LASmoons

Olumese Efeovbokhan (recipient of another three LASmoons) Geosciences, School of Geography University of Nottingham, UK Background: Hydrological models require various input data for flood vulnerability mapping. An important input data for flood vulnerability mapping is the DTM over which flow is being routed. DTMs are generated using cartography, ground surveying, digital aerial photogrammetry, interferometric SAR […]

Leonidas Alagialoglou (recipient of three LASmoons) Multimedia Understanding Group, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloniki, GREECE Background: Canopy height is a fundamental geometric tree parameter in supporting sustainable forest management. Apart from the standard height measurement method using LiDAR instruments, other airborne measurement techniques, such as very high-resolution passive airborne imaging, have also shown to provide

Zak Kus (recipient of three LASmoons) Topology Enthusiast San Francisco, USA Background: While LiDAR data enables a lot of research and innovation in a lot of fields, it can also be used to create unique and visceral art. Using the high resolution data available, a 3D printer, and a long tool chain, we can create

Martin Romain (recipient of three LASmoons) Marshall Islands Conservation Society Majuro, Republic of the MARSHALL ISLANDS Background: As a low-lying coastal nation, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is at the forefront of exposure to climate change impacts. RMI has a strong dependence on natural resources and biodiversity not only for food and income

Volga Lipwoni (recipient of three LASmoons) Department of Geography, School of Earth and Environment University of Canterbury, NEW ZEALAND Background: Structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetry, has emerged as an effective tool to accurately extract three-dimensional (3D) structures from a series of overlapping two-dimensional (2D) Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) images. The bid to switch from the

Gabriele Garnero (recipient of three LASmoons) Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning Politecnico e Università degli Studi, Torino ITALY Background: Last spring, the LARTU research group produced a laser scanner survey of the Abbey of Sant’Andrea in Vercelli, on the occasion of the VIII centenary of the dedication (1219). The database produced

Nicolas Barth (recipient of three LASmoons) Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences University of California, Riverside UNITED STATES Background: The 850 km-long Alpine Fault (AF) is one of the world’s great laterally-slipping active faults (like California’s San Andreas Fault), which currently accommodates about 80% of the motion between the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates in the

Olumese Efeovbokhan (recipient of three LASmoons) Geosciences, School of Geography University of Nottingham, UK Background: One of the vital requirements to successfully drive and justify favorable flood risk management policies is the availability of reliable data for hydrological modelling. Unfortunately, this poses a big challenge in data-sparse regions and has resulted in uncoordinated and ineffective

David Bandrowski (recipient of three LASmoons) Yurok Tribe Native American Indian Tribe in Northern California, USA Background: Wild spring-run Chinook salmon populations on the South Fork Trinity River in Northern California are near the brink of extinction. The South Fork Trinity River is the most remote and the largest un-dammed river in the State of

Sebastian Flachmeier (recipient of three LASmoons) UniGIS Master of Science, University of Salzburg, AUSTRIA Bavarian Forest National Park, administration, Grafenau, GERMANY Background: The Bavarian Forest National Park is located in South-Eastern Germany, along the border with the Czech Republic. It has a total area of 240 km² and its elevation ranges from 600 to 1453 m.

Maria Kampouri (recipient of three LASmoons) Remote Sensing Laboratory, School of Rural & Surveying Engineering National and Technical University of Athens, GREECE Background: The Aralar Natural Park, famous for its stunning landscapes, is located in the southeast of the province of Gipuzkoa, sharing a border with the neighboring province of Navarre. Inside the park there

Maeva Dang (recipient of three LASmoons) Industrial Building and interdisciplinary Planning, Faculty of Civil Engineering Vienna University of Technology, AUSTRIA Background: After centuries of urbanization and industrialization the green landscape of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil must be regenerated. The forests and other green areas, providers of ecosystem services, are fragmented and surrounded by dense urban

Alex S. Olpenda (recipient of three LASmoons) Department of Geomatics and Spatial Planning, Faculty of Forestry Warsaw University of Life Sciences, POLAND Background: The Bialowieza Forest is a trans-boundary property along the borders of Poland and Belarus consisting of diverse Central European lowland forest covering a total area of 141,885 hectares. Enlisted as one of

Martin Buchauer (recipient of three LASmoons) Cartography & Geomedia Technology University of Applied Science Munich, GERMANY Background: Salt marsh areas provide numerous services such as natural flood defenses, carbon sequestration, agricultural services, and are a valuable coastal habitat for flora, fauna and humans. However, they are not only threatened by the constant rise of sea

Sebastian Kasanmascheff (recipient of three LASmoons) Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, GERMANY Background: Forest inventories are the backbone of forest management in Germany. In most federal forestry administrations in Germany, they are performed every ten years in order to assure that logging activities are sustainable. The process involves trained foresters who visit each

Manuel Jurado (recipient of three LASmoons) Departamento de Ingeniería Topográfica y Cartografía Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, SPAIN Background: The availability of LiDAR data is creating a lot of innovative possibilities in different fields of science, education, and other field of interests. One of the areas that has been deeply impacted by LiDAR is cartography and in

