LiDAR accuracy on North American mountain summits

Eric Gilbertson, Richard Hensley, Andrew Kirmse, Kyle Bretherton, Kathryn Stanchak, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seattle University, Independent researcher, Las Vegas, Independent researcher, Redwood City, Independent researcher, Independent researcher

Progress in Physical Geography: An International Review of Geographical Work in the Natural and Environmental Sciences

Published online on November 26, 2025

Abstract

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment, Volume 50, Issue 3, Page 476-493, June 2026.
Mountainous terrain is increasingly being measured and mapped by airplane-based LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) techniques, but the accuracy of these measurements in such topographically variable terrain is not well understood. For this study, we ...