Case Study, Customer Story, Geospatial Analytics, Knowledge Hub, LiDAR, Renewables, Soil, Terrain, Vegetation Management

Strange Bumps in the DTM: How Teren’s LiDAR Analytics Helped A Renewable Energy Investor See the True Terrain

Posted on by Kelly Hendricks

We think there are holes in the digital terrain model. 

That’s what an engineering firm flagged to Teren’s customer, a renewable energy investor, when they received Teren’s advanced LiDAR and analytics for a project on a solar generation facility out in Southeast New Mexico. 

Teren’s work with the renewable energy investor started early 2024 to provide environmental intelligence and geospatial insights tailored to complex renewable energy projects. To maintain their investment edge, the investor harnesses Teren’s geotech and analytics to get accurate, site-specific environmental data to manage risk and maintain project integrity.

For this particular project in New Mexico, Teren had collected, processed and analyzed the data, but the engineering firm co-working on the project voiced its doubts. Seeing strange bumps in the digital terrain model (DTM) delivered by Teren, they raised concerns on potential holes in the data, or unremoved vegetation.

Image: The strange bumps, shown in the DTM above, raised concerns of potential holes in the data, or unremoved vegetation. The reality was a surprise!

So, who was right?

Unearthing the Truth 

The reality, said Teren’s Director of Operations Austin Savage, was that at the resolution that Teren was capturing (1.4ft), the topography was not smooth. And what everyone thought was unremoved vegetation, was in fact a dirt mound underneath the shrub – a mosquito mound – a well documented phenomenon for vegetation in the area. 

Cross section: In viewing this example cross section, a bump or mount is pretty visible within the DTM. This could be interpreted as vegetation. When examining the point cloud cross section of the same bump, a clearer picture starts to present itself. The profile we see in the cross section matches the literature documented in the previous slide on how these shrubs can form a base mound underneath the vegetation. If this mound was strictly vegetation, one would expect a planer surface underneath this bump. Since we see zero returns underneath and a pretty clean plane, one can make a strong case for a mound underneath the vegetation. Another supporting detail is examining the ortho image from the project. Surrounding the base of the bush, a lighter color soil is visible compared to the flat surroundings. This lighter color can be explained by a younger deposition or a disturbance which would support a mound-like feature. 

In LiDAR We Trust

With Teren’s thorough analysis and explanation in hand, the renewable energy investor and its engineering partners needed visual confirmation. 

They hopped on a plane and went to visit the Southeast New Mexico project. 

Low and behold, they found mosquito mounds in the sand, as far as the eye could see. 

Pictured: mosquito mounds typical to the terrain in New Mexico

In Teren We Trust

The validation impressed both the renewable energy investor and their engineering partners.

Armed with Teren’s environmental intelligence, the renewable energy investor continues to enjoy Teren’s Vegetation and Hydrology Data Suites to accurately assess projects for potential hazards, maintaining the balance of risk and reward crucial to their investment model. 

Kelly Hendricks

As a seasoned digital & content marketing leader, Kelly Hendricks loves to tell stories that give people a glimpse in Teren's world of geospatial, earth & data science adventures. She has 10+ years of experience in creative and strategic content planning, lead generation, website & digital marketing, branding, event planning, and public relations.

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