docs(changelog): name the shared terrain fragment after its pull request

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.2 <[email protected]>

changelog.d/1688-transit-terrain-height-cache.md

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+- Fix the page freezing for seconds at a time with Transit on over a terrain
+  globe, most visibly while zooming over a large fleet. Every reread asked the
+  terrain for the height of every trail fix of every vehicle in view; heights
+  are now kept per point, read again only while the camera moves or tiles
+  load, and read within a time budget that puts vehicle positions first
+  (mazy1998, #1688).

changelog.d/1689-shared-terrain-surface.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+- Read terrain heights through one shared, cached and budgeted reader
+  (`src/services/terrainSurface.js`) in Transit, Rail, Bike Share and the local
+  data layers. Opening Data Centers no longer blocks the page for over two
+  seconds, opening Bike Share for most of a second, and Rail asks the terrain
+  about a twentieth as often (mazy1998, #1689).

docs/CURRENT-STATE.md

@@ -5578,6 +5578,39 @@ Noir samples also exclude its deliberately vignetted outer field, using shader
 settings and screen position rather than observed brightness. Selected-trail
 diagnostics report every condition even when selection fails.
 
+Heights of the terrain globe's loaded surface come from one shared reader,
+`src/services/terrainSurface.js`, which the ground service hands to every layer
+(`groundFloor.terrainSurface`). `globe.getHeight` is a ray cast against the
+drawn tile's mesh, so the reader keeps each answer per point, about a metre
+apart. While the camera moves or tiles load a kept height is read again after
+2 s; a height read once both have been still for 5 s is kept until either
+changes. Reads are budgeted at 16 ms per 200 ms window across all layers, 12 ms
+of it for re-reads, longest-kept first. A request ranks as a marker (always
+read), drawn geometry, or background (a quarter of each budget). Past the
+budget a kept point keeps its last height and a new point takes the last
+height read in its ~111 m floor cell or waits.
+
+- Transit asks for every vehicle and trail fix: vehicle positions as markers,
+  the path a marker is drawn along next, the undrawn trail history of
+  unselected vehicles as background, and its reread cycle continues until no
+  point waits. Before this, every reread cast a ray for every trail fix of
+  every vehicle in view, which blocked the page for up to 19 s at a time over
+  a 650-vehicle fleet while zooming.
+- Rail asks for each train every frame on a grid about 4 m apart, as a marker,
+  so a moving train reads a few times a second and a standing one not at all.
+- Local data layers (Data Centers, Dams) read terrain floors through it, and
+  their depth samples (`scene.sampleHeight`, a GPU render) stop at 8 ms a
+  frame per layer and continue on the next frames.
+- Bike Share draws a city's stations at once at the fallback height and finds
+  their ground heights afterwards in 4 ms steps, from the terrain reader on a
+  terrain globe and from depth samples where the globe is hidden.
+
+Verified in the browser on a keyless terrain globe only: Boston for Transit,
+Rail and Bike Share, northern Virginia for Data Centers. Not checked there:
+photorealistic 3D Tiles, a terrain globe with a building tileset on top, Dams,
+and any city steeper than Boston. Street Traffic keeps its own height cache
+and ALPR cameras their own sample budget.
+
 Transit brackets use the normal-composite overlay surface: a 1.25 px mode-colour
 stroke over 3.25 px dark backing. Other contact themes retain their existing
 behavior. The selected trail uses a 3 px core over 5 px backing, mode-coloured

docs/INFRASTRUCTURE-LAYERS.md

@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ const layers = createInfrastructureLayers({
 | `clearSelectedEntityContextForLayer` | `(layerId)`; clear selection only if owned by this layer |
 | `removeEntityContextsForLayer` | `(layerId)`; remove records owned by the layer on destruction or failed setup |
 | `governorRequestRender` | `(reason)`; request a frame through the existing render scheduler |
+| `terrainSurface` | Optional. The application's shared terrain surface (`groundFloor.terrainSurface`), so its layers read each terrain height once; without it each layer keeps its own |
 
 Each returned layer supports `init(viewer)`, `enable(viewer)`, `disable(viewer)`,
 `update(viewer)`, `destroy(viewer)`, `getStats()`, `getLodDiagnostics()` and

scripts/package-boundaries.json

@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@
       "src/data/localGeojsonLod.js",
       "src/data/inputOwnership.js",
       "src/data/infrastructureOverlayEntry.js",
-      "src/sources/infrastructureData.js"
+      "src/sources/infrastructureData.js",
+      "src/services/terrainSurface.js"
     ],
     "external": ["cesium"]
   },
@@ -2056,6 +2057,7 @@
       "src/layers/bikeshare/state.js",
       "src/layers/bikeshare/testing.js",
       "src/layers/bikeshare/viewport.js",
+      "src/services/terrainSurface.js",
       "src/data/inputOwnership.js",
       "src/data/cameraSensitivity.js",
       "src/i18n/index.js",
@@ -3003,6 +3005,7 @@
       "src/search/placeSearch.js",
       "src/services/application.js",
       "src/services/groundFloor.js",
+      "src/services/terrainSurface.js",
       "src/services/groundSnap.js",
       "src/services/meshFloorSampler.js",
       "src/services/requests.js",
@@ -4034,6 +4037,7 @@
       "src/scopeMaskPolicy.js",
       "src/scopeMask.js",
       "src/services/groundFloor.js",
+      "src/services/terrainSurface.js",
       "src/data/routeSteps.js",
       "src/layers/directions/index.js",
       "src/data/pointerOwnerNames.js",
@@ -4378,6 +4382,7 @@
       "src/search/placeSearch.js",
       "src/services/application.js",
       "src/services/groundFloor.js",
+      "src/services/terrainSurface.js",
       "src/services/groundSnap.js",
       "src/services/meshFloorSampler.js",
       "src/services/requests.js",
@@ -5038,6 +5043,7 @@
       "src/renderGovernor.js",
       "src/services/application.js",
       "src/services/groundFloor.js",
+      "src/services/terrainSurface.js",
       "src/services/meshFloorSampler.js",
       "src/services/requests.js",
       "src/services/terrainHeights.js",
@@ -5082,6 +5088,7 @@
       "src/data/transitPresetStyle.js",
       "src/layers/transit/controls.js",
       "src/layers/transit/height.js",
+      "src/services/terrainSurface.js",
       "src/layers/transit/index.js",
       "src/layers/transit/ingestion.js",
       "src/layers/transit/lifecycle.js",

src/app/constructCatalog.js

@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ export function createApplicationCatalog({
         createApplicationCctv({ surface, source: sources.cctv }),
         createApplicationRadio({ surface, source: sources.radio }),
         createApplicationTransit({ surface, source: sources.transit }),
-        createApplicationBikeshare({ source: sources.bikeshare }),
+        createApplicationBikeshare({ surface, source: sources.bikeshare }),
         createApplicationDirections({ source: sources.directions }),
         createApplicationRecentImagery({ source: sources['recent-imagery'] }),
         createApplicationOsmPlaces(),
@@ -198,7 +198,10 @@ export function createApplicationCatalog({
         }),
         createApplicationCyclones({ feed: sources.cyclones }),
         ...createOsmOverlayLayers(),
-        ...createInfrastructureLayers(localGeoJsonServices),
+        ...createInfrastructureLayers({
+          ...localGeoJsonServices,
+          terrainSurface: surface.groundFloor.terrainSurface,
+        }),
         createApplicationCables({ source: sources.cables }),
         createApplicationRail({ surface, source: sources.rail }),
         createApplicationFirms({

src/app/layers/bikeshare.js

@@ -5,9 +5,16 @@ import * as picking from '../../data/pickRegistry.js';
 import * as overlays from '../../overlays/worldOverlay.js';
 
 /** Construct one layer using the application scene owners and a supplied source. */
-export function createApplicationBikeshare({ source }) {
+export function createApplicationBikeshare({ source, surface }) {
   return createBikeshareLayer({
     source,
-    services: { render, sprites, picking, overlays },
+    services: {
+      render,
+      sprites,
+      picking,
+      overlays,
+      // Station heights come from the terrain surface every layer shares.
+      ground: { terrainSurface: surface?.groundFloor?.terrainSurface },
+    },
   });
 }

src/data/infrastructure.test.mjs

@@ -196,6 +196,7 @@ test('consumer build includes only infrastructure code and resolves assets under
     'infrastructureOverlayEntry.js',
     'localGeojsonCore.js',
     'localGeojsonLod.js',
+    'terrainSurface.js',
   ]);
   assert.deepEqual(
     entry.imports,

src/data/localGeojson.test.mjs

@@ -23,9 +23,10 @@ import {
 } from '../renderGovernor.js';
 
