Mobile Light Detection And Ranging Research Articles

CSIR South Africa mobile LIDAR—First scientific results: comparison with satellite, sun photometer and model simulations

We present the first scientific results from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research–National Laser Centre (CSIR-NLC) mobile LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) and its validation and comparison with other ground-based and space-borne measurements. The LIDAR results are compared with aerosol extinction measurements from the Stratosphere Aerosol Gas Experiment (SAGE) II, optical depth derived from sun photometers employed under the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) and backscatter coefficients simulated from weather balloon humidity measurements.

Kinematic Terrestrial Light-Detection and Ranging System for Scanning

Highway corridor surveys are becoming more difficult and expensive to carry out because of the need to minimize lane closures, traffic disruptions, and safety hazards posed to the surveyors and public. Roadway surveyors are at risk when working in the traffic corridor if they are unable to move with the flow of traffic. Safety for the traveling public is also a concern when lanes are closed or blocked by slow-moving vehicles. Costs for the placement of safety features to protect a survey crew can in some instances be greater than the cost of the survey itself. To mitigate these problems, a survey data acquisition tool is needed that can collect topographic and infrastructure information without disrupting traffic flow. Terrapoint has developed a novel kinematic laser scanning system that can be deployed on a passenger vehicle or small watercraft. Light-detection and ranging (LIDAR) digital imagery and video are collected from the survey platform while it is moving at traffic speeds. The system is georeferenced with a high-accuracy Global Positioning System–inertial measurement unit. Terrapoint's mobile LIDAR scanner has successfully surveyed existing highway corridors all over North America. It has also proven sufficiently accurate for scanning airport runway surfaces so as to predict areas where water will pool. Moving with the traffic flow and not requiring an escort, the system scans a 360° swath that includes the pavement surface and objects to the sides and above the survey vehicle.

Mobile LIDAR system detects air pollution hot spots

PurposeTo describe the light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technique and to discuss recent surveys by Environment Canada which have employed a novel scanning LIDAR system, the “RASCAL”, to study air pollution in British Columbia.Design/methodology/approachThe RASCAL LIDAR system is based on a Nd:YAG laser which emits 0.5 J pulses of IR light at 1,064 nm and green light at 532 nm into the atmosphere at a rate of 20 Hz. The beam is steered by two 24‐inch mirrors and the backscattered signal is detected by a system based on high sensitivity avalanche photodiodes and photomultiplier tubes. The unit is mobile and housed in a small van.FindingsSurveys with the mobile LIDAR identified and located sources of airborne particulate pollution at various locations in British Columbia. A series of high‐resolution elevation scans revealed the complex vertical structure of aerosol layers above the town of Golden. An outcome of this survey was the introduction of local laws banning wood‐burning stoves in new homes in the region. Further, Saharan sand was identified in the atmosphere in the region for the first time.Originality/valueThe surveys showed that mobile LIDAR can detect and characterise airborne particulate pollution and contribute to an understanding of its dispersion and motion in the atmosphere. It will also aid in assessing the associated risks to human health.