Follow our UAS Colleagues on Instagram

The Michael Baker International Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) team is now on Instagram!  Our flight operations teams are going to post pictures to show off some of our work.

Multiple operators for safe flight operations. #michaelbakerinternational #uas

A photo posted by Michael Baker Intl UAS (@michaelbakeruas) on Dec 27, 2016 at 1:52pm PST

Veteran’s Day

On behalf of Michael Baker International, the Mobile LiDAR Team would like to recognize and thank our veterans for faithfully protecting our freedom, as well as the active military members and their families who unselfishly serve this country.

As a firm that employs veterans from many countries and delivers mission-critical services in support of our country’s military across the globe, we’d like our active duty, reserve, guard and contractor friends and family to know they are in our thoughts during their extended deployments and separation from friends and families.

On this Veteran’s Day it seems only fitting to share this colorized point-cloud image of an F-18 Hornet from our Navy’s world-famous Blue Angles (celebrating their 70th anniversary this year), captured during a previous project as NAS Pensacola.

Thank You Veterans!
Mobile LiDAR Team

Happy Labor Day!

Today we celebrate the contributions of the American Worker to our country’s success.  All of our U.S. offices are closed this Labor Day in honor of those that have played a pivotal role in building our nation’s infrastructure. As we pack our whites and celebrate the unofficial end of summer, we’re also planning our continued deployment of innovative solutions to ensure “We Make a Difference”.

We Can’t Stop Imagining the Possibilities!

Copyright, Hanna Barbera and Warner
Bros. Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As a kid I was introduced to the concept of flying vehicles (cars) from watching The Jetsons. My adolescent imagination ran wild with thoughts of the freedom found in such flight. While I did not know the definition of an autonomous vehicle at the time, the picture here apparently shows a limited controlled and largely autonomous family vehicle. Autonomous machines and vehicles are abuzz in our technology thinking today. Many visionaries have imagined flying cars. Some have actually produced results. The future of flying cars is much closer than you may be aware. On June 21st of 2016, the FAA approved a new petition (it was not the first for the company) for an exemption to Terrafugia’s vehicle “…allowing a vehicle in the Transition® street-legal airplane configuration to be certified as a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) with a maximum takeoff weight of 1,800 pounds. This is a significant increase over the allowance received in 2010 which granted the Transition® a 1,430 pound weight limit, the same as currently imposed on amphibious LSA.”

To see the video of this Terrafugia vehicle in flight use this link: https://www.terrafugia.com/the-transition/ or https://www.terrafugia.com/

How does this sort of technology relate to Michael Baker? When our company entered the Mobile LiDAR market seven years ago, we spent a lot of time here at our company discussing, amongst our LiDAR team and clients, the real issues we encounter with occlusion of LiDAR from either the ground (mobile) or from an airplane (aerial). In either scenario, line of sight limitations won’t let us see the top of things from the ground, under things from very high in the air, or through things in either case. If only I could attach wings to our Mobile LiDAR vehicles! If only I could economically put a commercial LiDAR system on a vehicle like that envisioned by Terrafugia!  Such a vehicle of course has to be engineered to configure its wings and propellers to consider the placement of LiDAR
and camera systems. But, I’m a bit ahead of the point I want to make with any emerging, converging technologies.

While I patiently wait for a more visionary and technologically feasible solution for deploying high density, engineering-quality mobile LiDAR systems that can fly as well as be driven, I can now turn with some hope to Part 107 of the FAA’s implementation of commercial small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) for interim possibilities. Keep in mind, at the top of my list of the impediments to complete success with any LiDAR approach is occlusion. Getting full 360 degree coverage of an object or area of interest is especially challenging with Mobile LiDAR projects, since some sites are inaccessible with driving. Roof tops on flat buildings are a practical impossibility. From the air, we can potentially collect data with sUAS using imagery and small LiDAR systems to fill those occlusion areas and data voids resulting from line of sight limitations with Mobile LiDAR systems. With sUAS we can fly low, hover and fly in a very controlled way to fill voids in Mobile LiDAR data. Temporal updates for specific areas of interest (e.g., change) can also be performed cost effectively with sUAS against an existing point cloud previously acquired with LiDAR.

As a long term FAA Section 333 exemption holder for commercial sUAS operations, Michael Baker can now look at the certain less restrictive conditions and the possibilities and opportunities created in Part 107 (https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=20515).