 /** The catalog's services, with the overlay host each test supplies. */
-const createLocalGeoJsonLayer = (options) =>
+const createLocalGeoJsonLayer = (options, services = {}) =>
   createLayer(options, {
     ...localGeoJsonServices,
+    ...services,
     overlayHost: options.overlayHost ?? localGeoJsonServices.overlayHost,
   });
 
@@ -58,10 +59,15 @@ class MockLayerEvent {
  * @param {boolean} [options.sampleHeightSupported] Scene height-sampling capability.
  * @param {Function} [options.sampleHeight] Initial scene.sampleHeight behavior
  *   (default: throws like a scene whose tiles are not sampleable yet).
+ * @param {number[][]} [options.points] `[lon, lat]` sites to load
+ *   instead of the single dam polygon.
+ * @param {object} [options.services] Extra services for the layer.
  */
 async function createRealLocalLayerHarness({
   sampleHeightSupported = false,
   sampleHeight = () => { throw new Error('tiles not sampleable yet'); },
+  points = null,
+  services = {},
 } = {}) {
   const originalFetch = globalThis.fetch;
   const originalWindow = globalThis.window;
@@ -72,7 +78,22 @@ async function createRealLocalLayerHarness({
   globalThis.fetch = async () => ({
     ok: true,
     status: 200,
-    text: async () => JSON.stringify({
+    text: async () => points ? points.map(([lon, lat], index) => JSON.stringify({
+      type: 'Feature',
+      id: `site-${index}`,
+      properties: { name: `Site ${index}` },
+      // A small outline: the layer stems its centre. (Cesium draws a point
+      // feature as a canvas pin, which Node cannot make.)
+      geometry: {
+        type: 'Polygon',
+        coordinates: [[
+          [lon - 0.001, lat - 0.001],
+          [lon + 0.001, lat - 0.001],
+          [lon, lat + 0.001],
+          [lon - 0.001, lat - 0.001],
+        ]],
+      },
+    })).join('\n') : JSON.stringify({
       type: 'Feature',
       id: 'real-dam',
       properties: { name: 'Runtime Dam', tags: { associated_river: 'Test River' } },
@@ -149,7 +170,7 @@ async function createRealLocalLayerHarness({
       setInputAction() {},
       destroy() {},
     }),
-  });
+  }, services);
   try {
     await layer.enable(viewer);
   } finally {
@@ -903,12 +924,13 @@ test('settled terrain refinement lifts an already sampled stem without another G
   env.preRender.raise();
   assert.ok(Math.abs(baseHeightM(env) - 117) < 0.01, 'wait for the refined mesh to settle');
   globe.tilesLoaded = true;
-  clock.advance(500);
+  // The terrain surface reuses a height for 2 s before reading the mesh again.
+  clock.advance(2_100);
   env.preRender.raise();
   assert.ok(Math.abs(baseHeightM(env) - 120) < 0.01, 'a parked marker must follow the refined floor');
 
   terrain = 110;
-  clock.advance(500);
+  clock.advance(2_100);
   env.preRender.raise();
   assert.ok(Math.abs(baseHeightM(env) - 120) < 0.01, 'a lower floor must not flatten existing geometry');
   terrain = 140;
@@ -1493,3 +1515,161 @@ test('globe-LOD re-selects during continuous motion, without ever seeing a moveE
   assert.deepEqual(env.layer.getLodDiagnostics(), parked, 'a parked camera never re-selects');
 });
 
+
+/** A loaded terrain globe that counts its ray casts. */
+function countingTerrain(height) {
+  const globe = {
+    show: true,
+    tilesLoaded: true,
+    reads: 0,
+    getHeight: () => { globe.reads += 1; return height; },
+  };
+  return globe;
+}
+
+/** Height of every stem base, in entity order. */
+function allBaseHeightsM(env) {
+  return env.dataSources[0].entities.values.map(
+    (entity) => Cesium.Cartographic.fromCartesian(entity.__localBaseCartesian).height,
+  );
+}
+
+const SAMPLE_SITES = [
+  [-97.70, 30.20], [-97.69, 30.20], [-97.70, 30.21], [-97.69, 30.21], [-97.695, 30.205],
+];
+
+test('repeated walks over a grounded stem reuse its terrain height instead of re-casting it', async (t) => {
+  const env = await createRealLocalLayerHarness({
+    sampleHeightSupported: true, sampleHeight: () => 117,
+  });
+  const clock = installFakeClock(t);
+  t.after(() => { env.layer.destroy(env.viewer); env.cleanup(); });
+  const globe = countingTerrain(117);
+  env.viewer.scene.globe = globe;
+  setCameraAltitude(env, 20_000);
+  for (let walk = 0; walk < 40; walk += 1) {
+    env.preRender.raise();
+    clock.advance(500);
+  }
+  assert.ok(Math.abs(baseHeightM(env) - 117) < 0.01);
+  // 20 s parked: a few reads while the surface settles, then none.
+  assert.ok(globe.reads <= 8, `${globe.reads} terrain ray casts over 40 parked walks`);
+  const settled = globe.reads;
+  for (let walk = 0; walk < 20; walk += 1) {
+    env.preRender.raise();
+    clock.advance(500);
+  }
+  assert.equal(globe.reads, settled, 'a parked camera over settled terrain casts no more rays');
+});
+
+test('repeated walks past an unseen base do not re-cast its terrain height', async (t) => {
+  const env = await createRealLocalLayerHarness({
+    sampleHeightSupported: true, sampleHeight: () => 117,
+  });
+  const clock = installFakeClock(t);
+  t.after(() => { env.layer.destroy(env.viewer); env.cleanup(); });
+  const globe = countingTerrain(117);
+  env.viewer.scene.globe = globe;
+  setCameraAltitude(env, 20_000);
+  env.setBaseInView(false);
+  for (let walk = 0; walk < 40; walk += 1) {
+    env.preRender.raise();
+    clock.advance(500);
+  }
+  assert.equal(env.sampleCalls.count, 0);
+  assert.ok(globe.reads <= 8, `${globe.reads} terrain ray casts over 40 walks past an unseen base`);
+});
+
+test('terrain heights come from the shared surface the host supplies, in degrees', async (t) => {
+  const asked = [];
+  const terrainSurface = {
+    height: (viewer, lat, lon, need) => { asked.push({ viewer, lat, lon, need }); return 130; },
+  };
+  const env = await createRealLocalLayerHarness({
+    sampleHeightSupported: true, sampleHeight: () => 117,
+    points: [[-97.695, 30.205]],
+    services: { terrainSurface },
+  });
+  const clock = installFakeClock(t);
+  t.after(() => { env.layer.destroy(env.viewer); env.cleanup(); });
+  const globe = countingTerrain(117);
+  env.viewer.scene.globe = globe;
+  setCameraAltitude(env, 20_000);
+  env.preRender.raise();
+  assert.ok(Math.abs(baseHeightM(env) - 117) < 0.01, 'the sample is floored by the globe itself');
+  clock.advance(500);
+  env.preRender.raise();
+  assert.ok(asked.length >= 2);
+  for (const call of asked) {
+    assert.equal(call.viewer, env.viewer);
+    assert.ok(Math.abs(call.lat - 30.205) < 0.002 && Math.abs(call.lon + 97.695) < 0.002,
+      `asked at ${call.lat}, ${call.lon}`);
+  }
+  assert.ok(Math.abs(baseHeightM(env) - 130) < 0.01, 'the refined floor comes from the shared surface');
+  assert.equal(globe.reads, 1, 'only the floor under a fresh sample is read from the globe directly');
+});
+
+test('a walk of expensive ground samples stops at its budget and later frames finish the rest', async (t) => {
+  const heights = new Map();
+  let clock = null;
+  const env = await createRealLocalLayerHarness({
+    sampleHeightSupported: true,
+    points: SAMPLE_SITES,
+    sampleHeight: (carto) => {
+      clock.advance(15); // one GPU depth render
+      const height = 100 + heights.size;
+      heights.set(`${carto.longitude},${carto.latitude}`, height);
+      return height;
+    },
+  });
+  _resetRenderGovernorForTest();
+  const governorScene = { renders: 0, requestRender() { this.renders += 1; } };
+  installRenderGovernor({ scene: governorScene });
+  governorScene.renders = 0; // discard the governor's own install settling frame
+  clock = installFakeClock(t);
+  t.after(() => {
+    env.layer.destroy(env.viewer);
+    env.cleanup();
+    _resetRenderGovernorForTest();
+  });
+  setCameraAltitude(env, 20_000);
+
+  env.preRender.raise();
+  assert.equal(env.sampleCalls.count, 1, 'one 15 ms sample spends the walk budget');
+  assert.equal(governorScene.renders, 1, 'the walk asks for the frame that continues it');
+
+  // The following frames arrive well inside the 450 ms walk interval.
+  for (let frame = 2; frame <= SAMPLE_SITES.length; frame += 1) {
+    clock.advance(16);
+    env.preRender.raise();
+    assert.equal(env.sampleCalls.count, frame, 'each frame takes up where the last stopped');
+  }
+  assert.equal(governorScene.renders, SAMPLE_SITES.length - 1, 'no frame is requested once every site is sampled');
+  clock.advance(16);
+  env.preRender.raise();
+  assert.equal(env.sampleCalls.count, SAMPLE_SITES.length, 'nothing is sampled twice');
+
+  const expected = env.dataSources[0].entities.values.map((entity) => {
+    const carto = entity.__localBaseCarto;
+    return heights.get(`${carto.longitude},${carto.latitude}`);
+  });
+  assert.deepEqual(allBaseHeightsM(env).map((h) => Math.round(h * 100) / 100), expected);
+  for (const entity of env.dataSources[0].entities.values) {
+    const stem = entity.polyline.positions.getValue();
+    assert.ok(Cesium.Cartesian3.equals(stem[0], entity.__localBaseCartesian), 'each stem stands on its sampled base');
+  }
+});
+
+test('cheap ground samples are all taken on the first walk, at the same heights as paced ones', async (t) => {
+  const env = await createRealLocalLayerHarness({
+    sampleHeightSupported: true,
+    points: SAMPLE_SITES,
+    sampleHeight: () => 117,
+  });
+  installFakeClock(t);
+  t.after(() => { env.layer.destroy(env.viewer); env.cleanup(); });
+  setCameraAltitude(env, 20_000);
+  env.preRender.raise();
+  assert.equal(env.sampleCalls.count, SAMPLE_SITES.length);
+  for (const height of allBaseHeightsM(env)) assert.ok(Math.abs(height - 117) < 0.01);
+});

