‘You are HERE’: Connecting the dots with airborne lidar for geomorphic fieldwork

The emergence of airborne lidar data for studying landscape evolution and natural hazards has revolutionized our ability to document the topographic signature of active and ancient surface processes. Notable lidar-facilitated discoveries, however, would not have been possible without the coupling of fieldwork and lidar analysis, which contradicts the ill-considered notion that high resolution remote sensing technologies will replace geomorphic field investigations. Here, we attempt to identify the primary means by which lidar has and will continue to transform how geomorphologists study landscape form and evolution: (1) lidar serves as a detailed base map for field mapping and sample collection, (2) lidar allows for rapid and accurate description of morphologic trends and patterns across broad areas, which facilitates model testing through increased accuracy and vastly increased sample sizes, and (3) lidar enables the identification of unanticipated landforms, including those with unknown origin. Finally, because the adoption of new technologies can influence cognition and perception, we also explore the notion that the ongoing use of lidar enables geomorphologists to more effectively conceptualize landforms in the field.