LIDAR data and hydrological applications at the basin scale

Abstract

Digital elevation models (DEMs) resulting from LIDAR (light detection and ranging) surveys are now more available in the hydrology and hydraulics (H&H) community, not only for hydraulic applications in small areas close to river networks but also for hydrologic applications in whole basins. Several questions arise when trying to combine LIDAR data and hydrologic models. Despite the long processing time, LIDAR-derived DEMs can provide more accurate information that is useful for basin hydrogeomorphic characterization, in comparison with DEMs at resolutions commonly used in hydrologic applications (cell size 20-30 m). Of particular focus here are river network properties and the instantaneous unit hydrograph (IUH) framework. Two case studies, one in Italy and the other in the USA, are presented in which three DEMs are analyzed with differing resolutions as follows: "standard," i.e., a resolution commonly used in hydrologic applications (cell size 20-30 m), LIDAR (cell size 1-2.5 m), and LIDAR-resampled at the same resolution as the "standard" DEM. Results suggest that the higher spatial resolution LIDAR-derived data are preferable and can introduce more detailed information about basin hydrogeomorphic behavior.