Chris J. Chandler (recipient of three LASmoons) School of Geography University of Nottingham, UNITED KINGDOM Background: Wetlands provide a range of important ecosystem services: they store carbon, regulate greenhouse gas emissions, provide flood protection as well as water storage and purification. Preserving these services is critical to achieve sustainable environmental management. Currently, mangrove forests are protected

Huaibo Mu (recipient of three LASmoons) Environmental Mapping, Department of Geography University College London (UCL), UK Background: This study is a part of the EU-funded Metrology for Earth Observation and Climate project (MetEOC-2). It aims to combine terrestrial and airborne LiDAR data to estimate biomass and allometry for woodland trees in the UK. Airborne LiDAR can

Marzena Wicht (recipient of three LASmoons) Department of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and GIS Warsaw University of Technology, Poland. Background: More than half of human population (Heilig 2012) suffers from many negative effects of living in cities: increased air pollution, limited access to the green areas, Urban Heat Island (UHI) and many more. To mitigate some

Gudrun Norstedt (recipient of three LASmoons) Forest History, Department of Forest Ecology and Management Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden Background: Until the end of the 17th century, the vast boreal forests of the interior of northern Sweden were exclusively populated by the indigenous Sami. When settlers of Swedish and Finnish ethnicity started to

Muriel Lavy (recipient of three LASmoons) RED (Risk Evaluation Dashboard) project ISE-Net s.r.l, Aosta, ITALY. Background: The Aosta Valley Region is a mountainous area in the heart of the Alps. This region is regularly affected by hazard natural phenomena connected with the terrain geomorphometry and the climate change: snow avalanche, rockfalls and landslide. In July

Chloe Brown (recipient of three LASmoons) Geosciences, School of Geography University of Nottingham, UK Background: Malaysia’s North Selangor peat swamp forest is experiencing rapid and large scale conversion of peat swampland to oil palm agriculture, contrary to prevailing environmental guidelines. Given the global importance of tropical peat lands, and the uncertainties surrounding historical and future oil

Elia Palop-Navarro (recipient of three LASmoons) Research Unit in Biodiversity (UO-PA-CSIC) University of Oviedo, SPAIN. Background: Old-growth forests play an important role in biodiversity conservation. However, long history of human transformation of the landscape has led to the existence of few such forests nowadays. Its structure, characterized by multiple tree species and ages, old trees

Jesús García Sánchez (recipient of three LASmoons) Landscapes of Early Roman Colonization (LERC) project Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, The Netherlands Background: Our project Landscapes of Early Roman Colonization (LERC) has been studying the hinterland of the Latin colony of Aesernia (Molise region, Italy) using several non-destructive techniques, chiefly artefactual survey, geophysics, and interpretation of

Rachel Opitz (recipient of three LASmoons) Center for Virtualization and Applied Spatial Technologies Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida, USA Background: In Spring 2017 Rachel Opitz will be teaching a course on Remote Sensing for Human Ecology and Archaeology at the University of South Florida. The aim of the course is to provide students with the

Alen Berta (recipient of three LASmoons) Department of Terrestrial Ecosystems and Landscape, Faculty of Forestry University of Zagreb and Oikon Ltd Institute for Applied Ecology, CROATIA Background: After becoming the EU member state, Croatia is obliged to fulfill the obligation risen from the Kyoto protocol: National Inventory Report (NIR) of the Green House Gasses according to UNFCCC. One

Stéphane Henriod (recipient of three LASmoons) National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan This pilot study is part of the International Climate Initiative project called „Ecosystem based Adaptation to Climate change in the high mountainous regions of Central Asia“ that is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMU) of

Jane Meiforth (recipient of three LASmoons) Environmental Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics University of Trier, GERMANY Background: The New Zealand Kauri trees (or Agathis australis) are under threat by the so called Kauri dieback disease. This disease is caused by a fungi like spore, which blocks the transport for nutrition and water in the trunk and finally

Patricia Andrade (recipient of three LASmoons) Earth Sciences Division CICESE, MEXICO Background: The relief in the northwest coast of Baja California is subject to different processes. One process that has a major impact are landslides. The near-shore landslides have been a significant problem because this area coincides with the location of the Tijuana-Ensenada Scenic highway which

Jakob Iglhaut (recipient of three LASmoons) Program for Geospatial Information Management Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Villach, AUSTRIA Background: As part of the EU LIFE programme two river stretches in Carinthia, Austria have recently been subject to restoration measures. The LIFE-project aims at protecting valuable riverine flora and fauna while improving flood protection. By remodelling the river

Asanga Ramanayake (recipient of three LASmoons) BGSU Remote Sensing Lab, School of Earth, Environment and Society Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA Background: Lake Erie is the Southern most of the Great Lakes and it is shared by 4 states and 2 countries. It is the shallowest, warmest, and most biologically productive of all the

