Congratulations to EarthScope! In addition to operating the NSF's National Geophysical Facility (NGF), the EarthScope Consortium is one of three institutions who run OpenTopography (along with the San Diego Supercomputer Center at University of California, San Diego and Arizona State University).

Join OpenTopography's Chelsea Scott and Cassandra Brigham for an AGU EPSP Connects Virtual Science Talk on cloud computing, spatial uncertainty, and impactful applications of topographic change on September 17, 2025 at 11 am ET (8 am PT). Register to attend: tinyurl.com/sep17epsptalk

The stunning sandstone peaks of the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in China inspired the floating mountains in the movie Avatar, but how did the real-life versions form?

OpenTopography datasets have been chosen for the NSF's National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot Program, aiming to provide access to high-quality datasets that support the advancement of AI literacy, education, and innovation. Read more ⬇️ opentopography.org/news/nsf-nairr

August's new data releases on OpenTopography include additional USGS 3DEP 1m raster updates (available to academics and OT+ subscribers), and UAV data from landslide reconnaissance monitoring in Utah. Access the data: opentopography.org/news/august-...

🎉 It’s official! Today, we announce the launch of CLaSH: Center for Land Surface Hazards an NSF supported initiative to advance the science of cascading geohazards to enable a resilient society. Follow along as we share updates, opportunities, research, and collaborations! 🌎✨ #CLaSH #NSF

New post: Comparing LiDAR data from before and after the January 2025 fires in Los Angeles reveals the scale of devastation in ways satellite imagery can’t match. www.beautifulpublicdata.com/how-lidar-me...

Topographic differencing of lidar turns wildfire impacts into measurable change. OpenTopography’s Cassandra Brigham is quoted on rapid differencing after the 2025 LA fires. ⬇️ www.beautifulpublicdata.com/how-lidar-me...

The Martian Mega-Volcano The tallest volcano on Earth, Hawaii's Mauna Kea, pales in comparison to Olympus Mons on Mars, the largest volcano in the solar system. See what we can learn by studying the topography of planetary bodies.

A number of new topographic datasets are now available on OpenTopography. July dataset additions include the High Resolution Digital Elevation Model of Canada, NOAA coastal lidar of the Indiana coastline, and new LINZ lidar over New Zealand. opentopography.org/news/july-20...

Box Elder Canyon and Bignell Table, in the loess canyons of western Nebraska, with shadows moving across the landscape as they would on August 9. Uses sun position calculated by {suntools} R package. Visualized with #rayshader. DEM via @opentopography.org

How do you end up with desert dunes next to a wetland? The Potholes Reservoir explained.

The Mystery of the Missoula Megafloods What can we learn from the topography of the Pacific Northwest?

6th largest #earthquake recorded by modern instruments. USGS epicentral location plotted on GEBCO Global Bathymetry & Topography dataset freely available from OpenTopography: doi.org/10.5069/G9D2.... Red line is the coastline of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Follow @earthscope.org for more on this event.

How did Devils Tower form?

Part of the Point Beach beach ridge complex, at two different scales. Not happy with the color scheme but something like this has potential, if I had the time to work on it. Data from USGS via @opentopography.org

OpenTopography is excited to announce a major expansion to its international data catalog with the addition of the High Resolution Digital Elevation Model from Natural Resources Canada. This 1-meter resolution dataset is ideal for a wide range of applications. opentopography.org/news/opentop...

New topographic datasets are now available on OpenTopography! June additions include lidar over Mount Ruapehu (New Zealand), Point Beach State Forest (WI), and new NOAA coastal data from Florida and the Southeast U.S. ➡️ opentopography.org/news/june-20...

Little red houses on the northeast fringe of Cross Plains, Wisconsin. Lidar from USGS via @opentopography.org, visualized using {lidRviewer}. Point cloud is preclassified so I didn't do some magic to select the buildings.

Left: visualization of a lidar point cloud, showing scattered big trees surrounded by smaller ones, on a drumlin in southern Wisconsin. Right: On the ground on that drumlin, with a big red oak surrounded by much smaller trees (basswood, black cherry, etc.). Lidar data from @opentopography.org,

OpenTopography is excited to introduce enhanced classification filtering options for lidar point cloud processing. Users can now selectively include or exclude specific point classes directly through the job submission interface, helping to streamline workflows. opentopography.org/news/new-cla...

Nice example of a canopy surface model and a DTM (ground surface) from the same lidar point cloud. Along the Juniata River near Newport, PA. Drove through here in the rain on Wednesday morning. Downloaded the point cloud and DTM from @opentopography.org while waiting for a phone call Thursday.

What do you think of this one @kaylaiacovino.com? Mt Erebus is the southernmost active volcano in the world. I was able to get this data from REMA (www.pgc.umn.edu/data/rema/) via @opentopography.org interface.

Nice example of the importance of illumination angle when making hillshade / shaded relief maps. The OT raster visualization tool allows users to make custom hillshades with control over the orientation of the light source (direction & altitude). Mulitdirectional shading is also worth exploring.

To commemorate the 45th anniversary of the May 18, 1980 Mt St Helens eruption this weekend, I have a special release of 30 3D-printed scale model tissue box covers of Lawetlat’la now for sale in my Etsy store. Get one while they last! phaneritic.etsy.com

I’d also like to thank the the folks at @opentopography.org for creating the easily accessible public data portal and for creating great tutorials on how to use the website and data! They helped my idea erupt to life!