Two areas that catch one’s imagination are:

• No operations from a moving aircraft.
• No operations from a moving vehicle unless the operation is over a sparsely populated area.

For the first of these, I am sure there is a reason why somebody might or could want to fly a sUAS from another flying aircraft, perhaps attempting to fly and operate a sUAS while also flying in a hot air balloon comes to mind for some purpose (expanded line of sight).

I now know I can’t fly a sUAS from the Terrafugia TF-X. That fact might keep me from soon placing my order for one of those flying cars. I need to think through the impact of the sUAS limitation with my desired TF-X. But, the Terrafugia TF-X is so cool, anyway! I have to categorize this FAA limitation as a minor annoyance not to be able to fly my sUAS from the TF-X.

I still want to imagine a Mobile and Aerial LiDAR system on that TF-X flying car.

For the second FAA case of allowing operation of a sUAS from a moving vehicle, I think there are some possibilities for this application with Mobile LiDAR. This sort of flight operation must occur under the correct and safe circumstances. The FAA will apparently allow us to operate a sUAS from a moving vehicle under the right, approved scenarios and with an added exemption issued by the FAA and for specific area(s). This sort of exemption can be applied to rail lines and perhaps controlled roadways. I can’t yet imagine all the possibilities for us, yet. But, the marriage of integrated Mobile LiDAR and sUAS will happen very quickly here at our company. Soon our Mobile LiDAR systems will roll out on nearly all projects with their sUAS(es) as part of their compliment of equipment for survey control, imagery and LiDAR. Getting the remote Pilot – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Airman Certification comes next.

I’ll have more insights on that process later.

Cheers!
Bob

Robert Hanson is Senior Vice President and Michael Baker's National Practice Lead for Geospatial Information Technologies.  Bob is known as a visionary and futurist within our ranks and was the driving force for Michael Baker's acquisition of our first Mobile LiDAR system in 2009. 

Happy Independence Day!

As we celebrate our nation’s independence this Fourth of July, we encourage you to reflect on the diversity of peoples, beliefs, cultures, traditions, and histories that have come together to make this great country. Enjoy your time with friends and family and have a safe and responsible Fourth!

The Mobile LiDAR Team

Esri International User Conference

 Come visit us at the 2016 Esri International User Conference in beautiful San Diego.  Michael Baker will be exhibiting at the IUC (Booth #2506) June 28-30.  If you can’t find our booth by number, just look for the 8’x10’ image (see below) of our all-in-one Mobile LiDAR + LCMS + GPR equipped vehicle.  Both Bob Hanson (GIT National Practice Lead) and Aaron Morris (LiDAR Services Director) from our National LiDAR Center will be in attendance, as well as numerous representatives from offices across the country, so take a moment and stop by to learn more about Mobile LiDAR or any of the other world class services we provide.  

Cheers!
Stephen

Origin of a Point Cloud

Wikipedia has defined a “Point Cloud” as “a set of data points in some coordinate system”. In a three-

dimensional coordinate system each point is commonly defined by an X, Y, and Z value, and is often employed to represent the surface of an object. Point cloud geometry is often referred to, rather mistakenly, as LiDAR. LiDAR is a technology that can be used to make point clouds; so measurements produced with LiDAR technology is more aptly known as LiDAR data. Most commonly, point clouds are the result of data being output by 3D scanners. Aerial and Terrestrial LiDAR sensors are two such examples of 3D scanners that perform a large number of measurements on an object's surface to output a point cloud, but as you’ll read, point clouds may originate from various other sources and technologies.

Photogrammetric Detection and Ranging (PhoDAR) is an alternative technology to conventional photogrammetry and LiDAR to generate point clouds. Though, PhoDAR and LiDAR are both capable of producing point clouds, the primary difference being PhoDAR uses photographic data (i.e. pictures) collected with a camera to generate a point cloud, whereas LiDAR involves the collection of data measured directly from the reflection of an object using a laser.

Another technology from which topographical point clouds are regularly created is IFSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar). . IFSAR sensors are typically flown in fixed-wing aircraft or mounted to satellites, and primarily uses X-band data of the electromagnetic spectrum to perform measurements. IFSAR data collection involves placing two radar (radio detection and ranging) antennas on the vehicle such that one antenna transmits a radar beam, and then both antennae receive the radar beam reflected from the target (usually the earth’s surface). Captured signals are combined with aircraft telemetry and positional data are processed to generate an interferogram, which is employed to generate elevation products.

