgh, Scotland, UK) were used to collect LiDAR data. This LiDAR data has undergone basic post-processing using Routescene LidarViewer Pro software to create point cloud data (.laz files). Following basic processing, data from multiple flights and years were merged into a single raw point cloud using CloudCompare software. This data package contains compressed point clouds (.laz), post-processed kinematic files (.csv), and details about the Level 1 (L1) processing workflow. Ancillary aircraft data, flight mission parameters, weather conditions, and raw LiDAR data and imagery can be found in the L0 datasets for these campaigns: NGA299 (2017) and NGA297 (2018).

The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), a research effort to reduce uncertainty in Earth System Models by developing a predictive understanding of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystems and feedbacks to climate. NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research.

The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska.

Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy’s Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).

Research Organization:
Next Generation Ecosystems Experiment - Arctic, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (US); NGEE Arctic, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Contributing Organization:
ORNL
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
2350811
Report Number(s):
NGA304
Availability:
ORNL
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English