This metadata record is for Approval for Access product AfA458. Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is an airborne mapping technique, which uses a laser to measure the distance between the aircraft and the ground. Up to 100,000 measurements per second are made of the ground, allowing highly detailed terrain models to be generated at spatial resolutions of between 25cm and 2 metres. The Environment Agency’s LIDAR data archive contains digital elevation data derived from surveys carried out by the Environment Agency's specialist remote sensing team. Accurate elevation data is available for over 70% of England. This dataset is derived from a combination of our full dataset which has been merged and re-sampled to give the best possible coverage. Data is available at 2m, 1m, 50cm, and 25cm resolution. The dataset can be supplied as a Digital Surface Model produced from the signal returned to the LIDAR (which includes heights of objects, such as vehicles, buildings and vegetation, as well as the terrain surface) or as a Digital Terrain Model produced by removing objects from the Digital Surface Model. The dataset can be presented as an ESRI ASCII Raster which contains height values, or as a georeferenced JPEG which is an image showing what LIDAR looks like when loaded into specialist software. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2015. All rights reserved