Coastal remote sensing through sensor and data fusion with CZMIL

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has advanced coastal mapping technologies for the past 2 decades. Advancements in both coastal mapping data acquisition technology and data fusion techniques are executed through the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of eXpertise. The Scanning Hydrographic Operational Airborne Lidar Survey system was initially designed in 1994 to produce bathymetric maps of the sea floor immediately surrounding federal navigation channels. The 2003 Compact Hydrographic Airborne Rapid Total Survey system integrated multiple topographic and bathymetric lidar sub-systems, an aerial camera, and a hyperspectral imager using a unique data fusion paradigm for use in regional coastal applications. The latest sensor development effort, the Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging Lidar system, provides the next generation of coastal mapping technology through state-of-the-art lasers, receivers, scanners, and imagers. These advancements increase system performance over a wider range of water clarity conditions compared to existing coastal mapping technologies. Further, temporal and geometric problems in the data streams are eliminated by the simultaneous collection and sharing of a single navigation solution. The CZMIL effort bundles a multi-tiered software development effort concurrent with the hardware improvements. CZMIL will enable the production of both traditional and innovative value-added information products that address regional physical and environmental concerns. This paper provides an overview of CZMIL technology, its data processing environment and anticipated data products.