src/data/localGeojsonCore.js

@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ import {
   applyInfraEvictionGrace,
   shouldRecomputeInfraLod,
 } from './localGeojsonLod.js';
+import {
+  createTerrainSurface,
+  TERRAIN_NEED,
+} from '../services/terrainSurface.js';
 
 const DEFAULT_LABEL_MAX = 900;
 const DEFAULT_LABEL_GRID_PX = 132;
@@ -38,6 +42,15 @@ const GROUND_SAMPLE_MAX_ABS_HEIGHT_M = 9000;
  * 30 × 2 s ≈ 60 s, far longer than a tile stream-in.
  */
 export const GROUND_SAMPLE_MAX_ARMED_RETRIES = 30;
+/**
+ * Milliseconds of scene.sampleHeight one frame may spend. Each call is an
+ * offscreen depth render (about 15 ms measured), and a first walk near a dense
+ * cluster wants one per site in view: 168 of them held the main thread for
+ * 2.6 s. Past the budget the remaining sites queue, and each following frame
+ * takes as many as fit, so the sites reach the same heights a frame or a few
+ * apart instead of all inside one blocked frame.
+ */
+export const GROUND_SAMPLE_FRAME_BUDGET_MS = 8;
 /** Ignore sub-metre camera-derived stem-tip noise at camera settle. */
 export const LOCAL_STEM_TIP_EPSILON_M = 0.5;
 const LOCAL_STEM_TIP_EPSILON_SQ = LOCAL_STEM_TIP_EPSILON_M ** 2;
@@ -324,8 +337,20 @@ export function createLocalGeoJsonLayer(
     governorRequestRender,
     showOsmCredit,
     hideOsmCredit,
+    terrainSurface,
   },
 ) {
+  /**
+   * What ground sampling shares across a layer's records: the terrain
+   * surface (the application's, so every layer reads a point once and spends
+   * one budget, or this layer's own), the sample time spent this frame, and
+   * the records the frame budget left for a later frame.
+   */
+  const _ground = {
+    terrain: terrainSurface || createTerrainSurface(),
+    sampleMs: 0,
+    queued: [],
+  };
   let _dataSource = null;
   let _enabled = false;
   let _clickHandler = null;
@@ -426,6 +451,42 @@ export function createLocalGeoJsonLayer(
     clearTimeout(_groundRetryTimer);
     _groundRetryTimer = null;
   }
+
+  /**
+   * Sample the sites an earlier frame's budget left over, within this
+   * frame's. They were never attempted, so the 2 s retry spacing does not
+   * apply to them.
+   * @param {Cesium.Viewer} viewer
+   * @param {number} now
+   * @returns {void}
+   */
+  function sampleQueuedGround(viewer, now) {
+    const queued = _ground.queued;
+    if (queued.length === 0) return;
+    _ground.queued = [];
+    for (const record of queued) {
+      record.groundSampleQueued = false;
+      // The camera may have left the site since it queued.
+      if (_lodComputed && !_activeLodIds.has(record.id)) continue;
+      const distance = Cesium.Cartesian3.distance(
+        viewer.camera.positionWC,
+        record.base,
+      );
+      if (distance >= GROUND_SAMPLE_MAX_DISTANCE_M) continue;
+      // Past the budget this puts the record back in the queue.
+      if (sampleLocalGroundHeight(viewer, record, now, _ground)) {
+        updateLocalStemGeometry(viewer, record, now, _ground, distance);
+        _groundRetryArms = 0;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  /** Ask for the frame that samples what this one's budget left over. */
+  function requestQueuedGroundFrame() {
+    if (_ground.queued.length > 0)
+      governorRequestRender(`local-ground-sample:${id}`);
+  }
+
   const _overlayPublisher = createLocalInfrastructureOverlayPublisher({
     sourceId: id,
     host: overlayHost,
@@ -442,6 +503,7 @@ export function createLocalGeoJsonLayer(
     const source = _dataSource;
     _dataSource = null;
     _stemRecords = [];
+    _ground.queued = [];
     _stemGeometryDirty = true;
     _lastVisibilityUpdate = Number.NEGATIVE_INFINITY;
     removeEntityContextsForLayer(id);
@@ -689,6 +751,8 @@ export function createLocalGeoJsonLayer(
                 // Store references for bounded stem scaling and native picking.
                 feature.__localBaseCarto = carto;
                 feature.__localBaseCartesian = base;
+                const latDeg = Cesium.Math.toDegrees(carto.latitude);
+                const lonDeg = Cesium.Math.toDegrees(carto.longitude);
                 registerEntityContext(feature, {
                   id: `${id}:${recordId}`,
                   layerId: id,
@@ -739,7 +803,11 @@ export function createLocalGeoJsonLayer(
                   stemPositionBuffers,
                   stemPositionBufferIndex: 0,
                   groundHeight,
+                  // Degrees, as the terrain surface takes them.
+                  latDeg,
+                  lonDeg,
                   groundSampled: false,
+                  groundSampleQueued: false,
                   lastGroundSampleMs: 0,
                   priority,
                   entry: labels
@@ -860,7 +928,13 @@ export function createLocalGeoJsonLayer(
         _preRenderRemover = viewer.scene.preRender.addEventListener(() => {
           if (!_enabled || !_dataSource) return;
           const now = performance.now();
-          if (now - _lastVisibilityUpdate < VISIBILITY_UPDATE_MS) return;
+          // One sample budget per frame, shared by the queue and the walk.
+          _ground.sampleMs = 0;
+          sampleQueuedGround(viewer, now);
+          if (now - _lastVisibilityUpdate < VISIBILITY_UPDATE_MS) {
+            requestQueuedGroundFrame();
+            return;
+          }
           _lastVisibilityUpdate = now;
 
           const cameraPos = viewer.camera.positionWC;
@@ -911,6 +985,9 @@ export function createLocalGeoJsonLayer(
           _lastGroundSampleCapability = canSampleGround;
           let groundRetryPending = false;
           let groundSampleProgress = false;
+          // This walk asks for no height while tiles load, so it shows the
+          // surface the load itself; see terrainSurface.js observe().
+          _ground.terrain.observe?.(viewer);
 
