Remote sensing (RS) is a way to gather information about Earth from a distance by using special instruments mounted on airplanes, satellites or even ships.  On the surface of the earth, RS instruments measure the radiation reflected and emitted from the Earth at different wavelengths.  Under water, RS can map the ocean floor without traveling to the bottom of the ocean using reflected sound waves instead of light waves.  Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is a type of remote sensing system used to collect topographic data.  LIDAR data are collected with aircraft-mounted lasers capable of recording elevation measurements at a rate of 2000 – 5000 pulses per second.  LIDAR is then used to construct a digital elevation model (DEM) which can be applied as a layer in a GIS map.  RS imagery is one of the fastest-growing sources for raster GIS data.

BcCZO LiDAR assets consists of Digital Elevation Models (DEM's) and LAS-formated point cloud tiles derived from a snow-on (May, 2010) and snow-off (August, 2010) LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) survey inside the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory (CZO), near Boulder Colorado. This data was collected in collaboration between the Boulder Creek CZO and the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM), both funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Together, the LiDAR Digital Elevation Models (DEM) and point cloud data will be of interest to land managers, scientists, and others for study of topography, snow, ecosystems and environmental change. The Boulder Creek CZO will be using the LiDAR data to further their mission of focusing on how water, atmosphere, ecosystems, & soils interact and shape the Earth's surface. The "Critical Zone" lies between rock and sky. It is essential to life - including human food production - and helps drive Earth's carbon cycle, climate change, stream runoff, and water quality. These data sets were critical in the analysis of the September 2013 floods and its effects impact on the watershed and the human populations living in it.

At the Boulder Creek CZO, all samples collected have a latitude and longitude.  Based on these samples, we can create various layers such as stream discharge, snow survey points and soil samples. Maps, DEMs, attribute data, surface layers and images can be displayed simultaneously and dynamically linked. This can help scientists answer various questions regarding the Boulder Creek CZO, such as:
(1)What controls the spatial variation in a critical zone
(2)How does critical zone development vary across erosional and ecological regmines
(3)How does the distribution of critical zone development control the hydrologic response of the catchment to snow and rainfall.

Written by Chi Yang and Eric Parrish