Laser Bathymetry for Near Shore Charting Application (Preliminary Field Text Results)

An airborne lidar(light detection and ranging at optical frequencies) system has been extensively flight tested to study the operational feasibility of using a scanning, rapidly pulsed laser beam, projected into water from a fixed wing aircraft, for near-shore hydrographic applications. Field test results for vertical accuracy, environmental constraints, and effects of system parameters are discussed. Detailed utilization studies indicate that such a system should yield significantly reduced cost as well as increased volume of near-shore bathymetric data for charting purposes.