Question on Lidar usage

[jrf30]

I have a person who says he can see some treasures near me because he is using his Lidar radar to scan from satellites. He even sent me a picture of a "hit" that shows a square mark in the ground. he says it is a chest.

YES, of course I'm going out to look at it. I'd be foolish to not go see what is making his machine blip. Even if it turns out to be nothing, it is an interesting day for me, and it is right near where I have been elk shed hunting this spring, so I'll do that too while out there. But ... what are your thoughts on long distance Lidar scanning? Is there any merit to it? Hey, 40 years ago submarine radar was nothing like it is now. Side sonar has changed over the past 30 years. Doppler shows weather in ways unheard of 30 years ago. there are advances happening. So has Lidar advanced enough that this is something that will start working and exposing lost treasures in out mountains, or is this still a load of (you know what)? What are your guys thoughts on this.

 

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[pepperj]

Copy and paste the photo of this-take out any coordinates or any other feature that would give the location away.
Personally would say it would have to be a pretty big chest to show up on the Lidar.
Possible foundation/cellar hole I would be thinking.

 

[Clay Diggins]

I doubt your friend is using Satellite Lidar data. The best resolution from satellite is 12 foot. That would mean a single square feature would have to have a minimum size of 24 x 24 feet cubed and there would be no detail.

Higher resolution LIDAR is available but that is all created from aerial scans within a few hundred feet of the ground. Airplanes, helicopters and sometimes drones are used for higher resolution LIDAR. You friend may be viewing some of these ground based LIDAR scans in which case items as small as 2 foot cube can be detected.

LIDAR does not record beyond the surface of the earth. LIDAR can not detect buried objects. So if you want to go look for a treasure box on the surface you would be looking for something the size of a semi trailer or larger with satellite LIDAR (pretty easy to find) or an object the size of a desk or larger if they are using the highest resolution aerial LIDAR. In either case it will be on the surface and pretty large for a treasure.