GIS5100 Module 2: Forestry & LiDAR
Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is a powerful remote sensing technology that enables us to map the world more precisely with high-resolution models. It is also this week's Module topic! I'm not new to LiDAR or to working with LiDAR/DEMs; however, the application we do is different from what I experienced in Module 2, which is great! I love the variety and change of pace. It really goes to show how versatile GIS is. This week, we find ourselves in Virginia, specifically Shenandoah National Park. It is there that we're given a file geodatabase with Virginia boundaries in polygon and polyline form, as well as a LAZ file, which is a compressed version of LiDAR point cloud data. I immediately learned that LAZ files are not readable in ArcGIS Pro, while LAS files are. After some trial and error, I realized I didn't need to run the Convert LAS tool on the provided data, since it was already in the proper format for ArcPro to read. Simply misunderstood the instructions that...