Practical Application of Multiple Pulse in Air (mpia) Lidar in Large-area Surveys

Multiple Pulses in Air Technology, or MPiA, is a new technology allowing airborne LIDAR systems to be used at higher pulse rates than previously possible. By allowing the airborne LIDAR system to fire a second laser pulse prior to receipt of the previous pulse’s reflection, the pulse rate at any given altitude can be effectively doubled. Getting past the limitations imposed by the speed of light and conventional single-pulse-in-air LIDAR technology allows the airborne LIDAR system to achieve the desired point density at twice the coverage rate or, conversely, for twice the point density to be achieved at conventional coverage rates. Though announced publicly in 2006, it was not until well into 2007 that commercially-available MPiA-equipped systems were fielded. The technology can now be considered “mainstream”, and is actively being used on a variety of airborne LIDAR data acquisition projects. This study will present an overview of MPiA technology in the context of a large area survey project in Alberta, Canada. In addition to the consideration of MPiA technology in this project, implications on other facets of project organization will be presented. Overall results will be given, proving the ability of MPiA-equipped systems to achieve a nominal 2:1 productivity increase over that of conventional systems * Corresponding author.