Addressing the Need for High-Resolution Arctic Data
The National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) has named the recipients of its 2025 Seed Proposal Program. Focused exclusively on Alaska this year, the program will provide high-resolution airborne lidar data to seven graduate student-led projects to support geoscience research in the Arctic.
Each year, NCALM surveys up to seven projects (each ≤40 km²) for graduate student principal investigators from accredited U.S. institutions. Proposals are reviewed and ranked by the NCALM Steering Committee according to National Science Foundation guidelines, which evaluate intellectual merit and broader impacts. NCALM does not participate in the ranking process.
The students whose projects will be considered for collection are:
- Colin Baciocco (Advisor: Madison Douglas), University of California, Berkeley
High-Resolution LIDAR to Quantify and Predict Permafrost Gully Incision on the Baldwin Peninsula, Northwestern Alaska - Raihanul Islam (Advisor: Eric Barefoot), University of California, Riverside
Searching for Evidence of Seasonal Ice Impacts on River Avulsion Precursors in Arctic Regions - Camryn Kluetmeier (Advisor: Sarah Cooley), Duke University
Using ALSM to Validate SWOT-Derived Aufeis Volume on the Echooka River, Alaska - Alexander Nguyen (Advisor: Roger Michaelides), Washington University in St. Louis
Repeat LiDAR-InSAR-Altimetry Multi-Sensor Fusion Comparison for Infrastructure Development-Driven Coastal Subsidence Monitoring in Utqiagvik, Alaska - Kennedy Potter (Advisor: Brandee Carlson), University of Houston
Airborne LiDAR Constraints on Channel Avulsion Triggers and Sediment Routing in the Stikine River Delta in Southeastern Alaska - Benjamin Reynolds (Advisor: Michael Lamb), California Institute of Technology
Investigating the Mechanisms of Catastrophic Lake Drainage Events in Subarctic Alaska - Ilia Tarasevich (Advisor: William Struble), University of Houston
Tracking Topographic Change and Frost-Cracking-Induced Hazards in South-Central Alaska
Data collection for the awarded projects is scheduled for Summer 2026. For more information about the Seed Proposal Program, visit ncalm.cive.uh.edu/seed-proposals. NCALM congratulates the awardees and their advisors on their selection!
Related News:
New 2025 Airborne Lidar Datasets Available on OpenTopography