映射最后一个边界

作者：库塔米斯·萨拉姆（Kutalmis Saylam），2016年6月

Alaska is the least densely populated yet largest state in the United States. Well-known for its diverse landscape and cold weather, travelling can be difficult during winter months. In the northern parts of the state, where tundra is vast and winter climate is harsh, use of ice roads are popular and necessary for transporting resources. Because the state has more than 3 million lakes that are larger than 20 acres in size, a clear understanding of the landscape is required to best determine where these roads could safely and sustainably be built. The Bureau of Economic Geology (the Bureau), a research unit at the University of Texas at Austin, set out to map a portion of this wild frontier and provide a better understanding of the local habitat, using the Leica Chiroptera airborne LiDAR system to survey the Alaskan Northern Slope.

A unique landscape

阿拉斯加北坡微观图支持北极苔原环境中各种潜在的鱼类栖息地水体和湿地地区。一般而言，浅水湖泊深度不到2米，是该地区苔原景观的主要组成部分，它们占总面积的约20％。它们在一个日历年中只有几周的时间完全无冰，因此我们安排了相应的实地考察，从7月中旬开始，并于8月初结束。

湖的深度,冰与衰亡确定whether they are suitable habitat for wildlife and aquatic fauna, as well as for industrial development. Ice accumulation is assumed to be 1.5 to 2 m thick in this area, and liquid water most likely lies below in the central basins of these lakes if the water is deeper than 2 m. Survey findings were particularly important because they would reveal lakes deeper than 2 m, suitable for building ice roads, but with potential fish habitat. Findings were also expected to assist other environmental and hydrological assessments in the area.

“由于成千上万的湖泊（浑浊水平都不同）散布在整个调查区域，并挑战了限制空中调查活动的天气条件，这肯定不是一件容易的事。”用于地面式和整体后勤支持。“不过，随着空降激光雷达的测量，我们能够在传统的调查方法不可行的领域获得非常详细且精确的地形和测深数据。”

探索下一章：Flying with double the scanning power

Story: Mapping the last frontier
Chapter 1: A unique landscape
第2章：Flying with double the scanning power
第3章：更快，更准确的数据分析