GitHub - csdms/bmi-topography: Fetch and cache land elevation data from OpenTopography through an API, BMI, or CLI Fetch and cache land elevation data from OpenTopography through an API, BMI, or CLI - csdms/bmi-topography

The Topography Data Component fetches land elevation data from OpenTopography and loads it into an Xarray DataArray. Learn more about the Topography Data Component at github.com/csdms/bmi-to....

Map comes from ESRI: services.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/...

The QGIS 'OpenTopography-DEM-Downloader' is a 3rd party tool that we are not responsible for. There have been no recent changes to the OT API. Test that our API is working here: portal.opentopography.org/apidocs/#/Pu... If the plugin is broken you can submit a ticket here: github.com/knwin/OpenTo...

Digital Terrain Model over Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

3D Point cloud colored by intensity gradient over the Painted Hills in Oregon. The Painted Hills consist of alternating layers of volcanic ash, claystones, and soils with varying colors which respond differently to lidar, causing the bands of intensity in this image.

Hillshade colored by elevation of South Deadman Dome near Mammoth Lakes, California. South Deadman Dome is a rhyolite lava dome and obsidian flow located in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains.

3D point cloud colored by elevation of the historic section of Charleston, South Carolina.

Recent dataset additions on OpenTopo include the nationwide 0.5-meter Netherlands Digital Elevation Model (AHN4), new USGS 3DEP and NOAA Coastal lidar datasets across the United States, and a high-resolution SfM dataset of Italy’s Stromboli volcano.

See more ➡️ opentopography.org/news/january...

Graphic advertising dates and titles of OpenTopography's Spring 2026 Webinar Series held on March 18 and 25, and April 1 and 8 at 1 pm ET.

OpenTopography's Spring 2026 webinar series kicks off this week! Join us in March and April for a series of hour-long webinars—perfect for those who are seeking to make better use of lidar data in their research and teaching.

Register in advance
⬇️
opentopography.org/news/2026_we...

A shaded relief map showing a large area of coppice dunes (small bumps) and the braided channels of a dry wash to the north.

More of the demo: An area of coppice dunes (nebkha) and a dry wash east of the headquarters of Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico. The grassland-shrubland regime shift story. Data from @opentopography.org. Example of why I often like a basic gray hillshade to bring out landforms.

Map of canopy height from a lidar point cloud. Sharp boundaries separate Olympic National Park with unbroken forest and canopy height up to > 80 m, from area with clearcut patches and forest with much lower canopy height outside the park.

Three dimensional view of the sharp boundary between Olympic National Park and the area outside the park that is a patchwork of more or less recently logged areas. The Bogachiel River is toward the back of the image.

Edge of Olympic National Park along the Bogachiel R southeast of Forks, Washington, visualized with a lidar point cloud from @opentopography.org . Left: Canopy height (m), Right: 3D view of point cloud. Used lidR and lidRviewer. Class demo of lidar for tomorrow.

Graphic promoting an EarthScope webinar titled “Robotics for Geoscience: More Data, New Analyses,” featuring Dr. Zhiang Chen of Arizona State University, scheduled for Thursday, March 19 at 12 pm MT, with the speaker’s headshot on the right.

We have a great series of EarthScope webinars coming up this spring!

Tune in next Thursday, March 19 at 12 pm MT to hear Dr. Zhiang Chen (Arizona State University) present on "Robotics for Geoscience: More Data, New Analyses."

Register ➡️ https://loom.ly/4tabSl8

Canopy Height Model

CHM with forest canopy gaps detected

Identifying #forest canopy gaps is important for understanding forest development & biological diversity. New R notebook outlines a workflow to detect canopy gaps from Canopy Height Models derived from ALS #lidar data. Available at:
github.com/OpenForest4D...
#RemoteSensing #Forestry #GoogleColab

How can lidar track a forest's recovery after a fire? 🌲🔥
In this study of the #Kaibab National Forest, researchers used multi-temporal #lidar data to map forest structure and canopy changes over time.
Explore the interactive map here:
of4d.sdsc.edu/usecases/kai... #RemoteSensing #Wildfire

New Windows GUI for the OpenTopography RiverREM package by @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social 👇

More info on RiverREM:
opentopography.org/blog/new-pac...
github.com/OpenTopograp...

Very cool Matthew. Hopefully this makes RiverREM even easier to use!

Everyone loves 3D prints of #lidar topography! We put together a how-to tutorial video using the DEMto3D #QGIS plugin to make prints like these examples from @bayesmap.bsky.social. Check it out: opentopography.org/learn/3D_pri...

Plot from 2009 to 2025 showing growth of OpenTopography cited in peer-reviewed publications by science domain.

Since its initiation, OpenTopography data and resources have enabled over 1,500 peer-reviewed publications across increasingly diverse science disciplines, demonstrating the broad applications of open topographic data.

Read more about OT's publication impact
⬇️
opentopography.org/blog/ot-bibl...

Volcano tissue box cover in the shape of salt and sea mud volcano erupting a tissue. The box has a gradient of different brown colors.

Volcano tissue box cover in the shape of salt and sea mud volcano erupting a tissue. The box has a gradient of different brown colors.

Volcano tissue box cover in the shape of Lawetlat’la mt st Helen’s erupting a tissue. The box has a pyrite color.

