News
Jun 1, 2026
In May 2026 OpenTopography added new data in the US, Alaska, and Italy. A lidar survey over the San Juan Mountains in Colorado was added, as well as many 3DEP lidar datasets in Vermont, California, Oregon, and Alaska. A Community Dataspace dataset over the Stromboli Volcano in Italy was also shared with the community.
A. Locations of new USGS 3DEP datasets in Vermont, California, and Oregon (green polygons), and a OT-hosted dataset in southwest Colorado (red marker). B. Many new USGS 3DEP lidar datasets across Alaska (green polygons). C. New Community Dataspace dataset over the... more
May 1, 2026
OpenTopography added new high resolution datasets in April 2026, including lidar surveys supporting vegetation and ecology research in fire-prone Southern California regions and slot canyon studies in Arizona. New USGS 3DEP datasets in Nevada, Ohio, and Oregon, along with Community Dataspace datasets from China, Virginia, and Iceland are also now available.
A. Locations of new USGS 3DEP datasets (green polygons), OT-hosted datasets in California and Arizona (red markers), and a Community Dataspace dataset in Virginia (purple marker). B. New Community Dataspace dataset in Iceland (purple... more
Mar 30, 2026
OpenTopography added new high-resolution datasets in March 2026, including lidar surveys from the Los Angeles region capturing post-fire landscape change from 2020–2022. New USGS 3DEP datasets in California and Nevada and NOAA Coastal lidar data from the Ozarks region and Oregon further expand coverage across diverse environments.
Locations of new USGS 3DEP datasets (green polygons), new NOAA datasets (blue polygons), and 4 new OT-hosted datasets near Los Angeles, CA (red markers)
OpenTopography Hosted Datasets
Four new fire-related datasets in the Los Angeles, California region have been... more
Mar 6, 2026
OpenTopography provides easy, centralized access to a diverse collection of topographic data. We strive to simplify data discovery by providing a single, accessible platform that integrates data from a variety of sources including the USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP), NOAA Coastal Lidar, Natural Resources Canada, Polar Geospatial Center, and many more. Below are highlights of datasets that became available or were updated on the OpenTopography platform in January and February 2026.
A. Locations of new USGS 3DEP datasets (green polygons), and new NOAA datasets (blue polygon). B. A new... more
Jan 22, 2026
OpenTopography invites you to join a series of weekly, hour-long webinars in March and April 2026.
The first webinar introduces OpenTopography and our new resources and should be of interest to all. The three subsequent webinars are aimed at those with some familiarity with lidar who are seeking to make better use of these data in their research and teaching.
If you are looking for webinars that more broadly introduce high-resolution topography, please review our past webinar series from 2023 and 2025.
Webinars are free to attend, but advance registration is required.
All webinars will be on... more
Jan 20, 2026
OpenTopography is guided by three advisory committees that represent OpenTopography’s users and ensure that the facility’s activities are aligned with the needs and initiatives of the scientific and educational communities. These volunteer roles are defined in our governance.
We are recruiting new members to serve on the advisory committees:
Research Communities Advisory Committee (2 new members): Provides guidance on feature development, the choice of new datasets, and technical training.
Inclusive Education, Training, and Workforce Development Advisory Committee (1 new member): Advises... more
Jan 5, 2026
OpenTopography provides easy, centralized access to a diverse collection of topographic data. We strive to simplify data discovery by providing a single, accessible platform that integrates data from a variety of sources including the USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP), NOAA Coastal Lidar, Natural Resources Canada, Polar Geospatial Center, and many more. Below are highlights of datasets that became available or were updated on the OpenTopography platform in December 2025.
A. Locations of new USGS 3DEP datasets (green polygons), new NOAA data in northern California (blue marker), new... more
Dec 8, 2025
Connect with OpenTopography at the 2025 American Geophysical Union meeting in New Orleans, LA! OpenTopography will be in booth #908 in the exhibit hall. Our booth is staffed by the OpenTopography team and is a great chance to ask questions, provide feedback, or to discuss lidar, high resolution topography, and cyberinfrastructure.
Exhibit hall hours are: Monday, 15 December, 3:00 P.M.–6:00 P.M., Tuesday–Wednesday, 16–17 December, 10:00 A.M.–6:00 P.M. Thursday, 12 December, 10 A.M.–1:00 P.M.
We'll also be giving away the always popular I heart lidar stickers. Please stop by and say hi!... more
Dec 3, 2025
OpenTopography provides easy, centralized access to a diverse collection of topographic data. We strive to simplify data discovery by providing a single, accessible platform that integrates data from a variety of sources including the USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP), NOAA Coastal Lidar, Natural Resources Canada, Polar Geospatial Center, and many more. Below are highlights of datasets that became available or were updated on the OpenTopography platform in November 2025.
Location of new USGS 3DEP datasets in California (green polygons), new NOAA data in northern Ohio (blue polygon), and a... more
Nov 3, 2025
OpenTopography provides easy, centralized access to a diverse collection of topographic data. We strive to simplify data discovery by providing a single, accessible platform that integrates data from a variety of sources including the USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP), NOAA Coastal Lidar, Natural Resources Canada, Polar Geospatial Center, and many more. Below are highlights of datasets that became available or were updated on the OpenTopography platform in October 2025.
A. Location of new USGS 3DEP in red, and new Community Data Space in purple. B. Location of existing 1 meter DEMs over... more
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