OpenTopography's April 2025 data releases include Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) coverage of Auckland, New Zealand, UAV lidar surveys in California, and SfM high resolution topography of Stromboli Volcano, Italy. Discover the data here: opentopography.org/news/april-2...

Lidar is reshaping how utilities plan, build, and protect infrastructure. From optimizing wind and solar farms to assessing wildfire risks, high resolution topography is critical for developing more resilient infrastructure. Read more about lidar and utilities: opentopography.org/blog/utility...

Due to funding constraints, the Polar Geospatial Center will be suspending production of the REMA & ArcticDEM polar elevation models. These are vital datasets and we've been fortunate to collaborate with PGC to make them accessible on OT. More info on how to show your support & user impact survey ⬇️

A day of sunlight and shadow in a place you can probably identify. Made to demonstrate some things, but mostly for fun. Uses #rayshader with sun position calculated at 15 min intervals with suntools R package. lidar point cloud from @opentopography.org

Loess canyons south of the Platte River near North Platte, Nebraska. Rendered in 3D using #rayshader, with a canopy surface model to show the eastern red cedar growing on the slopes. Point cloud from @opentopography.org, CSM created with #lidR. Bignell Table, in the background is underlain by ...

The Medium Resolution Digital Elevation Model (MRDEM) of Canada is now available on OpenTopography. This 30 m resolution dataset provides full national coverage, including both DTM and DSM products, and extends into the U.S. to support cross-border hydrologic studies.

Check out the latest updates to RiverREM, a Python package that automatically generates river REM visualizations. Recent improvements include new colormap options (including custom and cmocean palettes), more efficient CPU and RAM usage, and expanded documentation. buff.ly/bwtP8Vs

How can topographic data help students explore everything from river systems to wildfire damage? This month’s @earthscope.org educator newsletter spotlights OpenTopography—complete with classroom-ready resources and striking examples. ➡️ buff.ly/IKJdtTH

Looking to sharpen your technical skills this summer? Our 2025 Short Course Series offers training in geophysical data processing and analysis. Registration is now open for the July short courses! Learn more & register: https://loom.ly/dd58qog

Not the final version I'm looking for, but a nice green pastoral 3D scene in the western Driftless Area of Wisconsin. Can you spot the manure pit? (canopy surface model from lidar point cloud data through @opentopography.org, 3D visualization with #rayshader)

Thank you to everyone who joined for OpenTopography's Spring 2025 Webinar Series this month! If you missed any of the webinars live, you can find the recordings on our YouTube channel. ⬇️ www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

A Map🗺️ Showing Kilimanjaro National Park Terrain🏔️ found In Tanzania ,Which hosts The Highest peak in Africa dataset is from @opentopography.org (COP30) #Kilimanjaro #Tanzania #Africa #EastAfrica #map #gischat #geospatial #dataviz #QGIS #b3d #Blender

OpenTopography’s February 2025 data releases include over a dozen new lidar datasets—from Grand Teton National Park to the Hawaiian Islands—plus post-fire topography from the Palisades and Eaton Fires in California. Explore the details and get the data here: opentopography.org/news/februar...

Lidar point cloud from a southern Driftless Area landscape: Trees in patches along the Pecatonica River, fields on ridgetops, trees on the slopes. I helped Jim Knox, my PhD advisor, take cores here in the 1990s. Data from @opentopography.org, viewed with LidRviewer.

Planning on attending the 2025 NSF GAGE/SAGE Community Science Workshop? OpenTopography will be offering a short course, providing an introduction to OpenTopography, with a focus on tools for computing topographic change from multi-temporal data.  Learn More & Register: www.earthscope.org/workshop

(I have a whole post about Disneyland and airborne lidar!) itssedimentary.com/2023/06/09/l...

New short (3 minute) video answers the question "What is OpenTopography?":

Can adjust it to identify a lot of shrubs, but not nearly all of them. Gets the general pattern of shrub density right, I think. It was worth a try (and someone's probably done a better job of this). Ferris Dunes, Wyoming. Airborne lidar, from @opentopography.org.

2024 OpenTopography Bibliography: Every year we review the literature for publications that used OT data or resources. Since 2009, OT has enabled 1,204 peer-reviewed publications, 139 theses, 34 book sections, and 57 reports. Read more in our full blog post: opentopography.org/blog/ot-bibl...

Using #lidar to understand the impacts of the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles, CA. This short video highlights our recent work comparing pre- & post- fire lidar data to illustrate the damage caused by these devastating fires. Learn more in this post: opentopography.org/blog/using-l...

Probably the two most interesting parts of this dataset:

This is the 2nd time @opentopography.org has collaborated with the Yurok Tribe to make #lidar data available. The first was in 2020 with the publication of the “Klamath River Renewal” dataset: opentopography.org/news/klamath...

Sacramento River, CA Topo-Bathymetric #lidar dataset recently added to OpenTopography. 174 river miles of high resolution aerial imagery, topography, bathymetry, and water surface elevations were collected to support hydrodynamic modeling and habitat prediction: opentopography.org/news/sacrame...

Join us for the FREE OpenTopography Spring Webinar Series. Four weekly hour-long webinars starting March 5th. We'll provide an overview of OpenTopography, high resolution topography (#lidar), and OpenTopography's processing tools. Registration & more information: opentopography.org/news/2025-we...