Volcano tissue box cover in the shape of Lawetlat’la mt st Helen’s erupting a tissue. The box has a pyrite color. Detail on print layers

Here’s a nice Saturday Surprise. I just posted 19 new volcano tissue box covers in my Etsy shop. They are 3D printed scale models made using lidar scans from federally funded USGS projects and my photogrammetry. Thanks to @opentopography.org for organizing the data!

phaneritic.etsy.com

Graphic advertising OpenTopography's Spring 2026 Webinar Series, taking place Wednesday, March-April, 2026 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT.

OpenTopography invites you to join a series of weekly, hour-long webinars.

The first webinar introduces OT and our new resources, and the subsequent three are aimed at those with familiarity with lidar who are seeking to make better use of these data.

Register: opentopography.org/news/2026_we...

More information about OpenTopography's Advisory Committees and present members can be found at: opentopography.org/about/ac

Seeking new members for:
Research Communities Advisory Committee
Inclusive Education, Training, and Workforce Development Advisory Committee
Sustainability and Technology Advisory Committee

Banner reading “Seeking New OpenTopography Advisory Committee Members” over a colorful REM showing a winding river, with the OpenTopography logo in the corner.

We're recruiting new members to serve on OpenTopography's advisory committees! These committees represent OT's users and ensure that activities are aligned with the needs and initiatives of the scientific and educational communities.

Learn more & apply: opentopography.org/news/AC_nomi...

Cipriano Hills, Organ Pipe Cactus NM (NE of Quitobaquito Springs). I hope you like this but I really just made it for my own nostalgic enjoyment. Data from @opentopography.org, visualized with #rayshader.

Lidar point cloud colored by intensity of the neighborhood destroyed by the Eaton Fire.

What are all those light-colored patches on the ground? Gravestones in a cemetery! This is a plot of intensity gradient which is the rate of change in intensity between neighboring points. The intensity of a lidar return over stone is quite different than surrounding grass or soil, so the headstones plot clearly in an intensity gradient style plot.

Colorized point cloud of a Structure from Motion survey of the Crater Elegante in Mexico.

Hillshade of citrus farms in Florida.

Check out the latest datasets now available on OpenTopography, which include over a dozen new USGS 3DEP datasets, new NOAA Coastal Lidar, and data collected over the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles, California.

opentopography.org/news/decembe...

Event flyer for the San Diego Supercomputer Center Women in High Performance Computing Professional Speaker Series featuring Dr. Chelsea Scott and Dr. Cassandra Brigham, titled “Topographic change with OpenTopography,” with date Wednesday, February 25, 2026, 1:00–2:00 pm PST, over a shaded relief topography background.

Please join OpenTopo's Chelsea Scott & Cassandra Brigham for a WHPC@SDSC Professional Speaker Series talk.

Topographic change with OpenTopography: Adventures in cloud computing, spatial uncertainty, and impactful applications

Feb. 25, 2026 at 1–2 pm PT

Register: www.sdsc.edu/events/20260...

Illustration of a person pushing a ground-penetrating radar cart across grass, with subsurface waves shown belowground. Text reads “Near-Surface Geophysics Support” and “Community input needed!” with NSF and National Geophysical Facility (operated by EarthScope) logos at the bottom.

The NSF National Geophysical Facility will be expanding support for near-surface geophysics. Your input can help shape future efforts for research and teaching with near-surface geophysics!

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey ➡️ https://loom.ly/tVEZXlE

Cassandra Brigham et al.: EP41E-1848 A geostatistically grounded workflow for spatial uncertainty quantification in lidar topographic differencing Thursday, 18 December 2025, 8:30 - 12:20, Hall EFG (Poster Hall)

Chelsea Scott et al.: B43J-2061 Monitoring forest structure change using multi-temporal airborne lidar workflows in OpenForest4D Thursday, 18 December 2025, 14:15 - 17:45, Hall EFG (Poster Hall)

At #AGU25? Be sure to check out these presentations by OpenTopography team members!

OT at AGU: opentopography.org/news/opentop...

Thanks for spotting & the mention! We've given away at least 10k of these stickers over the years and it's always fun to see where they end up!

🙏 Thanks Tim!

Monitoring forest structure change using multi-temporal ALS workflows in OpenForest4D

Join us at our #AGU25 poster to discover how we harnesses airborne & satellite #lidar data using advanced workflows to uncover powerful insights on forest structure, biomass, and how landscapes change over time. agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/me...
#OpenScience #WildfireRecovery #EcosystemChange #RStats

I want to give a shout out to the good folks at @opentopography.org for making it so EASY to search for and download publicly available digital elevation models and point cloud data sets. They are a spectacular resources that I use a lot in my classes! Data citations for boxes are at listings' end.

Thanks for the shout out! We love the tissue boxes.

Colorized point cloud of mobile lidar scans in the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in California. Data Source:

Lidar point cloud colored by intensity of the stadium at Bowling Green State University. Note the yard markings and end zone lettering can be seen due to the variation in the lidar return intensity between dark, light, and colored grass.

Lidar point cloud colored by elevation of downtown Los Angeles, California.

November's new data releases on OpenTopography include a new Community Dataspace dataset and USGS 3DEP coverage in California, plus NOAA Coastal Lidar over Ohio.

Read more and access data: opentopography.org/news/novembe...