High Accuracy Elevation Data Collection

Project Investigator: Greg Desmond Project Personnel: Ed Cyran, Gary Freeman, Rusty Georges, Bob Glover, Chuck Henkle, Doug Nedrich, Susan Price, Gordon Shupe Project Start Date: 1995 End Date: -- Recent Funding: (FY05) ENP CESI, USACE CERP/MAP, USGS GE PES, SFWMD Proposals Work Plans Project Summaries Data Metadata Publications

Summary

The objective of this project is to model sheet flow over the extremely low relief terrain of South Florida.

For more information, please see the Tides and Inflows in the Mangrove Ecotone (TIME) Model Development Project Webpage.

Modeling of sheet flow and water surface levels in the Florida Everglades is very sensitive to changes in elevation due to its expansive and extremely low relief terrain. This project is applying state-of-the-art Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to perform topographic surveys that meets a vertical accuracy specification of ±15 centimeters (6 inches). The objective is to complete a wide-area regional topographic survey that will provide elevation data to parameterize hydrologic and ecological models.

This project supports the restoration and resource management efforts of several agencies by providing critical base elevation data for the parameterization of numerical hydrologic and ecological models. Water resources and land management decisions will rely heavily on the results of these simulation models. Therefore, it is imperative to derive and use the most accurate elevation data available for the models to produce meaningful results. The USGS developed Airborne Height Finder system is the superior technology for conducting a wide-area topographic survey of the Florida Everglades where the terrain surface being measured is inundated by surface water and obscured by vegetation.

Proposals

• 1998
• 1999

Work Plans

• 2003
• 2004
• 2005

Project Summaries

• 2001
• 2002
• 2003
• 2004
• 2005
• 2006

Data

• Elevation Data (from the data exchange pages)

Metadata

• High Accuracy Elevation Data Collection Project (project metadata)
• High Accuracy Elevation Data - Lake Okeechobee Littoral Zone (data set metadata)
• High Accuracy Elevation Data - truck (data set metadata)
• High Accuracy Elevation Data - Water Conservation Areas and Greater Everglades Region (data set metadata)

Publications

Abstracts

• A Prototype Electronic Atlas Utilizing Static Maps (from the GEER Conference, June 2006)
• High Accuracy Elevation Data
• Measuring and Mapping the Topography of the Florida Everglades for Ecosystem Restoration (from the GEER Conference, April 2003)
• The South Florida High-Accuracy Elevation Data Collection Project (from the South Florida Restoration Science Forum, May 1999)
• Topography of the Florida Everglades (from the GEER Conference, December, 2000)

Fact Sheets

• Measuring and Mapping the Topography of the Florida Everglades for Ecosystem Restoration (fact sheet 021-03)
• South Florida High-Accuracy Elevation Data Collection Project (fact sheet 162-96)