Using Landsat 8 Imagery of Petroleum Tanks found in Pennsylvania acquired by the USGS, I was able to find the height, in meters, of each storage tank. I was able to do this by creating a DEM, DSM and, nDSM using both ArcGIS Pro and eCognition. My detailed workflow is explained here:

Prepare LAS Data:

• Import LAS Files: I began by importing the LAS lidar point cloud files into ArcGIS Pro.

• Create LAS Dataset: Next, I merged the two LAS files into one dataset using the Add files to LAS Dataset tool

Create DEM (Digital Elevation Model):

• Filter Ground Points: Next, I used the Make LAS Dataset Layer tool to filter the LAS data to include only ground points. This makes it so that the DEM represents the bare earth surface.

• Generate DEM: I use the ground points to create a DEM. This involves using the LAS

Dataset to Raster tool with the input of my ground points only file. Along with using ground points, I used a value field of elevation and an interpolation method of Triangulation with a Natural Neighbor method.

Create nDSM (Normalized Digital Surface Model):

• Filter Non-Ground Points: Using a similar process, I made another filtered lidar file to include only non-ground points with first returns, such as vegetation and buildings.

• Generate DSM: I used the filtered lidar file to create a raster DSM using the same method as creating a DEM. This surface includes all features above the ground, such as trees and buildings which is important to calculate the height of the storage tanks.

• Subtract DEM from DSM: I subtract the DEM from the DSM using the subtract tool to create the nDSM. This step normalizes the surface model by removing the terrain elevation, leaving only the height of features above the ground.

Approximate height of the four storage tanks

Top Left: 14.293562 m

Top Right: 14.157971 m

Bottom Left: 14.226904 m

Bottom Right: 14.308355 m