Snyder LiDAR-Based Remote-Sensing Tool

Noah Snyder of Boston College developed a simple, fast, automated method for using high-resolution remote-sensing data, including LiDAR, digital orthophoto quadrangles (DOQ), and aerial photography, to characterize basic yet important geomorphic parameters of rivers. The key parameters determined are drainage area, channel width, channel slope, shear stress, and expected mean sediment size (D50).  Key parameters that must be estimated include Manning’s roughness coefficient (n) and other regionally-based constants.

References: 

Kasprak, A., F. J. Magilligan, K. H. Nislow, and N. P. Snyder. 2012. A Lidar-Derived Evaluation Of Watershed-Scale Large Woody Debris Sources And Recruitment Mechanisms: Coastal Maine, USA. River Research and Applications, 28(9), 1462-1476

Snyder, N. P., 2009. Studying Stream Morphology With Airborne Laser Elevation Data. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 90(6), 45