Analysis of laser altimeter waveforms for forested ecosystems of Central Florida

John F. Weishampel; David J. Harding; Jeffry C. Boutet Jr.; Jason B. Drake

doi:10.1117/12.277613

2 July 1997 Analysis of laser altimeter waveforms for forested ecosystems of Central Florida

John F. Weishampel, David J. Harding, Jeffry C. Boutet Jr., Jason B. Drake

Proceedings Volume 3059, Advances in Laser Remote Sensing for Terrestrial and Oceanographic Applications; (1997) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.277613
Event: AeroSense '97, 1997, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

An experimental profiling airborne laser altimeter system developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center was used to acquire vertical canopy data from several ecosystem types from The Nature Conservancy's Disney Wilderness Preserve, near Kissimmee, Florida. This laser altimeter, besides providing submeter accuracy of tree height, captures a profile of data which relates to the magnitude of reflectivity of the laser pulse as it penetrates different elevations of the forest canopy. This complete time varying amplitude of the return signal of the laser pulse, between the first (i.e., the canopy top) and last (i.e., the ground) returns, yields a waveform which is related to canopy architecture, specifically the nadir-projected vertical distribution of the surface of canopy components (i.e., foliage, twigs, and branches). Selected profile returns from representative covertypes (e.g., pine flatwoods, bayhead, and cypress wetland) were compared with ground truthed forest composition (i.e., species and size class distribution) and structural (i.e., canopy height, canopy closure, crown depth) measures to help understand how these properties contribute to variation in the altimeter waveform.

Citation Download Citation

John F. Weishampel, David J. Harding, Jeffry C. Boutet Jr., and Jason B. Drake "Analysis of laser altimeter waveforms for forested ecosystems of Central Florida", Proc. SPIE 3059, Advances in Laser Remote Sensing for Terrestrial and Oceanographic Applications, (2 July 1997); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.277613

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available