Sound Navigation and Ranging (SONAR) technology uses the propagation of sound in an underwater environment to target objects. It is most commonly used to in the surveying profession to determine water depth (bathymetry). Sonar is applied to water-based activities because sound waves attenuate (taper off) less in water as they travel than do radar and light waves.

In future posts I’ll provide detailed analysis of the pros/cons, uses, and accuracies of the various technologies, but for now, the following table provides a brief overview of each.

Technology	Coverage	Accuracy	Use of Technology
Terrestrial LiDAR (Mobile or Static)	Small-to-Medium area projects	1cm	Buildings, Corridor mapping, Asset Inventory, Engineering Design
Aerial LiDAR	Large area projects, in varied terrain conditions	10 cm	Flood plain mapping, Disaster Management, Transportation and Engineering design, Impervious surface mapping, vegetation mapping
PhoDAR	Medium-area projects	15+ cm (dependent on GSD)	Same as above
IFSAR	Large area projects in varied terrain conditions	30 cm	Same as above
SONAR	Small-to-Medium area projects	5-10cm	Underwater studies, dredging, navigation

Cheers!
Srini

Belly of the BEAST

A bank of 2 TB hard drives in our Data Center.

In an effort to better support processing and managing “Big Data,” Michael Baker implemented the Baker Enterprise Architecture for Spatial Technology (BEAST) platform. The BEAST is a fully integrated enterprise solution that allows for server-side and cloud-based processing, production, storage, and hosting within a single framework.

The BEAST hosts a variety of tools that are available to all Michael Baker offices and enables our staff to collaborate on projects in an effective and efficient environment across offices, regions and even continents.

Michael Baker employees typically access the BEAST via Citrix MetaFrame interface. This allows users to access the data through a thin client with all data and software residing “in our private cloud”.

Software and database solutions that we use for LiDAR processing and feature extraction or GIS product production include Optech’s LiDAR Mapping Suite (LMS), ArcGIS (in multiple flavors), Orbit GT, SQL Server, FME, MicroStation, GeoCue, TopoDOT and LizardTech GeoExpress along with custom developed applications. By utilizing fully virtualized environments, the BEAST allows for unparalleled flexibility to rapidly scale additional resources for large-scale project delivery. In many cases, we will also utilize Amazon and Microsoft Cloud services for surge needs; while we continually evaluate overall cost effectiveness of those and other cloud platforms considering the practicalities of uploading and storing terabytes of LiDAR data each day to a cloud service.

Two 56 TB storage servers at a local production office.

In our last posting, Aaron briefly questioned how you would manage 4 terabytes of new data on a daily basis. One of our solutions is the management of data and core processing functions at the BEAST. Where more robust processing is required and a thin client simply will not do, we push data to offices for further processing. Our regionally based processing centers have robust LiDAR server solutions with 50 – 200 Terabytes of storage each. Due to increase network traffic to support the rotund datasets, we have deployed Cisco Meraki network infrastructure for Multi-gigabit connectivity.

Cheers!
Art

Art Morris is a Systems Analyst in Michael Baker's Harrisburg office.  Art joins the Mobile LiDAR team from IT Services, to focus his talents on the acquisition, transfer, and processing of the vast amount of LiDAR data collected by our vehicles.

Art's IT background helps him to act as a liaison between departments, offices and regions, to ensure synergistic collaboration between the Mobile LiDAR team and Michael Baker's IT organization.

Memorial Day

On behalf of Michael Baker International, the Mobile LiDAR Team would like to take the opportunity this Memorial Day to recognize and remember our country’s military members who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the very freedoms we enjoy today. As you spend this day with loved ones, please think about those who fought and gave their lives to secure the liberties that allow us to live, work and make a difference. 

As a firm that employs veterans from many countries and delivers mission-critical services in support of our country’s military around the globe, we’d like our active duty, reserve, guard and contractor friends and family to know they are in our thoughts during their extended deployments and separation from friends and family.

