NEHRP Clearinghouse

Title
Bare-Earth Algorithms for Use with SAR and LIDAR Digital Elevation Models.
File
PB2004101637.pdf
Author(s)
Huyck, C. K.; Eguchi, R. T.; Houshmand, B.
Source
National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA. Earthquake Engineering Research Centers Program., October 16, 2002, 112 p.
Identifying Number(s)
MCEER-02-0004
Abstract
The study described in this report examines the use of remote sensing technologies in creating building inventories for earthquake loss estimation. A key step in constructing these building inventories using remotely sensed data is to separate the built environment from the ground, i.e., the bare earth. The report describes an approach using SAR to detect the bare earth by employing a series of filters that depend on knowing the general heights of buildings, trees and other physical features on the surface of the earth. The bare-earth algorithm is validated and applied to three study regions in the Los Angeles area. The authors also investigate the efficacy of using LIDAR (light detection and ranging) data in constructing building inventories. LIDAR data is more detailed and accurate than SAR data, and the results from the two technologies were compared. The next report in this series will focus on using the results of the bare-earth algorithm to estimate the building stock.
Keywords
LIDAR; Algorithms; Earthquake loss estimation; Bare-earth algorithms; Disasters; Synthetic apperture radar; Remote sensing; Disaster recovery; Building inventories; Earthquakes