           // --- Globe-LOD: recompute the active-stem set on camera moves. ---
           // `_stemGeometryDirty` is set by moveEnd, the first enable, and the
@@ -972,9 +1049,10 @@ export function createLocalGeoJsonLayer(
             const terrainFloorChanged = refreshLocalTerrainFloor(
               viewer,
               record,
+              _ground,
             );
             if (refreshStemGeometry || terrainFloorChanged) {
-              updateLocalStemGeometry(viewer, record, now);
+              updateLocalStemGeometry(viewer, record, now, _ground);
             } else if (
               canSampleGround &&
               !record.groundSampled &&
@@ -988,9 +1066,9 @@ export function createLocalGeoJsonLayer(
               );
               if (
                 distance < GROUND_SAMPLE_MAX_DISTANCE_M &&
-                sampleLocalGroundHeight(viewer, record, now)
+                sampleLocalGroundHeight(viewer, record, now, _ground)
               ) {
-                updateLocalStemGeometry(viewer, record, now, distance);
+                updateLocalStemGeometry(viewer, record, now, _ground, distance);
               }
             }
             if (!wasGroundSampled && record.groundSampled)
@@ -1002,16 +1080,19 @@ export function createLocalGeoJsonLayer(
             // the user happens to move. Schedule the frame the retry needs.
             // Gated on a sampleable scene and in-range, in-view records only,
             // so a far camera (or a keyless scene) stays fully idle; the
-            // distance is only computed for still-unsampled stems.
+            // distance is only computed for still-unsampled stems. A record
+            // the frame budget queued is sampled by the frame the queue asks
+            // for, with no timer.
             if (
               canSampleGround &&
               !record.groundSampled &&
+              !record.groundSampleQueued &&
               !groundRetryPending &&
               Cesium.Cartesian3.distance(
                 viewer.camera.positionWC,
                 record.base,
               ) < GROUND_SAMPLE_MAX_DISTANCE_M &&
-              groundSampleInView(viewer, record)
+              groundSampleInView(viewer, record, _ground)
             ) {
               groundRetryPending = true;
             }
@@ -1022,6 +1103,7 @@ export function createLocalGeoJsonLayer(
           // so the records still waiting get their own bounded run of retries.
           if (groundSampleProgress) _groundRetryArms = 0;
           if (groundRetryPending) scheduleGroundRetryRender(viewer);
+          requestQueuedGroundFrame();
 
           const canvas = viewer.scene.canvas;
           const cohort = selectLocalInfrastructureOverlayCohort(
@@ -1108,7 +1190,7 @@ function insertLocalCellContender(contenders, record) {
     contenders.length = LOCAL_OVERLAY_CELL_SURPLUS;
 }
 
-function refreshLocalTerrainFloor(viewer, record) {
+function refreshLocalTerrainFloor(viewer, record, ground) {
   const globe = viewer.scene.globe;
   if (!record.groundSampled || !globe?.show || globe.tilesLoaded === false)
     return false;
@@ -1120,7 +1202,15 @@ function refreshLocalTerrainFloor(viewer, record) {
   // Camera motion can refine terrain after the first successful depth sample.
   // Reuse the loaded mesh on existing bounded walks; never arm a timer or do
   // another GPU readback just to maintain this floor. Keep roof elevations.
-  const height = globe.getHeight?.(record.carto);
+  // The surface keeps the height per point and casts the ray again only after
+  // the camera moves or tiles load. MARKER: the answer is this point's own
+  // height, never a neighbour's, since a height taken here is kept for good.
+  const height = ground.terrain.height(
+    viewer,
+    record.latDeg,
+    record.lonDeg,
+    TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER,
+  );
   if (
     !Number.isFinite(height) ||
     Math.abs(height) > GROUND_SAMPLE_MAX_ABS_HEIGHT_M ||
@@ -1163,11 +1253,20 @@ function groundSamplePoint(record, height, result) {
  * sample can accept, so high or below-ellipsoid ground in view is never
  * mistaken for an unseen base. Unseen ground is sampled on the first walk that
  * sees it.
+ *
+ * The terrain height comes from the shared surface, which keeps it per point:
+ * this runs for every unsampled site in range on every walk, and a ray cast
+ * each time was 17,733 casts and 1.3 s over one zoom. The view test needs the
+ * height only roughly, so a height the surface has not read yet, or tiles
+ * still loading, count as unknown ground.
  */
-function groundSampleInView(viewer, record) {
+function groundSampleInView(viewer, record, ground) {
   const camera = viewer.camera;
   const globe = viewer.scene.globe;
-  const terrain = globe?.show ? globe.getHeight?.(record.carto) : undefined;
+  const terrain =
+    globe?.show && globe.tilesLoaded !== false
+      ? ground.terrain.height(viewer, record.latDeg, record.lonDeg)
+      : undefined;
   const known =
     Number.isFinite(terrain) &&
     Math.abs(terrain) <= GROUND_SAMPLE_MAX_ABS_HEIGHT_M;
@@ -1208,18 +1307,30 @@ function groundSampleInView(viewer, record) {
   );
 }
 
-function sampleLocalGroundHeight(viewer, record, now) {
+function sampleLocalGroundHeight(viewer, record, now, ground) {
   if (record.groundSampled || !viewer.scene.sampleHeightSupported) return false;
   if (now - record.lastGroundSampleMs < GROUND_SAMPLE_RETRY_MS) return false;
-  if (!groundSampleInView(viewer, record)) return false;
+  // This frame's samples have used its budget: leave the record for the next
+  // frame, unattempted, so the retry spacing does not hold it back.
+  if (ground.sampleMs >= GROUND_SAMPLE_FRAME_BUDGET_MS) {
+    if (!record.groundSampleQueued) {
+      record.groundSampleQueued = true;
+      ground.queued.push(record);
+    }
+    return false;
+  }
+  if (!groundSampleInView(viewer, record, ground)) return false;
   record.lastGroundSampleMs = now;
   const globe = viewer.scene.globe;
   if (globe?.show && globe.tilesLoaded === false) return false;
   let sampled;
+  const startedAt = performance.now();
   try {
     sampled = viewer.scene.sampleHeight(record.carto, [record.entity]);
   } catch {
     return false; // tiles not ready; retry on a later bounded update
+  } finally {
+    ground.sampleMs += performance.now() - startedAt;
   }
   if (
     !Number.isFinite(sampled) ||
@@ -1229,7 +1340,9 @@ function sampleLocalGroundHeight(viewer, record, now) {
   // A coarse scene-depth sample can lie below the terrain already loaded by
   // the visible globe. Keep that terrain as a floor while allowing roofs and
   // valid below-sea-level elevations. Photoreal scenes hide the globe, so its
-  // inactive terrain must not constrain their geometry.
+  // inactive terrain must not constrain their geometry. Read from the globe
+  // itself, once per site: the floor under a sample must be the mesh that is
+  // loaded now, not a height kept from a moment before.
   const terrainHeight = globe?.show
     ? globe.getHeight?.(record.carto)
     : undefined;
@@ -1256,12 +1369,18 @@ function setLocalGroundHeight(record, height) {
   record.entity.__localBaseCartesian = record.base;
 }
 
