Wilson & Karnes Counties in Texas - Digital Elevation Models (DEM) and Digital Surface Models (DSM)

A bare earth Digital Elevation Model (DEM) created from 2013 LiDAR LAS files for Wilson and Karnes counties in Texas. LiDAR data collection was funded by the Texas Water Development Board. LiDAR LAS files were acquired from Texas Natural Resources Information System (TNRIS). The DEM is a dataset that depicts the topography of the bare earth surface (i.e. surface minus vegetation, buildings, powerlines, etc). This dataset was developled to be used in conjunction with the DSM to create a vegetation height surface (nDSM). The LAS point cloud was filtered to ground points only and the mean z value was calculated. A Digital Surface Model (DSM) created from 2013 LiDAR LAS files for Wilson and Karnes counties in Texas. LiDAR data collection was funded by the Texas Water Development Board. LiDAR LAS files were acquired from Texas Natural Resources Information System (TNRIS). The DSM is an elevation surface created by using the maximum z value to depict the tallest features on the landscape (i.e. tops of buildings, trees, powerlines, etc.). The DSM can be used along with a DEM surface to create a normailzed DSM, or vegetation height layer.This LiDAR data set was fully classified, the classification was accurate enough to consistently and reliable filter out buildings, power lines and other man-made structures.