JALBTCX rapid-response aerial survey reconnaissance missions

Abstract

Airborne Lidar and imagery is the technology of choice for mapping and quantifying impacts and conducting storm damage assessments in the aftermath of extreme storm events. Following land-falling hurricanes, for example, this technology provides data at high spatial resolution over hundreds of kilometers of hurricane-impacted shorelines in rapid fashion. To support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and others in their emergency response mission areas, the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX) has performed rapid-response mapping for 10 hurricane and nor’easter events since Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Rapid-response data production workflows developed during the Superstorm Sandy mission have matured every year through the development and implementation of the JALBTCX Toolbox in response to requirements from engineers and scientists responsible for assessing storm impacts and making decisions related to recovery and restoration efforts. Today, the JALBTCX Toolbox is comprised of a series of modules that provide standard, streamlined, and repeatable workflows that guide users through the development of accurate datadriven information products on local, regional, and national scales. Rapid-response data products include shoreline and beach volume change in industry-standard, interoperable data formats and web services for consumption in GIS and web-based maps, dashboards, and applications. Post-response, the JALBTCX Toolbox includes modules for multi-dataset change detection analysis, the extraction of geomorphology features (e.g. dune crests and toes and sandbars), and the calculation of a Coastal Engineering Resilience Index (CERI). Future efforts will focus on further development of rapid response products in addition to the national coastal engineering resilience index that is routinely updated as new data becomes available.