-function updateLocalStemGeometry(viewer, record, now, knownDistance = null) {
+function updateLocalStemGeometry(
+  viewer,
+  record,
+  now,
+  ground,
+  knownDistance = null,
+) {
   const distance = Number.isFinite(knownDistance)
     ? knownDistance
     : Cesium.Cartesian3.distance(viewer.camera.positionWC, record.base);
   if (distance < GROUND_SAMPLE_MAX_DISTANCE_M)
-    sampleLocalGroundHeight(viewer, record, now);
+    sampleLocalGroundHeight(viewer, record, now, ground);
   // Keep the intended screen-size scaling in close-up views too. A 5 km
   // minimum made a marker hundreds of metres tall beside a nearby building.
   const effectiveDistance = Math.max(distance, 1);

src/layers/bikeshare/heightRefinement.test.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,328 @@
+// Station ground heights. A city's stations are all drawn at once at the
+// fallback height; their ground heights are found afterwards a few
+// milliseconds at a time, so a city of hundreds of docks never holds the main
+// thread for the length of hundreds of depth renders. Each case drives the
+// real rendering part (and the real lifecycle where it tears down) over a
+// scene whose height reads are counted and timed.
+import { test } from 'node:test';
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import * as Cesium from 'cesium';
+import { createState } from './state.js';
+import { createModel } from './model.js';
+import { createRendering } from './rendering.js';
+import { createLifecycle } from './lifecycle.js';
+import { POINT_HEIGHT_OFFSET_M } from './policy.js';
+import { createTerrainSurface } from '../../services/terrainSurface.js';
+
+globalThis.document ??= {
+  addEventListener() {},
+  removeEventListener() {},
+};
+
+/** Milliseconds one fake depth render holds the thread. */
+const SAMPLE_COST_MS = 1;
+/** The ground under a point, as the fake scene and globe both report it. */
+const groundAt = (lat, lon) => 100 + (lat - 42) * 1000 + (lon + 71) * 10;
+
+function busyWait(ms) {
+  const until = performance.now() + ms;
+  while (performance.now() < until);
+}
+
+/** `count` stations on a line through Boston. */
+function stations(count, prefix = 's') {
+  return {
+    data: {
+      stations: Array.from({ length: count }, (_, i) => ({
+        station_id: `${prefix}${i}`,
+        name: `Dock ${i}`,
+        lat: 42.3 + i * 1e-4,
+        lon: -71.1 + i * 1e-4,
+        capacity: 10,
+      })),
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * The rendering part over a scene that counts its height reads.
+ * @param {{terrainGlobe?: boolean, shared?: boolean, unloaded?: (lat: number) => boolean}} options
+ *   `terrainGlobe`: the globe is showing (else photorealistic tiles hide it);
+ *   `shared`: the application's terrain surface is supplied;
+ *   `unloaded`: latitudes whose terrain tile is not drawn.
+ */
+function makeLayer({
+  terrainGlobe = false,
+  shared = false,
+  unloaded = () => false,
+} = {}) {
+  const calls = { sampleHeight: 0, getHeight: 0, sharedHeight: 0, render: 0 };
+  /** sampleHeight calls per turn of the event loop. */
+  const perTurn = [0];
+  let ticking = true;
+  const tick = () => {
+    if (!ticking) return;
+    perTurn.push(0);
+    setImmediate(tick);
+  };
+  setImmediate(tick);
+
+  const degrees = (carto) => [
+    Cesium.Math.toDegrees(carto.latitude),
+    Cesium.Math.toDegrees(carto.longitude),
+  ];
+  const viewer = {
+    camera: {
+      positionCartographic: Cesium.Cartographic.fromDegrees(-71, 42.3, 12000),
+      changed: { addEventListener() {}, removeEventListener() {} },
+    },
+    scene: {
+      sampleHeightSupported: true,
+      sampleHeight(carto) {
+        calls.sampleHeight += 1;
+        perTurn[perTurn.length - 1] += 1;
+        busyWait(SAMPLE_COST_MS);
+        return groundAt(...degrees(carto));
+      },
+      globe: {
+        show: terrainGlobe,
+        tilesLoaded: true,
+        getHeight(carto) {
+          calls.getHeight += 1;
+          const [lat, lon] = degrees(carto);
+          return unloaded(lat) ? undefined : groundAt(lat, lon);
+        },
+      },
+      primitives: { add() {}, remove() {} },
+    },
+  };
+
+  const surface = createTerrainSurface();
+  const services = {
+    render: {
+      governorRequestRender() {
+        calls.render += 1;
+      },
+    },
+    overlays: {
+      setOverlayEntries() {},
+      setOverlaySourceVisible() {},
+      clearOverlaySource() {},
+    },
+    sprites: { registerSpriteCollection() {}, restoreSpriteOrder() {} },
+    picking: { registerPickOwner() {}, unregisterPickOwner() {} },
+  };
+  if (shared) {
+    services.ground = {
+      terrainSurface: {
+        ...surface,
+        height(...args) {
+          calls.sharedHeight += 1;
+          return surface.height(...args);
+        },
+      },
+    };
+  }
+  const state = createState({ services });
+  const parts = {};
+  const context = { state, services, parts, source: {} };
+  parts.model = createModel(context);
+  parts.rendering = createRendering(context);
+  parts.selection = {
+    _installClickHandler() {},
+    _clearSelection() {},
+    _onKeyDown() {},
+  };
+  parts.ingestion = { abortAllInFlight() {} };
+  // Leaves the points alone, so a test of disable() sees what disable() stops.
+  parts.viewport = {
+    onCameraChanged() {},
+    deactivateAllCities() {},
+    runProximityCheck: async () => {},
+  };
+  parts.lifecycle = createLifecycle(context);
+  parts.lifecycle.methods.init(viewer);
+  state._pointCollection = {
+    show: true,
+    add: (options) => ({ ...options }),
+    remove() {},
+  };
+
+  const heightOf = (key) =>
+    Cesium.Cartographic.fromCartesian(
+      state._stationRenderMap.get(key).point.position,
+    ).height;
+
+  return {
+    state,
+    parts,
+    viewer,
+    calls,
+    rendering: parts.rendering,
+    lifecycle: parts.lifecycle.methods,
+    heightOf,
+    add(cityId, count) {
+      const info = parts.model.parseStationInformation(stations(count, cityId));
+      parts.rendering.ensureCityPoints(cityId, info);
+      return info;
+    },
+    /** Wait until every queued station has its height, or fail. */
+    async refined() {
+      const deadline = performance.now() + 20_000;
+      while (parts.rendering.pendingHeightCount() > 0) {
+        assert.ok(performance.now() < deadline, 'refinement finished');
+        await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 5));
+      }
+    },
+    /** The most sampleHeight calls made without yielding to the loop. */
+    longestBurst() {
+      return Math.max(...perTurn);
+    },
+    done() {
+      ticking = false;
+      parts.rendering.stopHeightRefinement();
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+const pause = (ms) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
+
+test('a city of stations is drawn at once without sampling heights', (t) => {
+  const layer = makeLayer();
+  t.after(layer.done);
+  const started = performance.now();
+  layer.add('boston', 300);
+  const spent = performance.now() - started;
+
+  assert.equal(layer.state._stationRenderMap.size, 300, 'every station drawn');
+  assert.equal(layer.calls.sampleHeight, 0, 'no depth render while drawing');
+  assert.ok(spent < 100, `drawing took ${spent.toFixed(1)} ms`);
+  assert.ok(
+    Math.abs(layer.heightOf('boston:boston0') - POINT_HEIGHT_OFFSET_M) < 1e-3,
+    'drawn at the fallback height',
+  );
+  assert.equal(layer.rendering.pendingHeightCount(), 300);
+});
+
+test('heights arrive afterwards in short steps and match a direct sample', async (t) => {
+  const layer = makeLayer();
+  t.after(layer.done);
+  const info = layer.add('boston', 120);
+  const rendersBefore = layer.calls.render;
+  await layer.refined();
+
+  assert.equal(layer.calls.sampleHeight, 120, 'one sample per station');
+  // 120 ms of samples in one go is the stall; a step is a few milliseconds.
+  assert.ok(
+    layer.longestBurst() <= 10,
+    `longest burst was ${layer.longestBurst()} samples`,
+  );
+  for (const station of info.values()) {
+    const expected = groundAt(station.lat, station.lon) + POINT_HEIGHT_OFFSET_M;
+    const actual = layer.heightOf(`boston:${station.stationId}`);
+    assert.ok(
+      Math.abs(actual - expected) < 1e-3,
+      `${station.stationId}: ${actual} vs ${expected}`,
+    );
+  }
+  assert.ok(layer.calls.render > rendersBefore, 'moved points ask for a frame');
+});
+
+test('on a terrain globe the shared terrain surface answers, not a depth render', async (t) => {
+  const layer = makeLayer({ terrainGlobe: true, shared: true });
+  t.after(layer.done);
+  const info = layer.add('boston', 200);
+  assert.equal(layer.calls.getHeight, 0, 'nothing read while drawing');
+  await layer.refined();
+
+  assert.equal(layer.calls.sampleHeight, 0);
+  assert.equal(layer.calls.sharedHeight, 200, 'asked the shared surface');
+  assert.equal(layer.calls.getHeight, 200);
+  for (const station of info.values()) {
+    const expected = groundAt(station.lat, station.lon) + POINT_HEIGHT_OFFSET_M;
+    const actual = layer.heightOf(`boston:${station.stationId}`);
+    assert.ok(Math.abs(actual - expected) < 1e-3, station.stationId);
+  }
+});
+
+test('without a shared surface the layer reads the terrain globe itself', async (t) => {
+  const layer = makeLayer({ terrainGlobe: true });
+  t.after(layer.done);
+  layer.add('boston', 50);
+  await layer.refined();
+  assert.equal(layer.calls.sampleHeight, 0);
+  assert.equal(layer.calls.getHeight, 50);
+  assert.ok(
+    Math.abs(
+      layer.heightOf('boston:boston7') -
+        (groundAt(42.3007, -71.0993) + POINT_HEIGHT_OFFSET_M),
+    ) < 1e-3,
+  );
+});
+
+test('a station whose terrain tile is not drawn falls back to a depth render', async (t) => {
+  // Stations 10 and up lie on a tile the globe is not drawing.
+  const layer = makeLayer({
+    terrainGlobe: true,
+    shared: true,
+    unloaded: (lat) => lat > 42.30095,
+  });
+  t.after(layer.done);
+  layer.add('boston', 20);
+  await layer.refined();
+  assert.equal(layer.calls.sampleHeight, 10);
+  assert.ok(
+    Math.abs(
+      layer.heightOf('boston:boston15') -
+        (groundAt(42.3015, -71.0985) + POINT_HEIGHT_OFFSET_M),
+    ) < 1e-3,
+  );
+});
+
+test('removing a city stops its refinement and leaves the other running', async (t) => {
+  const layer = makeLayer();
+  t.after(layer.done);
+  layer.add('boston', 40);
+  layer.add('toronto', 40);
+  layer.rendering.removeCityPoints('boston');
+  assert.equal(layer.rendering.pendingHeightCount(), 40);
+  await layer.refined();
+  assert.equal(layer.calls.sampleHeight, 40, 'only the remaining city');
+  assert.ok(layer.heightOf('toronto:toronto3') > 50);
+
+  layer.add('boston', 40);
+  layer.rendering.removeCityPoints('boston');
+  layer.rendering.removeCityPoints('toronto');
+  assert.equal(layer.rendering.pendingHeightCount(), 0);
+  assert.equal(layer.rendering.heightRefinementScheduled(), false);
+  await pause(60);
+  assert.equal(layer.calls.sampleHeight, 40, 'nothing sampled after removal');
+});
+
+test('disabling the layer stops refinement and leaves no timer', async (t) => {
+  const layer = makeLayer();
+  t.after(layer.done);
+  layer.lifecycle.enable(layer.viewer);
+  layer.add('boston', 200);
+  await pause(30);
+  const partWay = layer.calls.sampleHeight;
+  assert.ok(partWay < 200, 'still refining');
+  layer.lifecycle.disable(layer.viewer);
+
+  assert.equal(layer.rendering.pendingHeightCount(), 0);
+  assert.equal(layer.rendering.heightRefinementScheduled(), false);
+  await pause(60);
+  assert.equal(layer.calls.sampleHeight, partWay, 'no sample after disable');
+});
+
+test('a station selected before its height arrives is re-selected at it', async (t) => {
+  const layer = makeLayer();
+  t.after(layer.done);
+  layer.add('boston', 3);
+  const reselected = [];
+  layer.state._selectedKey = 'boston:boston1';
+  // The selection part's select path; here it records the key.
+  layer.parts.selection._selectStation = (key) => reselected.push(key);
+  await layer.refined();
+  assert.deepEqual(reselected, ['boston:boston1']);
+});

