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opentopography.org
OpenTopography
@opentopography.org
590 followers 160 following 87 posts
Open access to high-resolution, Earth science-oriented topography data, and related tools & resources. US National Science Foundation supported. #lidar https://www.opentopography.org
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opentopography.org
OpenTopography @opentopography.org · Mar 13
New short (3 minute) video answers the question "What is OpenTopography?":
OpenTopography: Unveiling the Earth's Surface
YouTube video by OpenTopography
youtu.be
opentopography.org
Everyone loves 3D prints of #lidar topography! We put together a how-to tutorial video using the DEMto3D #QGIS plugin to make prints like these examples from @bayesmap.bsky.social. Check it out: opentopography.org/learn/3D_pri...
February 5, 2026 at 3:45 AM
opentopography.org
Since its initiation, OpenTopography data and resources have enabled over 1,500 peer-reviewed publications across increasingly diverse science disciplines, demonstrating the broad applications of open topographic data.

Read more about OT's publication impact
⬇️
opentopography.org/blog/ot-bibl...
Plot from 2009 to 2025 showing growth of OpenTopography cited in peer-reviewed publications by science domain.
February 4, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Reposted by OpenTopography
phaneritic.bsky.social
Here’s a nice Saturday Surprise. I just posted 19 new volcano tissue box covers in my Etsy shop. They are 3D printed scale models made using lidar scans from federally funded USGS projects and my photogrammetry. Thanks to @opentopography.org for organizing the data!

phaneritic.etsy.com
Volcano tissue box cover in the shape of salt and sea mud volcano erupting a tissue. The box has a gradient of different brown colors. Volcano tissue box cover in the shape of salt and sea mud volcano erupting a tissue. The box has a gradient of different brown colors. Volcano tissue box cover in the shape of Lawetlat’la mt st Helen’s erupting a tissue. The box has a pyrite color. Volcano tissue box cover in the shape of Lawetlat’la mt st Helen’s erupting a tissue. The box has a pyrite color. Detail on print layers
January 31, 2026 at 8:46 PM
opentopography.org
OpenTopography invites you to join a series of weekly, hour-long webinars.

The first webinar introduces OT and our new resources, and the subsequent three are aimed at those with familiarity with lidar who are seeking to make better use of these data.

Register: opentopography.org/news/2026_we...
Graphic advertising OpenTopography's Spring 2026 Webinar Series, taking place Wednesday, March-April, 2026 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT.
January 29, 2026 at 4:01 PM
opentopography.org
More information about OpenTopography's Advisory Committees and present members can be found at: opentopography.org/about/ac
Advisory Committees | OpenTopography
opentopography.org
January 27, 2026 at 9:20 PM
opentopography.org
Seeking new members for:
Research Communities Advisory Committee
Inclusive Education, Training, and Workforce Development Advisory Committee
Sustainability and Technology Advisory Committee
January 27, 2026 at 9:06 PM
opentopography.org
We're recruiting new members to serve on OpenTopography's advisory committees! These committees represent OT's users and ensure that activities are aligned with the needs and initiatives of the scientific and educational communities.

Learn more & apply: opentopography.org/news/AC_nomi...
Banner reading “Seeking New OpenTopography Advisory Committee Members” over a colorful REM showing a winding river, with the OpenTopography logo in the corner.
January 27, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by OpenTopography
moreorloess.bsky.social
Cipriano Hills, Organ Pipe Cactus NM (NE of Quitobaquito Springs). I hope you like this but I really just made it for my own nostalgic enjoyment. Data from @opentopography.org, visualized with #rayshader.
January 23, 2026 at 3:18 AM
opentopography.org
Check out the latest datasets now available on OpenTopography, which include over a dozen new USGS 3DEP datasets, new NOAA Coastal Lidar, and data collected over the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles, California.

opentopography.org/news/decembe...
Lidar point cloud colored by intensity of the neighborhood destroyed by the Eaton Fire. What are all those light-colored patches on the ground? Gravestones in a cemetery! This is a plot of intensity gradient which is the rate of change in intensity between neighboring points. The intensity of a lidar return over stone is quite different than surrounding grass or soil, so the headstones plot clearly in an intensity gradient style plot. Colorized point cloud of a Structure from Motion survey of the Crater Elegante in Mexico. Hillshade of citrus farms in Florida.
January 12, 2026 at 5:43 PM
opentopography.org
Please join OpenTopo's Chelsea Scott & Cassandra Brigham for a WHPC@SDSC Professional Speaker Series talk.

Topographic change with OpenTopography: Adventures in cloud computing, spatial uncertainty, and impactful applications

Feb. 25, 2026 at 1–2 pm PT

Register: www.sdsc.edu/events/20260...
Event flyer for the San Diego Supercomputer Center Women in High Performance Computing Professional Speaker Series featuring Dr. Chelsea Scott and Dr. Cassandra Brigham, titled “Topographic change with OpenTopography,” with date Wednesday, February 25, 2026, 1:00–2:00 pm PST, over a shaded relief topography background.
January 7, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Reposted by OpenTopography
earthscope.org
The NSF National Geophysical Facility will be expanding support for near-surface geophysics. Your input can help shape future efforts for research and teaching with near-surface geophysics!