If you are able and so inclined, please consider making a contribution to organizations that support the surviving spouses and children of our fallen heroes. Such organizations include (but not limited to):

• Special Operations Warrior Foundation - http://www.specialops.org/
• Children of Fallen Patriots - http://www.fallenpatriots.org/
• Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund - http://www.fallenheroesfund.org/

Thank you,

The Mobile LiDAR Team

Launching a Fleet

It’s been a while since our last posting, and we’ve certainly appreciated your patience during this brief hiatus – but rest assured, plenty of new content (and contributors) is on the way. The expansion of our Fleet –4 Mobile LiDAR systems, plus an integrated Laser Crack Measurement System (LCMS), plus an integrated Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), plus multiple static LiDAR units – temporarily diverted our attention from our social media content while we focused on scaling other areas of the operation to handle the workload simultaneously coming from four systems. Luckily our faithful followers have been treated to a regular stream of content to  Instagram thanks to our new Fleet Manager.

Quadrupling your collection capacity in less than 8 months looks like a pretty straight forward process on paper, but launching a fleet of the most sophisticated mobile mapping systems at times felt like we were choreographing logistics for NASA’s Mission Control. Four times the number of collection systems means four times the amount of logistics, maintenance, personnel, proposals, storage capacity, and last but not least…Data!

It’s no small feat effectively handle up to 4 Terabytes of new data each and every day. Any way you slice it, that’s a lot of data. So there’s your parting thought for the day – How would you transfer 4 TBs of data from various locations throughout North America on a daily basis?

Cheers!
Aaron
LiDAR Services Director

Direction of our "Light"

No longer only a tool for science, landform mapping and Geomatics Engineering, we have expanded our LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) usage by further analyzing, managing and manipulating the LiDAR data sets across a host of practical applications. This understanding of how to fully utilize and interact with LiDAR data is allowing us to design and create structures and systems – notably in the building, infrastructure and in situ environments – that are safer and more resilient.

But what’s fascinating is that we are still just beginning to achieve LiDAR’s potential for information gathering and usage. One emerging market that Michael Baker is focusing on is in enabling autonomous vehicles while building safer, smarter, real-time information systems within our transportation networks. The impact and applications for this type of ubiquitous, low-cost form of mass-produced LiDAR technology associated with automotive, rail, airborne, marine and other vehicles can change the way the world moves people and things.

What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) with Mobile LiDAR.  Completely immersive scenes are generated along transportation corridors for an array of applications.

The LiDAR data we collect at Michael Baker is of a very precise and dense variety. We apply LiDAR to the purpose of very selective illumination of phenomena in the line-of-sight of our sensor systems. We are selective in where and how we deploy our systems and we carefully plan collections. We primarily direct our LiDAR sensors at our customers’ infrastructure or assets for the comprehensive collection of a point cloud that will be analyzed to extract very specific information. Combined with the acquisition of panoramic and other imagery, our LiDAR and imagery data becomes quite massive in terms of the individual artifacts of data created within the collection process. Now we’re developing methods and algorithms that interact directly with these point clouds to perform conformity analysis with design standards and to analyze stress and perhaps load forecasting on infrastructure. This is the way we can extend the potential for that infrastructure though effective operation and maintenance practices, as well as predict the infrastructure’s ability to bear existing or additional demand loads.

Critical infrastructure is accurately mapped with application of sound surveying principles.  

With our Mobile LiDAR capabilities a single vehicle has the potential to collect in excess of a terabyte of data each day. Billions of LiDAR shots are recorded, tens of millions of photographs are taken and hundreds of thousands of individual LiDAR-based files are generated in a relatively short time period as part of the overall process of creating LiDAR deliverables for a typical project. We currently operate four extraordinarily hi-tech Mobile LiDAR systems, running a collective 800 days per year. We annually collect LiDAR to create more than a petabyte of raw engineering quality data to produce discrete, extracted information about specific infrastructure, assets or ecosystems. After collection, we may double the amount of data we produce and manage for the deliverables we derive from the raw LiDAR or images. Accurately and cost-effectively creating and managing such information is a constant challenge for a large scale LiDAR operation such as ours.

The laser sensors we employ are generally indiscriminate when collecting data. A pulse is emitted and returned. We collect everything in the line-of-sight potential of our eye-safe lasers with great precision. Then we analyze the aggregation of billions of LiDAR points within a dataset to determine any phenomena and its relevancy to an intended purpose.

The use of highly detailed Mobile LiDAR datasets provide the mechanism for feature extraction and attribution when used in conjunction with 360° spherical photography.

As we continue to find new data to mine and explore all of the possibilities that LiDAR technology affords the transportation industry, it’s exciting to ponder the industry’s evolution and what the future looks like.

