Multimedia

Aerial LiDAR Uncovers Oldest Maya Site Yet
POB – Emell Derra Adolphus
"Hidden in plain sight" is how archeologists described a recently revealed, 3,000-year-old Maya structure at the Aguada Fénix Mayan ruin in Mexico's Tabasco State. The structure is the…
Low and Slow: Helicopter-based Lidar for Snow & Ice Observations
LiDAR News – Adam LeWinter
CRREL, in collaboration with the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) at the University of Houston, has spent the past 6-years iterating on versions of a small footprint…
NSF National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping
KOLD News 13
Inomata says his team used laser emitting equipment from an airplane. The laser beams penetrate tree canopies, and the reflections of the ground surface can reveal three-dimensional forms…
W. E. Carter et al., American Scientist 107, 30 (2019)
Physics – Matteo Rini
A remote laser sensing technology is providing unprecedented insights into the society and economy of ancient Maya.
Aguada Fénix. Image: Takeshi Inomata.
Gizmodo – George Dvorsky
The surprising discovery of a 2,800-year-old monumental structure in Tabasco, Mexico, is shaking our conceptions of Maya civilization and its emergence as a cultural force.
Scanning Artifacts in Honduras
Point of Beginning – Jeannie Kever
Fernandez said they identified evidence of two main cities and several smaller settlements, indicating not the mythological city but instead extensive traces of an ancient civilization that…
Multispectral lidar view of the grand plaza of the Maya city of Tikal in Guatemala.
LIDAR Magazine – Andrew Moller and Juan C. Fernandez-Diaz
The rainforests in Central and South America give little indication of the civilizations that they’ve swallowed up. A few centuries ago these regions were home to bustling indigenous cities…
Estimating Ancient Populations by Aerial Survey
American Scientist – William E. Carter, Ramesh Shrestha, and Juan C. Fernandez-Diaz
Using lasers on low-flying aircraft, archaeologists can map previously unexplored sites and calculate how many people may have inhabited them.
A Laser Revolution: How Lidar is Changing the Way We See the World
The Christian Science Monitor – Eva Botkin-Kowacki
"The use of the technology is definitely increasing," says Craig Glennie, an assistant professor of engineering at the University of Houston and principal investigator at the National…
Lidar Uncovers Thousands of New Maya Structures
Eos – Jenessa Duncombe
A team of 18 researchers has now mapped more than 61,000 structures in the Maya lowlands. How? Two words: airborne lidar.