Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) is a remote sensing method that measures distance to targets by emitting rapid laser pulses and recording the time-of-flight of the backscattered signal to reconstruct three-dimensional spatial information. Operating typically in the near-infrared or ultraviolet-visible spectrum, lidar systems integrate a laser transmitter, scanning optics, timing electronics, and sensitive detectors (e.g., APDs, SPADs) to achieve centimeter- to meter-scale ranging precision. Methodological variants include airborne and terrestrial lidar for topographic mapping, bathymetric lidar using water-penetrating wavelengths, and Doppler lidar for wind profiling, with data processed into point clouds, digital elevation models, and other quantitative geospatial products.
A team of researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has developed a new instrument designed to eliminate blind spots between lines of lidar data on Earth's surface. Built with support from NASA's Earth Science ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 21, 2026
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Anak Krakatau, which means Child of Krakatoa, has been active sporadically since it emerged from the sea at the beginning of the last century in the caldera formed after the 1883 eruption of Mount Krakatoa.
Earth Sciences
Oct 1, 2026
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A University of Cambridge–led team has used aerial surveys across a huge swath of the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland to create detailed 3D maps that show the beginnings of large-scale recovery of native woodland.
Plants & Animals
Sep 24, 2026
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A drone lifts off over a paddock at Boorowa Agricultural Research Station, the breeze from its rotors setting the tall, uncut grass below rippling. At the controls, Stuart Brown, a senior research technician at CSIRO, keeps ...
Biotechnology
Sep 22, 2026
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Laser scanning, often referred to as lidar, has rapidly transformed how tropical forest regions are studied, monitored and understood across academic disciplines. The technology enables researchers to peer through dense forest ...
Environment
Sep 16, 2026
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51
Launched on Oct. 20, 2018, the joint ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has traveled for almost eight years, using a carefully planned but eventful sequence of planetary flybys and solar-electric propulsion to gradually approach ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 15, 2026
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It took one drone, 300 million laser data points and seven teams of students on foot to map Wake Forest University's trees. Led by Ovidiu Csillik, an assistant professor of remote sensing in the environment and sustainability ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 1, 2026
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Researchers have created an interactive map identifying 1.8 million individual trees in New York City, using a new approach that could optimize the placement of trees for cooling in cities around the world.
Environment
Aug 20, 2026
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For the first time, a group of biologists and engineers from the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil applied LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology to investigate the health of trees and optimize pruning with ...
Ecology
Aug 5, 2026
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The moon is 384,000 kilometers (239,000 miles) away from Earth, but one of the best places to study its surface is much closer to home. Western planetary scientist Catherine Neish and PhD candidate Sashank Vanga traveled ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 23, 2026
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