I invite you to join me at the 2016 MAPPS Winter Conference for a presentation titled: “Big Data or Data That’s Big? The Pervasiveness of LiDAR in the Approaches to Engineering” as I am further addressing these topics and how we are managing data. And, continue to follow this blog for future insights.

Cheers!

Bob

Article: LiDAR Fusion for Impervious Surface Mapping

With the deployment of our 2 brand new Lynx SG1 systems, the past month has been admittedly hectic.  Although we haven’t had much time lately to post new material to the Blog, our team continues to contribute to the profession through other media outlets.

Check out a recent article published in the May edition of LiDAR News Magazine that was authored by our own Dr. Srinivasan Dharmapuri and Aaron Morris.

Cheers!

Stephen

Dallas Open House

Come join us in Dallas, TX on Thursday, June 18th for an Open House at our new office.  Hopefully the weather cooperates and we're able to fully display one of our Mobile LiDAR units!

For directions or to RSVP, contact Robin as indicated in the postcard.

Cheers!
Stephen

Celebrating 75 Years

Today kicks of our 75th Anniversary Celebration at Michael Baker International.  If you look closely, our legacy Mobile LiDAR system made it onto the photo (middle, left of center).  Given the Signature Projects we've performed and the outstanding employees we have across our organization, it's an honor to be represented.

You can look at some of Michael Baker's history presented in past posts at:

• 1940's Survey Crew
• One of our First Computers

Cheers!

Stephen

Follow the #75MichaelBakerIntl anniversary action as we kick-off the celebration across the… http://t.co/4uee0RdKZW pic.twitter.com/g5a0cFMq4A

— Michael Baker Intl. (@MBakerIntl) April 30, 2015

Frequently Asked Questions: Updated

Yesterday started a week of updates, in more ways than one.  Currently, we have Optech in our office to finalize the upgrade and installation of our systems.  With this, I've taken the opportunity to revisit the Frequently Asked Questions part of the new Mobile LiDAR website - you might have also noticed the change in our domain name.

The questions and answers have been updated to reflect the change in our systems, their capabilities and slight variations between the units.  Additionally, I've embedded links into questions that have been addressed in the more than 100 postings that have been prepared over the past 5 years.

If you have a Mobile LiDAR related question, feel free to post a comment or use the Contact Us page to send me an email.

Cheers!
Stephen

Happy National Surveyors Week!

National Surveyors Week, beginning the third Sunday of March, is celebrated each year to highlight the contributions surveyors make to society.  Whether through traditional surveying, photogrammetry, LiDAR, geodesy, or hydrographic surveying, the profession plays a substantial role in defining the characteristics of our constantly evolving environment.

Thank you to all the surveyors who came before us!

Cheers!
Stephen

Michael Baker Jr. survey crew stops for a photograph along US Highway 19 in Florida (specific location unknown), circa 1943.

Picture of the Week - New Mobile LiDAR Vehicles

It has been five and a half years since we unveiled our original system in the first Mobile LiDAR blog posting. The Suburban has served us well for these years, but with deploying the our newly acquired Optech Lynx SG1 systems it was time for something new.

After looking at numerous vehicles and consideration of the years of deployment, we decided to go with Nissan NV2500's.  The large flat roof provides a similar mounting height as our Suburban (with wing), but a much larger interior for our crew's comfort when traveling around the country on assignment.

Michael Baker International's new Mobile LiDAR vehicles.  

The interior build out includes cabinets and working area for our crew. There is plenty of room for all of the supporting equipment, luggage and some of the luxuries the crew brings with them on the road.

Cheers!
Stephen

Note:  The Nissan NV2500 is manufactured in Canton, MS - 3 exits north of our Ridgeland, MS operation along Interstate 55.

In the Press

Pittsburgh, PA – Optech and Michael Baker International are pleased to announce that they have signed an agreement for the delivery of two new Lynx SG1 Mobile Mapper™ Systems, the latest model of Optech’s industry-leading line of Mobile LiDAR solutions. The purchase completes an upgrade for Michael Baker International’s existing Lynx system to the SG1 specification, equipping the firm with two of the most powerful mobile mapping systems in the world. The first of the new Lynx SG1 systems is scheduled for immediate delivery to Michael Baker International.

