Topography Of Puget Sound

[Kena Sugrue]

Tosupport the modeling of storm-induced flooding, the USGS Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) Applications Project has created an integrated 1-meter topobathymetric digital elevation model (TBDEM) for Puget Sound. Puget Sound is located along the northwestern coast of Washington and is part of the Salish Sea. Puget Sound is the third largest estuary in the United States. High-resolution coastal elevation data is required to identify flood, storm, and sea-level rise inundation hazard zones and other earth science applications, such as the development of sediment transport and storm surge models. The new TBDEM consists of the best available multi-source topographic and bathymetric elevation data for Puget Sound including neighboring islands, canals, and inlets. The Puget Sound TBDEM comprises an integration of 186 different data sources including topographic and bathymetric LiDAR data, hydrographic surveys, single-beam acoustic surveys, and multi-beam acoustic surveys obtained from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Puget Sound Lidar Consortium, and the Washington Department of Natural Resources. The topographic and bathymetric surveys were sorted and prioritized based on survey date, accuracy, spatial distribution, and point density to develop a model based on the best available elevation data. Because bathymetric data are typically referenced to tidal datums (such as Mean High Water or Mean Low Water), all tidally-referenced heights were transformed into orthometric height based on a common geoid (Geoid12B) that are normally used for mapping elevation on land based on the North American Vertical Datum of 1988. Every input data source in the TBDEM has been horizontally referenced to UTM Zone 10, NAD83 2011. The spatial resolution is 1-meter with the general location ranging from the Deception Pass in the north to Olympia, Washington in the south and extending to a depth of 327 meters. The overall temporal range of the input topography and bathymetry is 1887 to 2017. The topography surveys are from 2005-2017. The bathymetry surveys were acquired between 1887 and 2015.

Users should be aware that temporal changes may have occurred since this data set was collected and some parts of this data may no longer represent actual surface conditions. Users should not use this data for critical applications without a full awareness of its limitations.

The data obtained through ScienceBase at are considered to be the "best available" data from the USGS. For questions on distribution, please refer to the Distribution Section, Contact Information. For processing, please refer to the Data Quality Section, Processing Step, Contact Information.

Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the USGS, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the USGS regarding the use of the data on any other system, nor does the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. Data may have been compiled from various outside sources. Spatial information may not meet National Map Accuracy Standards. This information may be updated without notification. The USGS shall not be liable for any activity involving these data, installation, fitness of the data for a particular purpose, its use, or analyses results.

The Data Access Viewer (DAV) allows a user to search for and download elevation, imagery, and land cover data for the coastal U.S. and its territories. The data, hosted by the NOAA Office for Coastal Management, can be customized and requested for free download through a checkout interface. An email provides a link to the customized data, while the original data set is available through a link within the viewer.

The principal methodology for developing the integrated topobathymetric elevation model can be organized into three main components. The "topography component" consists of the land-based elevation data, which is primarily comprised from high-resolution LiDAR data. The topographic source data will include LiDAR data from different sensors (Topographic, Bathymetric) with distinct spectral wavelengths (NIR-1064nm, Green-532nm). The "bathymetry component" consists of hydrographic sounding (acoustic) data collected using boats rather than bathymetry acquired from LiDAR. The most common forms of bathymetry that are used include: multi-beam, single-beam, and swath. The final component, "Integration", encompasses the assimilation of the topographic and bathymetric data along the near-shore based on a predefined set of priorities. The land/water interface (+1 m- -1.5 m) is the most critical area, and green laser systems, such as the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research LiDAR (EAARL-B) and the Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging LiDAR (CZMIL) that cross the near-shore interface are valuable in developing a seamless transition. The end product from the topography and bathymetry components is a raster with associated spatial masks and metadata that can be passed to the integration component for final model incorporation. Topo/Bathy Creation Steps: Topography Processing Component: a) Quality control check the vertical and horizontal datum and projection information of the input lidar source to ensure the data is referenced to NAVD88 and NAD83, UTM. If the source data is not NAVD88, transform the input LiDAR data to NAVD88 reference frame using current National Geodetic Survey (NGS) geoid models and VDatum. Likewise, if required, convert the input source data to NAD83 and reproject to UTM. b) Check the classification of the topographic LiDAR data to verify the data are classified with the appropriate classes. If the data have not been classified, then classify the raw point cloud data to non-ground (class 1) ground (class 2), and water (class 9) classes using LP360-Classify. c) Derive associated breaklines from the classified LiDAR to capture internal water bodies, such as lakes and ponds and inland waterways. Inland waterways and water bodies will be hydro-flattened where no bathymetry is present. d) Extract the ground returns from the classified LiDAR data and randomly spatial subset the points into two point sets based on the criteria of 95 percent of the points for the "Actual Selected" set and the remaining 5 percent for the "Test Control" set. The "Actual Selected" points will be gridded in the terrain model along with associated breaklines and masks to generate the topographic surface, while the "Test Control" points will be used to compute the interpolation accuracy (Root Mean Square Error) from the derived surface. e) Generate the minimum convex hull boundary from the classified ground LiDAR points that creates a mask that extracts the perimeter of the exterior LiDAR points. The mask is then applied in the terrain to remove extraneous terrain artifacts outside of the extent of the ground LiDAR points. f) Using a terrain model based on triangulated irregular networks (TINs), grid the "Actual Selected" ground points using breaklines and the minimum convex hull boundary mask at a 1-meter spatial resolution using a natural neighbor interpolation algorithm. g) Compute the interpolation accuracy by comparing elevation values in the "Test Control" points to values extracted from the derived gridded surface; report the results in terms of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE).

Bathymetry Processing Component: a) Quality control check the vertical and horizontal datum and projection information of the input bathymetric source to ensure the data is referenced to NAVD88 and NAD83, UTM. If the source data is not NAVD88, transform the input bathymetric data to NAVD88 reference frame using VDatum. Likewise, if required, convert the input source data to NAD83 and reproject to UTM. b) Prioritize and spatially sort the bathymetry based on date of acquisition, spatial distribution, accuracy, and point density to eliminate any outdated or erroneous points and to minimize interpolation artifacts. c) Randomly spatial subset the bathymetric points into two point sets based on the criteria of 95 percent of the points for the "Actual Selected" set and the remaining 5 percent for the "Test Control" set. The "Actual Selected" points will be gridded in the empirical bayesian krigging model along with associated masks to generate the bathymetric surface, while the "Test Control" points will be used to compute the interpolation accuracy (Root Mean Square Error) from the derived surface. d) Spatially interpolate bathymetric single-beam, multi-beam, and hydrographic survey source data using an empirical bayesian krigging gridding algorithm. This approach uses a geostatistical interpolation method that accounts for the error in estimating the underlying semivariogram (data structure - variance) through repeated simulations. e) Cross validation - Compare the predicted value in the geostatistical model to the actual observed value to assess the accuracy and effectiveness of model parameters by removing each data location one at a time and predicting the associated data value. The results will be reported in terms of RMSE. f) Compute the interpolation accuracy by comparing elevation values in the "Test Control" points to values extracted from the derived gridded surface; report the results in terms of RMSE.

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