Effectiveness of Extracting Water Surface Slopes from LiDAR Data within the Active Channel: Sandy River, Oregon, USA

• Main Author: English, John Thomas, 1980-
• Language: en_US
• Published: University of Oregon 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1794/9168

x, 108 p. : ill. (some col.) A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. === This paper examines the capability of LiDAR data to accurately map river water surface slopes in three reaches of the Sandy River, Oregon, USA. LiDAR data were compared with field measurements to evaluate accuracies and determine how water surface roughness and point density affect LiDAR measurements. Results show that LiDAR derived water surface slopes were accurate to within 0.0047,0.0025, and 0.0014 slope, with adjusted R2 values of 0.35, 0.47, and 0.76 for horizontal intervals of 5, 10, and 20m, respectively. Additionally, results show LiDAR provides greater data density where water surfaces are broken. This study provides conclusive evidence supporting use of LiDAR to measure water surface slopes of channels with accuracies similar to field based approaches. === Committee in Charge: W. Andrew Marcus, Chair; Patricia F. McDowell