The latest in Optech’s line of mobile mappers, the Lynx SG1 collects ultra-dense 3D data with survey-grade accuracy from a vehicle travelling at cruising speeds, along with co-aligned camera imagery. With Optech’s Lynx SG1 systems, Michael Baker International will remain at the forefront of the engineering profession and will expand its national business by efficiently accomplishing high accuracy engineering surveys and asset mapping for managing highways, runways and other
infrastructure. Michael Baker International will also utilize the technology in support of MAP-21 program objectives for the Department of Transportation by using Mobile LiDAR systems to gather data necessary to achieve highway performance goals for safety, infrastructure condition, and sustainability.

“We are excited to enhance and expand our core capabilities with the new Lynx SG1 Mobile Mapper™ systems,” said Robert Hanson, Michael Baker International’s National Practice Lead – Geospatial Information Technologies (GIT). “We were amongst the first innovators in the use of Optech mobile mapping technology with our system acquired five years ago. The high quality Mobile LiDAR work that is produced by our in-house team of experts has earned a strong reputation. Our registered quality programs have achieved ISO 9001:2008 – ANSI/ISO/ASQ Q9001-2008 certificates for both Design and Provision of Professional Engineering and Consulting Services for Mobile LiDAR Field Collection, and for LiDAR Data Processing. At Michael Baker International, we understand the engineer’s needs and a project’s demands, so we are able to make a big difference in our clients’ expectations for the products and services we deliver.”

“The Optech Lynx has been powering Michael Baker International’s mobile mapping and surveying endeavors for some time now, and we are happy to expand their capabilities with the latest model of Lynx,” said Albert Iavarone, Business Unit Manager at Optech. “We are very happy that after examining the various options available to them, Michael Baker International once again decided that the Lynx SG1 was the best fit for their demanding projects. Optech is committed to ensuring that our clients get the best possible value out of their investment, which is why we are also modifying their existing Lynx system to the SG1 model. This upgrade will keep their existing surveying tools at the forefront of the industry for some time to come.”

About Michael Baker International
Michael Baker International, LLC is a leading global provider of engineering and consulting services which includes planning, architectural, environmental, construction, program management, and full life cycle support services as well as information technology and communications services and solutions. Baker provides its comprehensive range of services and solutions in support of U.S. federal, state, and municipal governments, foreign allied governments, and a wide range of commercial clients. With over $1 billion in annual revenue, Michael Baker International has more than 5,000 employees in over 90 offices located across the U.S. and internationally, and is ranked as the 26th largest design firm in the U.S. by McGraw Hill’s Engineering News-Record. To learn more about Michael Baker International visit: www.mbakerintl.com

About Optech
Optech is the world leader in high-accuracy LiDAR 3D survey systems, integrated cameras, and productivity-enhancing workflows. With operations and staff worldwide, Optech offers both standalone and fully integrated LiDAR and camera solutions in airborne mapping, airborne LiDAR bathymetry, mobile mapping, terrestrial laser scanning, mine cavity monitoring, and industrial process control, as well as space-proven sensors. Accuracy and productivity matter!

Sacramento Meet and Greet

After scheduled collections in Los Angeles County, Baker's Mobile LiDAR crew will be visiting our Sacramento office.  Meet and greets area schedule for:

• Friday, June 6th at 2:30 pm
• Monday, June 9th at 10:00 am

The office is located at: 4540 Duckhorn Drive, Suite 202, Sacramento, CA 95834.

To request information on either event, please utilize the Contact Us page for details.

Cheers!
Stephen

 

Noticing Traffic - Not on the Highway

I had no intention of writing today, but while making changes to the site’s design today – those familiar with the blog will recognize significant changes to colors, logos, etc. - I noticed a significant spike in traffic, and it wasn't related to one of the Top 3 Posts. In fact, the increased traffic was for a series of posts written nearly 4 years ago.

On April 24, 2010, a series of storms spawned an EF4 tornado in Yazoo City, MS, a small town approximately 40 miles northwest of Ridgeland, MS - our Mobile LiDAR base of operations. The crew was en route to Florida for a collection and was redirected to document damage.

Last Monday, nearly 4 years to the day, a tornado outbreak once again struck north and central MS – the National Weather Service reported 21 tornado tracks, including another close call in Yazoo City. The map clearly shows Ridgeland in between two lines of tracks. Most of our staff lost power or had minor damage, and thankfully, none were injured.

For more information on the work we performed in 2010:

• Yazoo City: Part 1
• Yazoo City: Part 2
• Yazoo City: Part 3
• Revisiting Yazoo

-Stephen