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Next neha.arora@GISdevelopment.net Over the years, advancements in LiDAR hardware & software and better understanding of the technology have greatly improved the usefulness of LiDAR as a valuable surveying and mapping tool. Wherein some applications LiDAR have been complementing conventional techniques, it has completely replaced them in several others. Not restricted by the environmental conditions restricting aerial photography, LiDAR is emerging as an attractive alternative to the traditional technology for large-scale geospatial data capture. In the foregoing paragraphs, some of the LiDAR applications (compiled on the basis of news coverage for the year 2006 - 07) have been reviewed. 1. Forest mapping Forestry was one of the first areas investigated for commercial application of airborne laser mapping since accurate information on the terrain and topography beneath the tree canopy is extremely important to both the forestry industry and natural resource managers but is difficult to get from the conventional methods. Increasingly, high-accuracy, high-density aerial LiDAR data combined with multispectral, ortho imagery are being found suitable for forestry applications. In February 2006, Forestal Arauco S.A. contracted Digimapas Chile Aerofotogrametria Ltd. (DMCL) to acquire, process and map almost 30,000 square miles of forested areas in Chile through aerial LiDAR and ortho photo data. Forestal Arauco will be using the obtained data for updating their general forest inventory. Besides the updation, special applications such as erosion prevention, forest quality supervision, road planning for tree extraction, infrastructural planning for new plants, transport roads, strategic information for investments in new properties are also being planned. As per the published reports, the mapping started in November 2006.  Image 1: A LiDAR canopy map 2. Geological mapping Surficial geological mapping in the heavily vegetated terrain has always been difficult for the geologists. LiDAR-based mapping of superficial geology provides a very powerful tool for identifying the variety of surficial deposits and landforms in this diverse landscape. A collaborative project, to map the distribution of recently active earthquake-prone faults in the southeastern Alps in Slovenia, was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). A team of scientists from the Departments of Geology and Geography at the University of Leicester in the UK were reported, in November 2006, to have developed a technique using a powerful laser mounted on an aircraft that can be used in mountainous terrain to virtually deforest the landscape and reveal details of the forest floor topography, including the traces of active faults. The topographic images derived from LiDAR data of two major plate boundary faults, the Idrija and Ravne strike-slip faults in Slovenia, revealed geomorphological and structural features that shed light on the overall architecture and movement history of both fault systems.   Image 2: A 2m shaded relief image of the Idrija study area created using last returns. Page 1 of 2
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