Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Use Of Lidar-Derived Dems In The Determination Of Shore Strandlines Of Glacial Lake Aitkin, Central Minnesota, Michael F. Campbell Jr.

Culminating Projects in Geography and Planning

This thesis focuses on the comparison of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)-derived DEMs to 30 meter DEMs from the National Elevation Dataset as an aid to the determination of the position of strandlines for Lake Aitkin located in Central Minnesota. The thesis uses a variety of comparison techniques including comparisons with existing surficial sediments, Jenks classification, histogram analysis, and slope surface analysis. In some aspects, such as the sediment analysis and slope surface analysis, the LiDAR-derived DEMs do not provide an improvement to the identification of a strandline for Lake Aitkin. However, using the other two comparison methods the LiDAR-derived …