Andreas Konring and Susanne Bjerg Petersen (recipients of three LASmoons) Department of Environmental Engineering Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, DENMARK Background: Copenhagen has in the recent years experienced severe floodings due to cloudbursts which has increased the focus of climate adaption and the implementation of green infrastructure. The use of sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) solutions

Geoffrey Ower (recipient of three LASmoons) School of Biological Sciences Illinois State University, Normal, USA Background: The spatial distribution and abundance of mosquitoes is important because biting mosquitoes can acquire and transmit pathogens such as viruses that infect humans or domestic animals. There have been 1,263 confirmed human infections with mosquito-borne West Nile virus in Illinois

Alejandro Hinojosa (recipient of three LASmoons) Earth Sciences Division CICESE, MEXICO Background: The Baja California peninsula in Mexico is a land feature drifting away from the continent due to tectonic plate movement leaving in its path scars of well-defined and studied faults system. An aerial LiDAR survey of the Agua Blanca fault corridor was collected by

Raja Ram Aryal (recipient of three LASmoons) Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart, GERMANY Background: Obtaining LiDAR-derived products like Digital Terrain Models (DTMs), Digital Surface Models (DSMs) and Canopy Height Models (CHMs) is a challenging task in steep forest areas. The Bavarian Forest National Park is an example of a steep terrain in central Europe.The national

Kiti Suomalainen (recipient of three LASmoons) Energy Centre University of Auckland, New Zealand Background: Auckland enjoys 2050 hours of sunshine annually, comparable to Melbourne (2100) and Istanbul (2026), yet it is lagging behind in solar power installations. However, Auckland Council is committed to a sustainable pathway in mobility and energy consumption, aiming at solar photovoltaic (PV)

Anu Kramer (recipient of three LASmoons) Stephens Lab, Fire Science Laboratory Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California at Berkeley, USA Background: Large diameter trees are important to a wide variety of wildlife, including many species that are rare or endangered, such as the California Spotted Owl. LiDAR has been successfully utilized to

Bastian Schumann (recipient of three LASmoons) Department of Remote Sensing and DLR German Aerospace Center University of Würzburg, GERMANY Background: The Bavarian Forest National Park is a protected area in the southeast of Germany, where forest stands are unmanaged and are subject to long-term undisturbed natural processes. Scientists have chosen this site to study ecological and environmental processes on

Moreblessings Shoko (recipient of three LASmoons) School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics University of Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA Background: Over one billion of the world’s population live in slums, lacking access to water, tenure, electricity, sanitation and basic services. Informal settlements are a growing challenge for urban governance especially in developing countries. These settlements not only thwart plans

Andrew Smith (recipient of three LASmoons) Advanced Diploma in GIS Applications Vancouver Island University, Victoria, CANADA Background: Forestry and natural resource development are a large part of British Columbia’s economy and tourism. BC has some of the largest areas of forest-covered land in Canada, and some of the toughest terrain, which makes it a great place

André Große-Stoltenberg (recipient of three LASmoons) Institute of Landscape Ecology University of Münster, Germany Background: The Genus Acacia inhibits some of the most invasive shrubs and trees worldwide. Acacia longifolia is an invasive species in Mediterranean ecosystems. In Europe, it is, for example, invading dune ecosystems in Southwest Portugal. Remote sensing can is a useful tool to

Anu Swatantran (recipient of three LASmoons) Department of Geographical Sciences University of Maryland, College Park, USA Background: Single photon LiDAR (SPL) is a promising new technology for measuring terrain and vegetation characteristics over large spatial scales. SPL is different from conventional LiDAR instruments because it operates in the visible wavelength (532 nm) and requires only one detected

Asger S. Petersen (recipient of three LASmoons) Copenhagen, Denmark Partner & Consultant, Septima Background: The Danish Geodata Agency has acquired country wide LiDAR coverage. Approximately 1/4th of the country has been flown this spring and the GST has published preliminary classified point cloud data. There are a lot of people in the Danish geodata community who are very

Chris Dunn (recipient of three LASmoons) University of New England, Australia School of Environmental & Rural Science Background: Pseudomys oralis, commonly known as the Hastings River Mouse (HRM), is a native Australian rodent with a patchy current distribution throughout north-east New South Wales (NSW) and south-east Queensland (NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change [DECC], 2005).

Scott W. Anderson (recipient of three LASmoons) University of Colorado at Boulder, USA Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) Background: In September of 2013, a combination of atmospheric events conspired to produce immense volumes of rain over the Front Range of Colorado. Between September 9th and 15th, the region received as much as 18″ of

Kwanghun Choi (recipient of three LASmoons) Biogeographical Modelling Department, University of Bayreuth, Germany Complex TERRain and ECOlogical Heterogeneity (TERRECO) Background: Soyang lake is one of the biggest artificial reservoirs in Korea and used for drinking water, irrigation, and electricity production. A sustainable maintenance of water resources is important for a stable supply of these services.