The 3D Elevation Program: summary for New Mexico

Introduction

Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of New Mexico, elevation data are critical for infrastructure and construction management, natural resources conservation, flood risk management, agriculture and precision farming, geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation, forest resources management, and other business uses. Today, high-density light detection and ranging (lidar) data are the primary sources for deriving elevation models and other datasets. Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies work in partnership to (1) replace data that are older and of lower quality and (2) provide coverage where publicly accessible data do not exist. A joint goal of State and Federal partners is to acquire consistent, statewide coverage to support existing and emerging applications enabled by lidar data.

The National Enhanced Elevation Assessment (NEEA; Dewberry, 2011) evaluated multiple elevation data acquisition options to determine the optimal data quality and data replacement cycle relative to cost to meet the identified requirements of the user community. The evaluation demonstrated that lidar acquisition at quality level 2 (table 1) for the conterminous United States and quality level 5 ifsar data (table 1) for Alaska with a 6- to 10-year acquisition cycle provided the highest benefit/cost ratios. The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) initiative (Snyder, 2012a,b) selected an 8-year acquisition cycle for the respective quality levels. 3DEP, managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Office of Management and Budget Circular A–16 lead agency for terrestrial elevation data, responds to the growing need for high-quality topographic data and a

3DEP in New Mexico by the Numbers

wide range of other 3D representations of the Nation’s natural and constructed features.

3D Elevation Program Benefits for New Mexico

The top 10 New Mexico business uses for 3D elevation data, which are based on the estimated annual conservative benefits of the 3DEP initiative, are shown in table 2. The NEEA survey respondents in the State of New Mexico estimated that the national 3DEP initiative would result in at least $9.3 million in new benefits annually to the State. The cost for such a program in New Mexico is approximately $40.7 million, resulting in a payback period of 4.4 years and a benefit/cost ratio of 1.8 to 1 over an 8-year period. Because monetary estimates were not provided for all reported benefits, the total benefits of the 3DEP to New Mexico are likely much higher. On the basis of the NEEA survey results, all levels of government and many organizations in New Mexico could benefit from access to statewide high-resolution elevation data.

For New Mexico, approximately 82 percent of the identified business use requirements will be met in infrastructure and construction management, natural resources conservation, and flood risk management uses, as shown in table 2. The status of publicly available lidar data in New Mexico is shown in figure 1. By enhancing coordination between 3DEP and

Figure 1. Map of New Mexico showing the extent of existing and planned publicly available lidar data. Information source: United States Interagency Elevation Inventory, August 2013, updated annually. Quality level 2 or better data meet 3DEP requirements. See table 1 for quality level information.

3DEP is a national program managed by the USGS to acquire high-resolution elevation data. The initiative is backed by a comprehensive assessment of requirements (Dewberry, 2011) and is in the early stages of implementation. 3DEP will improve data accuracy and provide more current data than is available in the National Elevation Dataset (NED). The goal of this high-priority cooperative program is to be operational by January 2015, and to have complete coverage of the United States by the end of 2022, depending on funding and partnerships. 3DEP can conservatively provide new benefits of $1.2 billion/year and has the potential to generate $13 billion/year in new benefits through improved government services, reductions in crop and homeowner losses resulting from floods, more efficient routing of vehicles, and a host of other government, corporate, and citizen activities (Dewberry, 2011). A shared, common elevation dataset would foster cooperation and improve decisionmaking among all levels of government and other stakeholders.

Benefits of a Funded National Program

• Economy of scale—Acquisition of data covering larger areas reduces costs by 25 percent.
• A systematic plan—Acquisition of data at a higher quality level reduces the cost of “buying up” to the highest levels needed by State and local governments.
• Higher quality data and national coverage—Ensure consistency for applications that span State and watershed boundaries and meet more needs, which results in increased benefits to citizens.
• Increase in Federal agency contributions—Reduces State and local partner contributions.
• Acquisition assistance—Provided through readily available contracts and published acquisition specifications.

various government and private organizations in New Mexico, it may be possible to realize more than the cited conservative benefits and attain the higher potential benefits for many business uses.

The following examples highlight how 3DEP data can support business uses in New Mexico: (1) When lidar data are readily available, the need for traditional topographic land surveys (including infrastructure and construction site planning and estimating) is minimized. Reducing the time required for project planning provides a cost savings to the public. Lidar data can be used for preliminary highway alignment and design (fig. 2), evaluating existing roadway conditions, integration of geologic and environmental data, and input to hydraulic modeling for the design of structures (bridges and culverts) to accommodate runoff and flooding from large rain events. A statewide elevation dataset would facilitate communication and interoperability among

transportation organizations and foster cooperation at all levels of government. (2) The availability of more accurate statewide elevation data would reduce onsite data-collection costs and the time required to complete some phases of a flood risk project. The quality of analyses and study results would be improved as a result of the more accurate elevation data. Overall, the project completion time and cost would be reduced and the savings could be applied to other priority flood risk projects.

References Cited 3D Elevation Program—Continued

The USGS and its partners will acquire quality level 2 or better (table 1) 3D lidar data over the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (ifsar) data are being collected at quality level 5 (table 1) in Alaska. The data will be acquired over an 8-year period and will be made available to the public. By using this acquisition scenario, a number of high-quality elevation-data products can be created to serve a wide range of business uses in government and the private sector.

Next Steps for Implementing 3DEP

For Further Information:

Mark DeMulder, Director, USGS National Geospatial Program 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 511 Reston, VA 20192 Email: mdemulder@usgs.gov

Carol L. Giffin, USGS Geospatial Liaison Box 25046, Denver Federal Center Mail Stop 911 Denver, CO 80225-0046 Email: clgiffin@usgs.gov http://nationalmap.gov/3DEP/

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