USGS, Dewberry release precision lidar map of Potomac River

Topobathymetric digital elevation model of the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. (Image: USGS)

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Dewberry, a privately held professional services firm, have jointly released a new topobathymetric lidar dataset for the Potomac River, extending from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

The survey was conducted using Teledyne Optech CZMIL SuperNova lidar system, which allowed Dewberry to successfully survey a 55-mile (88.5km) stretch of the Potomac River, spanning from Hancock, Maryland to Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The survey resulted in the acquisition of 33km² of submerged topobathymetric lidar data.

Project deliverables included a 3D point cloud and topobathymetric digital elevation models (DEMs) for the surveyed river section. This project, the second for the Potomac River, builds on the first, which covered the area from Shepherdstown, West Virginia, to the Little Falls dam near Washington, DC. The generated maps are designed to serve as a valuable tool for predicting oil spill presence and movement in the Potomac River, supporting ICPRB’s mission to safeguard the waters and resources of the Potomac River basin through science, regional cooperation and education.

Conducted for the USGS’s 3D Elevation Program (3DEP), the lidar survey involved collaboration with the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (EROS), National Geospatial Program (NGP) and Eastern Ecological Science Center (EESC) programs, along with the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River (ICPRB).