TLS Survey of Fourmile Canyon Wildfire Captures Post-fire Terrain Changes - Project Highlights 2010

• Principal Investigator (PI): Moody (USGS), Greg Tucker (CU/CIRES)
• Field Engineers: Brendan Hodge (UNAVCO), Sarah Doelger (UNAVCO)
• Dates: September - December, 2010
• Location: Fourmile Canyon study area, Boulder, Colorado, USA
• Funding Source: NSF EAR: Instrumentation and Facilities, USGS, CU

A wildfire occurred in Fourmile Canyon near Boulder, CO in September 2010. The fire provided scientists a rare opportunity to study the geomorphic processes that occur soon after large wildfires. Researchers from the US Geological Survey and the University of Colorado in Boulder, employ a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) to map micro-scale geomorphic features within a small watershed in the burn-zone. UNAVCO provided the TLS equipment and technical expertise to produce a high-resolution terrain map of the study area. Repeat surveys will allow researchers to investigate geomorphic changes at the study-site with sub-centimeter accuracies. TLS data like these are illuminating new understanding of earth surface processes in our backyard and around the Globe. This study site is within the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory (BcCZO), one of several CZO's funded by NSF. This ongoing project is funded by the National Science Foundation, the USGS and CU.