RAPID: Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory - The Critical Zone in the Susquehanna River Basin: The Shale Experiment

Acquiring airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data for the Critical Zone Observatories (CZOs) will significantly advance research, both within and across the CZOs. Uniformly acquired and processed LiDAR data would stimulate cross‐CZO activities and synthesis surrounding the terrain and canopy information obtained. As a cross-site activity for the National CZO program a LiDAR supplement from the UC Merced CZO has been requested. At the Annual National CZO Meeting, it was made clear that standardized data and ground truth protocols would need to accompany the supplement to ensure that the LiDAR data receive sufficient support to galvanize the research that will use the LiDAR products. It was determined that each local CZO team will do the vegetation ground truth for their site, following protocols developed. Each CZO, then, takes the needed field measurements and provides the data to the PI at UC Merced. The need for a RAPID proposal is that the vegetation ground truth has to be completed before the LIDAR survey in summer 2010.

This RAPID request includes the cost of two undergraduate students for three months (full time), necessary field equipment for the vegetation ground truth, and surveyor time for necessary georeference accuracy of vegetation. One graduate student (PhD level) is currently employed and will be provided by the

Susquehanna/Shale Hills CZO at no charge to the request.