These video tutorials available here on YouTube demonstrate how to access, process and visualize topographic data.
Getting started
Learn about Topographic Data
- Lidar metadata
- Lidar point density
- Point cloud & raster resolution
- When should I use raster vs point cloud data?
- The difference between DEMs, DSMs, and DTMs in an urban and natural area
- Make topographic profiles in an urban and natural area
- Don't use last lidar returns to make a digital terrain model
Find and Download Data
- Global topographic data
- Point clouds
- Digital Surface Models (DSMs)
- Digital Terrain Models (DTMs)
- Canopy Height Model
- USGS 3DEP data (limited to US academics, international educators, and OT+ subscribers)
- Global bathymetry
- API keys
Visualize Data
- Topographic hillshades & shaded relief maps
- Generate contour lines
- Interpret contour lines with several examples
- Potree Point cloud viewer with our treasure hunt activity.
- Point clouds at different resolutions in Minnesota and California
Perform Topographic Differencing
- Is vertical or 3D topographic differencing best for my project?
- Vertical differencing
- 3D differencing
- Horizontal georeferencing errors and artifacts
Advanced Processing
- Extract and download ground classified points
- TIN Errors: Why are there triangles in my gridded data?
- Reproject DEMs
Software Tutorials
3D Printing
QGIS Tutorials
- Create tpographic Hhllshades in QGIS:
- Generate hillshades from global topographic data (Z-Factor)
- Mapping tectonic faults from a hillshade:
LasTools Tutorials
Matlab Tutorials
CloudCompare Tutorials
Geologic Mapping with Lidar Topography in ArcGIS Pro
- Playlist: Geologic mapping with lidar topography in ArcGIS Pro: This suite of 24 tutorial videos demonstrates how to use ArcGIS Pro software to construct geologic maps with step-by-step instructions using lidar data here.