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey ➡️ https://loom.ly/tVEZXlE
Illustration of a person pushing a ground-penetrating radar cart across grass, with subsurface waves shown belowground. Text reads “Near-Surface Geophysics Support” and “Community input needed!” with NSF and National Geophysical Facility (operated by EarthScope) logos at the bottom.
January 7, 2026 at 7:20 PM
opentopography.org
At #AGU25? Be sure to check out these presentations by OpenTopography team members!

OT at AGU: opentopography.org/news/opentop...
Cassandra Brigham et al.: EP41E-1848 A geostatistically grounded workflow for spatial uncertainty quantification in lidar topographic differencing Thursday, 18 December 2025, 8:30 - 12:20, Hall EFG (Poster Hall) Chelsea Scott et al.: B43J-2061 Monitoring forest structure change using multi-temporal airborne lidar workflows in OpenForest4D Thursday, 18 December 2025, 14:15 - 17:45, Hall EFG (Poster Hall)
December 16, 2025 at 5:28 PM
opentopography.org
Thanks for spotting & the mention! We've given away at least 10k of these stickers over the years and it's always fun to see where they end up!
December 13, 2025 at 1:01 AM
opentopography.org
🙏 Thanks Tim!
December 11, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Reposted by OpenTopography
openforest4d.org
Join us at our #AGU25 poster to discover how we harnesses airborne & satellite #lidar data using advanced workflows to uncover powerful insights on forest structure, biomass, and how landscapes change over time. agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/me...
#OpenScience #WildfireRecovery #EcosystemChange #RStats
Monitoring forest structure change using multi-temporal ALS workflows in OpenForest4D
December 10, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by OpenTopography
phaneritic.bsky.social
I want to give a shout out to the good folks at @opentopography.org for making it so EASY to search for and download publicly available digital elevation models and point cloud data sets. They are a spectacular resources that I use a lot in my classes! Data citations for boxes are at listings' end.
phaneritic.bsky.social Ryan J Hollister @phaneritic.bsky.social · Dec 10
Nearly half the boxes are sold after only an hour! Thanks everyone. Still some great ones left in the store
December 10, 2025 at 5:52 PM
opentopography.org
Thanks for the shout out! We love the tissue boxes.
December 10, 2025 at 7:54 PM
opentopography.org
November's new data releases on OpenTopography include a new Community Dataspace dataset and USGS 3DEP coverage in California, plus NOAA Coastal Lidar over Ohio.

Read more and access data: opentopography.org/news/novembe...
Colorized point cloud of mobile lidar scans in the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in California. Data Source: Lidar point cloud colored by intensity of the stadium at Bowling Green State University. Note the yard markings and end zone lettering can be seen due to the variation in the lidar return intensity between dark, light, and colored grass. Lidar point cloud colored by elevation of downtown Los Angeles, California.
December 10, 2025 at 5:02 PM
opentopography.org
Final year for NSF-supported NCALM seed project proposals! Great opportunity for students to get free #lidar for research. Focus this year is projects in the Alaskan Arctic.

Data become open via OT. To date there are 252 NCALM datasets available on OT (red ⬇️)

Info: ncalm.cive.uh.edu/seed-proposals
Map of CONUS showing areas of NCALM lidar data collection available via OpenTopography in red.
December 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM
opentopography.org
Connect with OpenTopography at #AGU25 in New Orleans next week! Our booth (908) is staffed by the OT team and is a great chance to ask questions, provide feedback, or to discuss lidar, high resolution topography, and cyberinfrastructure.

opentopography.org/news/opentop...
AGU25 graphic, 'Connect with OpenTopography at AGU in New Orleans! December 15-19, 2025. Booth #908' with an outline of a meandering river.
December 9, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by OpenTopography
openforest4d.org
Discover how #lidar reveals wildfire impacts & landscape recovery. Case studies in Arizona & Los Angeles show how 3D data helps us quantify canopy loss, hazards, & restoration after major fires. #LAfires #Kaibab
Watch the new #wildfire science video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Joz...
Measuring Wildfire Impact: Lidar Analysis of Arizona and California Fires
YouTube video by OpenForest4D
www.youtube.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by OpenTopography
openforest4d.org
Generate #forestry products from #lidar topography data with lidR! Reproducible R notebook guides users through #pointcloud filtering, raster generation & forest metrics extraction to produce key outputs like canopy height models. Explore notebook: github.com/OpenForest4D...
#googlecolab #geospatial
Canopy Height Model + representing tree tops on smoothed CHM Crown Max Height
December 1, 2025 at 7:22 PM
opentopography.org
This video is part of a series from OpenTopography aimed at expanding community engagement. The series explores what we can learn about Earth’s surface, geologic processes, and natural hazards from remote sensing data like lidar.
November 10, 2025 at 5:26 PM
opentopography.org
For the last several decades, scientists have been developing a way to make our maps more reliable with point cloud data collected by lidar. Lidar is an accurate method that helps scientists to map cities, landscapes, and places that were previously difficult or dangerous to access.
November 10, 2025 at 5:26 PM
opentopography.org
New for educators! Lab Exercise: Using lidar to track Lake Michigan bluff retreat and inform local communities

Designed for community college and intro-level geomorph, enviro sci, and GIS courses, students use lidar data to learn about dynamic coastal erosion.

opentopography.org/learn/WI_blu...
Side-by-side view of an aerial photo of the Wisconsin coastline along Lake Michigan showing a bluff and change along the Michigan coastline showing topographic hillshades (left) and vertical change (right) from 2010- 2020.
November 3, 2025 at 10:22 PM