src/layers/bikeshare/lifecycle.js

@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ export function createLifecycle({
       layerState._inFlightInfo = new Map();
       layerState._inFlightStatus = new Map();
       layerState._stationRenderMap = new Map();
+      parts.rendering?.stopHeightRefinement?.();
       layerState._clickHandler = null;
       layerState._selectedKey = null;
       layerState._selectedEntity = null;
@@ -134,6 +135,7 @@ export function createLifecycle({
 
       parts.ingestion.abortAllInFlight();
       parts.viewport.deactivateAllCities();
+      parts.rendering?.stopHeightRefinement?.();
       layerState._cityRuntime.clear();
       layerState._pointCollection.show = false;
       layerState._count = 0;
@@ -165,6 +167,7 @@ export function createLifecycle({
         layerState._cameraChangedAttached = false;
       }
       parts.ingestion.abortAllInFlight();
+      parts.rendering?.stopHeightRefinement?.();
       if (layerState._pointCollection) {
         viewer.scene.primitives.remove(layerState._pointCollection);
         layerState._pointCollection = null;

src/layers/bikeshare/policy.js

@@ -50,6 +50,17 @@ export const DEFAULT_CAPACITY = 15;
 
 export const POINT_HEIGHT_OFFSET_M = 2.0;
 
+/**
+ * Milliseconds one step may spend finding station ground heights. A height
+ * the terrain globe cannot give is a depth render of a millisecond or more.
+ */
+
+export const HEIGHT_REFINE_BUDGET_MS = 4;
+
+/** Milliseconds between those steps, about a frame. */
+
+export const HEIGHT_REFINE_INTERVAL_MS = 16;
+
 /** Hard cap on total rendered station points across all cities. */
 
 export const MAX_TOTAL_POINTS = 8000;

src/layers/bikeshare/rendering.js

@@ -11,7 +11,13 @@ import {
   POINT_HEIGHT_OFFSET_M,
   MAX_TOTAL_POINTS,
   COLOR_OUTLINE,
+  HEIGHT_REFINE_BUDGET_MS,
+  HEIGHT_REFINE_INTERVAL_MS,
 } from './policy.js';
+import {
+  createTerrainSurface,
+  TERRAIN_NEED,
+} from '../../services/terrainSurface.js';
 
 export function createRendering({
   state: layerState,
@@ -20,6 +26,14 @@ export function createRendering({
   source,
 }) {
   const { governorRequestRender } = services.render;
+  // The terrain globe's loaded surface: the application's shared reader, or
+  // the layer's own when it is built without one.
+  const terrainSurface =
+    services.ground?.terrainSurface || createTerrainSurface();
+  /** Stations drawn at the fallback height, waiting for their ground height. */
+  let heightQueue = [];
+  let heightTimer = null;
+  const heightPoint = new Cesium.Cartographic();
 
   /**
    * Resolve the effective dock capacity for a station.
@@ -87,8 +101,10 @@ export function createRendering({
   }
 
   /**
-   * Create a Cartesian3 position for a station, terrain-clamped when possible.
-   * Falls back to a fixed small height offset if terrain sampling is unsupported.
+   * Create a Cartesian3 position for a station at the fallback height. Its
+   * ground height is found afterwards (refineHeights): a city's stations are
+   * drawn at once, and finding hundreds of heights in the same task held the
+   * main thread for most of a second.
    * @param {Object} station - Station info object with lat/lon.
    * @returns {Cesium.Cartesian3|null} World position, or null if coordinates are invalid.
    */
@@ -97,18 +113,78 @@ export function createRendering({
     const lon = Number(station?.lon);
     const lat = Number(station?.lat);
     if (!Number.isFinite(lat) || !Number.isFinite(lon)) return null;
+    return Cesium.Cartesian3.fromDegrees(lon, lat, POINT_HEIGHT_OFFSET_M);
+  }
 
