Lidar, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges to the Earth. Lidar is also known as laser imaging, detection, and ranging or LADAR. Lidar is used in many industries, including automotive, infrastructure, robotics, trucking, UAV/drones, industrial, mapping, and many more. Lidar is used to make high-resolution maps, with applications in surveying, geodesy, geomatics, archaeology, geography, geology, geomorphology, seismology, forestry, atmospheric physics, laser guidance, airborne laser swathe mapping (ALSM), and laser altimetry.
A typical lidar sensor emits pulsed light waves from a laser into the environment. These pulses bounce off surrounding objects and return to the sensor. The sensor uses the time it took for each pulse to return to the sensor to calculate the distance it traveled. Repeating this process millions of times per second creates a real-time 3D map of the environment. Lidar systems allow scientists and mapping professionals to examine both natural and manmade environments with accuracy, precision, and flexibility. Lidar data sets for many coastal areas can be downloaded from the Office for Coastal Management Digital Coast web portal. Lidar is also used in atmospheric physics as a remote detection instrument to measure densities of certain constituents of the middle and upper atmosphere, such as potassium, sodium, or molecular nitrogen and oxygen.
