used by the VicDSE to model coastal flooding from storm surge events, assess the
areas that are at risk, manage future development along the coasts and determine
effective prevention measures.
In addition to sea-level rise, LiDAR products can also be used to assess the
effects of tsunamis and storm surges (Brock and Purkis 2009b; Gesch 2009).
LiDAR systems provide the accurate, high-resolution data sets that are necessary
to evaluate the vulnerability of coastal areas to inundation (Stockdon et al. 2009).
For example, dune elevations have been extracted from LiDAR data to evaluate
the vulnerability of barrier island beaches to hurricanes (Stockdon et al. 2009).
Recurrent LiDAR surveys support volumetric change analysis (White and Wang
2003) and repeat coastal surveys after major storm events can be used to monitor
the magnitude of coastal change and evolution (Liu et al. 2010). LiDAR is also
applied to subtidal regions to quantify change in habitat type and calculate
transport of sediment or sand. Conger et al. (2009a) utilized QuickBird imagery
and SHOALS LiDAR data to identify and characterize sand deposit distribution on
a fringing reef in Oahu (Fig. 6.12). Sand is an important component of coral reef
ecosystems and is a highly dynamic substrate type (Conger et al. 2009a) especially
considering accretion rates of reef building corals (e.g., 0–2 mm/year in Hawaii;
Grigg 1982, 1998). This study found that sand deposits in the fringing reef
environment were strongly controlled by morphology and to a lesser degree by
wave action and hydrodynamic energy (Conger et al. 2009b). Finkl et al. (2005)
Fig. 6.12 LiDAR map of sand distribution on the South shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Sand bodies are
denoted by red polygons
164
S. J. Pittman et al.
areas that are at risk, manage future development along the coasts and determine
effective prevention measures.
In addition to sea-level rise, LiDAR products can also be used to assess the
effects of tsunamis and storm surges (Brock and Purkis 2009b; Gesch 2009).
LiDAR systems provide the accurate, high-resolution data sets that are necessary
to evaluate the vulnerability of coastal areas to inundation (Stockdon et al. 2009).
For example, dune elevations have been extracted from LiDAR data to evaluate
the vulnerability of barrier island beaches to hurricanes (Stockdon et al. 2009).
Recurrent LiDAR surveys support volumetric change analysis (White and Wang
2003) and repeat coastal surveys after major storm events can be used to monitor
the magnitude of coastal change and evolution (Liu et al. 2010). LiDAR is also
applied to subtidal regions to quantify change in habitat type and calculate
transport of sediment or sand. Conger et al. (2009a) utilized QuickBird imagery
and SHOALS LiDAR data to identify and characterize sand deposit distribution on
a fringing reef in Oahu (Fig. 6.12). Sand is an important component of coral reef
ecosystems and is a highly dynamic substrate type (Conger et al. 2009a) especially
considering accretion rates of reef building corals (e.g., 0–2 mm/year in Hawaii;
Grigg 1982, 1998). This study found that sand deposits in the fringing reef
environment were strongly controlled by morphology and to a lesser degree by
wave action and hydrodynamic energy (Conger et al. 2009b). Finkl et al. (2005)
Fig. 6.12 LiDAR map of sand distribution on the South shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Sand bodies are
denoted by red polygons
164
S. J. Pittman et al.