Requirements for a global lidar system: spaceborne lidar with wall-to-wall coverage

Lidar is the optimum technology for measuring bare-Earth elevation beneath, and the structure of, vegetation. Consequently, airborne laser scanning (ALS) is widely employed for use in a range of applications. However, ALS is not available globally nor frequently updated due to its high cost per unit...

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Main Authors: Steven Hancock, Ciara McGrath, Christopher Lowe, Ian Davenport, Iain Woodhouse
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Royal Society 2021-12-01
Series:Royal Society Open Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211166
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author Steven Hancock
Ciara McGrath
Christopher Lowe
Ian Davenport
Iain Woodhouse
author_facet Steven Hancock
Ciara McGrath
Christopher Lowe
Ian Davenport
Iain Woodhouse
author_sort Steven Hancock
collection DOAJ
description Lidar is the optimum technology for measuring bare-Earth elevation beneath, and the structure of, vegetation. Consequently, airborne laser scanning (ALS) is widely employed for use in a range of applications. However, ALS is not available globally nor frequently updated due to its high cost per unit area. Spaceborne lidar can map globally but energy requirements limit existing spaceborne lidars to sparse sampling missions, unsuitable for many common ALS applications. This paper derives the equations to calculate the coverage a lidar satellite could achieve for a given set of characteristics (released open-source), then uses a cloud map to determine the number of satellites needed to achieve continuous, global coverage within a certain time-frame. Using the characteristics of existing in-orbit technology, a single lidar satellite could have a continuous swath width of 300 m when producing a 30 m resolution map. Consequently, 12 satellites would be needed to produce a continuous map every 5 years, increasing to 418 satellites for 5 m resolution. Building 12 of the currently in-orbit lidar systems is likely to be prohibitively expensive and so the potential of technological developments to lower the cost of a global lidar system (GLS) are discussed. Once these technologies achieve a sufficient readiness level, a GLS could be cost-effectively realized.
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spelling doaj.art-b8764c289886443b8571da95cd6cf2212022-12-21T20:30:18ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032021-12-0181210.1098/rsos.211166Requirements for a global lidar system: spaceborne lidar with wall-to-wall coverageSteven Hancock0Ciara McGrath1Christopher Lowe2Ian Davenport3Iain Woodhouse4School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Crew Building, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UKApplied Space Technology Laboratory (ApSTL), Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde, 204 George St, Glasgow G1 1XW, UKApplied Space Technology Laboratory (ApSTL), Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde, 204 George St, Glasgow G1 1XW, UKSchool of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Crew Building, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UKSchool of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Crew Building, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UKLidar is the optimum technology for measuring bare-Earth elevation beneath, and the structure of, vegetation. Consequently, airborne laser scanning (ALS) is widely employed for use in a range of applications. However, ALS is not available globally nor frequently updated due to its high cost per unit area. Spaceborne lidar can map globally but energy requirements limit existing spaceborne lidars to sparse sampling missions, unsuitable for many common ALS applications. This paper derives the equations to calculate the coverage a lidar satellite could achieve for a given set of characteristics (released open-source), then uses a cloud map to determine the number of satellites needed to achieve continuous, global coverage within a certain time-frame. Using the characteristics of existing in-orbit technology, a single lidar satellite could have a continuous swath width of 300 m when producing a 30 m resolution map. Consequently, 12 satellites would be needed to produce a continuous map every 5 years, increasing to 418 satellites for 5 m resolution. Building 12 of the currently in-orbit lidar systems is likely to be prohibitively expensive and so the potential of technological developments to lower the cost of a global lidar system (GLS) are discussed. Once these technologies achieve a sufficient readiness level, a GLS could be cost-effectively realized.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211166lidarsatelliteglobalcontinuous coveragevegetation mapping
spellingShingle Steven Hancock
Ciara McGrath
Christopher Lowe
Ian Davenport
Iain Woodhouse
Requirements for a global lidar system: spaceborne lidar with wall-to-wall coverage
Royal Society Open Science
lidar
satellite
global
continuous coverage
vegetation mapping
title Requirements for a global lidar system: spaceborne lidar with wall-to-wall coverage
title_full Requirements for a global lidar system: spaceborne lidar with wall-to-wall coverage
title_fullStr Requirements for a global lidar system: spaceborne lidar with wall-to-wall coverage
title_full_unstemmed Requirements for a global lidar system: spaceborne lidar with wall-to-wall coverage
title_short Requirements for a global lidar system: spaceborne lidar with wall-to-wall coverage
title_sort requirements for a global lidar system spaceborne lidar with wall to wall coverage
topic lidar
satellite
global
continuous coverage
vegetation mapping
url https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211166
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