-    let height = POINT_HEIGHT_OFFSET_M;
-    // Sample terrain height so points sit on ground rather than at ellipsoid level
-    if (layerState._viewer?.scene?.sampleHeightSupported) {
-      const carto = Cesium.Cartographic.fromDegrees(lon, lat);
-      const sampled = layerState._viewer.scene.sampleHeight(carto);
-      if (Number.isFinite(sampled)) {
-        height = sampled + POINT_HEIGHT_OFFSET_M;
-      }
+  /**
+   * The ground height under a station, or undefined when the scene cannot say.
+   * A terrain globe answers from its loaded surface, which is cheap. Where it
+   * cannot (the globe is hidden under photorealistic tiles, or draws no tile
+   * at the point) the scene renders the depth there, at a millisecond or more
+   * a point.
+   */
+
+  function sampleGroundHeight(lat, lon) {
+    const viewer = layerState._viewer;
+    const scene = viewer?.scene;
+    if (!scene) return undefined;
+    // A station is a marker: its one read is not left for a later window.
+    // The step's own time budget bounds what a pass spends.
+    const terrain = terrainSurface.height(
+      viewer,
+      lat,
+      lon,
+      TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER,
+    );
+    if (Number.isFinite(terrain)) return terrain;
+    if (!scene.sampleHeightSupported) return undefined;
+    Cesium.Cartographic.fromDegrees(lon, lat, 0, heightPoint);
+    const sampled = scene.sampleHeight(heightPoint);
+    return Number.isFinite(sampled) ? sampled : undefined;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Move queued stations onto the ground for a few milliseconds, then leave
+   * the rest to the next step. A station the scene has no height for keeps
+   * the fallback height, as it did when heights were read while drawing.
+   */
+
+  function refineHeights() {
+    heightTimer = null;
+    const started = performance.now();
+    let moved = false;
+    while (
+      heightQueue.length > 0 &&
+      performance.now() - started < HEIGHT_REFINE_BUDGET_MS
+    ) {
+      const { record, lat, lon } = heightQueue.pop();
+      const ground = sampleGroundHeight(lat, lon);
+      if (ground === undefined) continue;
+      record.point.position = Cesium.Cartesian3.fromDegrees(
+        lon,
+        lat,
+        ground + POINT_HEIGHT_OFFSET_M,
+      );
+      moved = true;
+      // The highlight and card of a selected station copy its position.
+      if (layerState._selectedKey === record.key)
+        parts.selection._selectStation(record.key);
     }
+    if (moved) governorRequestRender('bikeshare-heights');
+    scheduleHeightRefinement();
+  }
 
-    return Cesium.Cartesian3.fromDegrees(lon, lat, height);
+  function scheduleHeightRefinement() {
+    if (heightTimer !== null || heightQueue.length === 0) return;
+    heightTimer = setTimeout(refineHeights, HEIGHT_REFINE_INTERVAL_MS);
+  }
+
+  /** Drop every queued station and the pending step. */
+
+  function stopHeightRefinement() {
+    heightQueue = [];
+    clearTimeout(heightTimer);
+    heightTimer = null;
   }
 
   /**
@@ -178,7 +254,7 @@ export function createRendering({
         id: key,
       });
 
-      layerState._stationRenderMap.set(key, {
+      const record = {
         key,
         cityId,
         stationId: station.stationId,
@@ -191,12 +267,19 @@ export function createRendering({
         isInstalled: station.isInstalled,
         isRenting: station.isRenting,
         isReturning: station.isReturning,
+      };
+      layerState._stationRenderMap.set(key, record);
+      heightQueue.push({
+        record,
+        lat: Number(station.lat),
+        lon: Number(station.lon),
       });
 
       runtime.stationKeys.add(key);
     }
 
     layerState._count = layerState._stationRenderMap.size;
+    scheduleHeightRefinement();
   }
 
   /**
@@ -224,6 +307,12 @@ export function createRendering({
       layerState._stationRenderMap.delete(key);
     }
 
+    // Its stations no longer wait for a height.
+    heightQueue = heightQueue.filter(
+      ({ record }) => layerState._stationRenderMap.get(record.key) === record,
+    );
+    if (heightQueue.length === 0) stopHeightRefinement();
+
     layerState._cityRuntime.delete(cityId);
     layerState._count = layerState._stationRenderMap.size;
   }
@@ -280,5 +369,10 @@ export function createRendering({
     ensureCityPoints,
     removeCityPoints,
     applyStatusToPoints,
+    stopHeightRefinement,
+    /** Stations still waiting for their ground height. */
+    pendingHeightCount: () => heightQueue.length,
+    /** Whether a refinement step is waiting on a timer. */
+    heightRefinementScheduled: () => heightTimer !== null,
   };
 }

src/layers/rail/rendering.js

@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 import * as Cesium from 'cesium';
 import { applyDisplayCourse, updatePlayback } from '../transit/movement.js';
 import { HEIGHT_SAMPLE_MAX_ALTITUDE_M } from '../transit/policy.js';
+import {
+  TERRAIN_NEED,
+  createTerrainSurface,
+} from '../../services/terrainSurface.js';
 import {
   COLD_CELL_FLUSH_MS,
   COLD_CELL_RETRY_MS,
@@ -28,6 +32,11 @@ import {
 import { placeOnPath } from './pathBinding.js';
 
 const SPRITE_PX = 64;
+/**
+ * Terrain reads per degree for a train's height: about 3.7 m apart. At 11 m
+ * a train on fine tiles stood up to a couple of metres off the surface.
+ */
+const TERRAIN_GRID = 3e4;
 /** Billboard tints; the setter copies, so sharing one instance is safe. */
 const FULL_TINT = Cesium.Color.WHITE;
 const DIM_TINT = new Cesium.Color(1, 1, 1, UNSELECTED_TRAIN_ALPHA);
@@ -101,8 +110,11 @@ export function createRendering({ state, services, parts }) {
     neighborFloorM = null,
     coarseFloorCoord = null,
   } = services.ground;
+  // The terrain globe's loaded surface: the application's shared reader, or
+  // the layer's own when it is built without one.
+  const terrainSurface =
+    services.ground.terrainSurface || createTerrainSurface();
   const sprites = new Map();
-  const terrainPoint = new Cesium.Cartographic();
   const scratchPosition = new Cesium.Cartesian3();
   /** Scratch for the on-line position; place() runs every frame. */
   const pathPoint = { lat: NaN, lon: NaN, bearingDeg: NaN };
@@ -379,8 +391,18 @@ export function createRendering({ state, services, parts }) {
   function floorHeight(lat, lon, entry = null, stop = false) {
     const globe = state._viewer?.scene?.globe;
     if (globe?.show === true) {
-      Cesium.Cartographic.fromDegrees(lon, lat, 0, terrainPoint);
-      const rendered = globe.getHeight?.(terrainPoint);
+      // A moving train is asked about every frame, at a new point each
+      // time. On a ~4 m grid it asks the terrain a few times a second
+      // instead, and a standing train not at all; the drawn height is
+      // smoothed along the track anyway (displayHeightFor). Read as a
+      // marker, never rationed: a train that starts on a fallback floor only
+      // creeps to the terrain at a railway's grade.
+      const rendered = terrainSurface.height(
+        state._viewer,
+        Math.round(lat * TERRAIN_GRID) / TERRAIN_GRID,
+        Math.round(lon * TERRAIN_GRID) / TERRAIN_GRID,
+        TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER,
+      );
       if (Number.isFinite(rendered))
         return answer(rendered + GROUND_FLOOR_LIFT_M, 3);
     }

src/layers/transit/height.js

@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ import {
   HEIGHT_SAMPLE_MAX_ALTITUDE_M,
   withinViewBounds,
 } from './policy.js';
+import {
+  TERRAIN_NEED,
+  createTerrainSurface,
+} from '../../services/terrainSurface.js';
 
 /** Surface preparation off the render path, shared by markers and history. */
 export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
@@ -47,35 +51,39 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
     return cameraAltitude() <= HEIGHT_SAMPLE_MAX_ALTITUDE_M;
   }
 
+  // Loaded-terrain heights come from the application's shared reader, which
+  // keeps them per point and rations the reads (services/terrainSurface.js).
+  // A layer built without one keeps its own.
+  const sharedSurface = services.ground.terrainSurface;
+  const terrainSurface = sharedSurface || createTerrainSurface();
+
   /**
    * The floor under a vehicle, and the best fallback if its own cell is cold.
    * @param {number} lat
    * @param {number} lon
+   * @param {?object} [entry] The vehicle, for a fixture floor.
+   * @param {number} [need] How much the answer matters; see TERRAIN_NEED.
    * @returns {{cell: string, height: number|null, prior: number|null}}
    */
-  const terrainPoint = new Cesium.Cartographic();
-  function requestHeight(lat, lon, entry = null) {
+  function requestHeight(lat, lon, entry = null, need = TERRAIN_NEED.PATH) {
     const coarse = coarseFloorCoord(lat, lon);
     const cell = `${coarse.lat},${coarse.lon}`;
     const fixtureFloor =
       entry?.qaFloorM ?? state._qaFixtureFloors?.get(entry?.key);
     if (Number.isFinite(fixtureFloor))
       return { cell, height: fixtureFloor, prior: null };
-    // On a terrain globe, use the loaded surface under the marker. This is
-    // synchronous cache work and does not launch a terrain request.
+    // On a terrain globe, use the loaded surface under the marker. This reads
+    // tiles already loaded and does not launch a terrain request.
     const globe = state._viewer?.scene?.globe;
     if (globe?.show === true) {
-      Cesium.Cartographic.fromDegrees(lon, lat, 0, terrainPoint);
-      const rendered = globe.getHeight?.(terrainPoint);
-      const flat =
+      if (
         state._viewer?.terrainProvider instanceof
-        Cesium.EllipsoidTerrainProvider;
-      if (Number.isFinite(rendered) || flat)
-        return {
-          cell,
-          height: (flat ? 0 : rendered) + GROUND_FLOOR_LIFT_M,
-          prior: null,
-        };
+        Cesium.EllipsoidTerrainProvider
+      )
+        return { cell, height: GROUND_FLOOR_LIFT_M, prior: null };
+      const rendered = terrainSurface.height(state._viewer, lat, lon, need);
+      if (Number.isFinite(rendered))
+        return { cell, height: rendered + GROUND_FLOOR_LIFT_M, prior: null };
     }
     const floor = cachedGroundFloor(lat, lon);
     if (Number.isFinite(floor)) {
@@ -107,6 +115,7 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
   function rereadFloors() {
     state._floorTimer = null;
     if (!state._enabled) return;
+    const waitingBefore = terrainSurface.waitingCount();
     const onGround = nearGround(),
       candidates = [];
     const entries = [...state._vehicles.values()].filter(
@@ -120,6 +129,13 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
         Number(b.key === state._selectedKey) -
         Number(a.key === state._selectedKey),
     );
+    // Every vehicle's own position before any trail: the first trails of a
+    // pass must not spend the budget the last markers are waiting on.
+    for (const entry of entries) {
+      const newest = entry.fixes.at(-1);
+      if (newest)
+        requestHeight(newest.lat, newest.lon, entry, TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER);
+    }
     for (const entry of entries) {
       const cells = new Map();
       const collect = (point, answer) => {
@@ -141,7 +157,12 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
       };
       parts.trails.prepareEntry(entry, collect);
       const newest = entry.fixes.at(-1);
-      const answer = requestHeight(newest.lat, newest.lon, entry);
+      const answer = requestHeight(
+        newest.lat,
+        newest.lon,
+        entry,
+        TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER,
+      );
       entry.heightCell = answer.cell;
       // The selected vehicle's path also offers its history, newest segment
       // first; the vehicle's own cell is read where its newest fix is.
@@ -227,7 +248,11 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
     for (const entry of entries) parts.trails.prepareEntry(entry);
     parts.rendering.requestVisibility();
     governorRequestRender('transit-floor');
-    if (state._floorAttempts++ < FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS)
+    // A pass that ran out of terrain budget before reaching every point
+    // comes back for the rest. Each pass reads its budget, and points stop
+    // falling due once the terrain settles, so this ends.
+    const waiting = terrainSurface.waitingCount() - waitingBefore;
+    if (state._floorAttempts++ < FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS || waiting > 0)
       state._floorTimer = setTimeout(rereadFloors, FLOOR_REREAD_MS);
   }
 
@@ -258,6 +283,8 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
     }
     state._floorAttempts = 0;
     state._heightDirty.clear();
+    // The shared reader's heights belong to every layer still showing.
+    if (!sharedSurface) terrainSurface.clear();
   }
 
   return {
@@ -267,5 +294,7 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
     anchorFloors,
     rereadFloors,
     clear,
+    /** Terrain read counters since the layer was created, for checks. */
+    terrainStats: () => terrainSurface.stats(),
   };
 }

src/layers/transit/height.test.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,355 @@
+import test from 'node:test';
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import * as Cesium from 'cesium';
+import { createHeight } from './height.js';
+import { FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS, FLOOR_REREAD_MS } from './policy.js';
+import {
+  TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX,
+  TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS,
+  TERRAIN_NEED,
+  TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS,
+  TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS,
+  TERRAIN_REFRESH_BUDGET_MS,
+  TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS,
+} from '../../services/terrainSurface.js';
+
+const LIFT = 1.5;
+
+/**
+ * A height part over a terrain globe whose every read costs `costMs` of a
+ * clock the test owns. `surface(lat, lon)` is the terrain; `reads` lists the
+ * points actually read.
+ */
+function terrain(t, { costMs = 0, surface = () => 100, provider = {} } = {}) {
+  const clock = { now: 1_000_000 };
+  t.mock.method(performance, 'now', () => clock.now);
+  const reads = [];
+  const world = { surface, costMs };
+  const globe = {
+    show: true,
+    getHeight(point) {
+      const lat = Cesium.Math.toDegrees(point.latitude);
+      const lon = Cesium.Math.toDegrees(point.longitude);
+      reads.push(`${lat.toFixed(5)},${lon.toFixed(5)}`);
+      clock.now += world.costMs;
+      return world.surface(lat, lon);
+    },
+  };
+  const state = {
+    _enabled: true,
+    _selectedKey: null,
+    _vehicles: new Map(),
+    _visible: new Set(),
+    _floorCursor: 0,
+    _floorAttempts: 0,
+    _floorTimer: null,
+    _heightDirty: new Set(),
+    _viewer: {
+      camera: { positionCartographic: { height: 500 } },
+      scene: { globe },
+      terrainProvider: provider,
+    },
+  };
+  const parts = {
+    trails: { prepareEntry() {} },
+    rendering: { requestVisibility() {} },
+  };
+  const height = createHeight({
+    state,
+    services: {
+      render: { governorRequestRender() {} },
+      ground: {
+        coarseFloorCoord: (lat, lon) => ({
+          lat: Number(lat.toFixed(3)),
+          lon: Number(lon.toFixed(3)),
+        }),
+        cachedGroundFloor: () => null,
+        neighborFloorM: () => null,
+        warmGroundFloor() {},
+        GROUND_FLOOR_LIFT_M: LIFT,
+      },
+    },
+    parts,
+  });
+  t.after(() => height.clear());
+  const nextWindow = () => {
+    clock.now += TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS;
+  };
+  return { height, state, parts, globe, world, clock, reads, nextWindow };
+}
+
+test('a point is read from the terrain once and reused until its reuse time passes', (t) => {
+  const { height, reads, clock, world } = terrain(t);
+  const first = height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06);
+  assert.deepEqual(first, { cell: '42.36,-71.06', height: 100 + LIFT, prior: null });
+  for (let i = 0; i < 500; i++) height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 1, '501 requests, one terrain read');
+
+  // A point a metre away is its own point; the same cell does not stand in
+  // for it while the budget allows a read.
+  world.surface = (lat) => (lat > 42.36 ? 140 : 100);
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36002, -71.06).height, 140 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2);
+
+  // The surface under the first point changed (the globe drew a finer tile).
+  world.surface = () => 120;
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS - 1;
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height, 100 + LIFT);
+  clock.now += 1;
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height, 120 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 3);
+  assert.deepEqual(height.terrainStats(), {
+    reads: 3,
+    reused: 501,
+    deferred: 0,
+    borrowed: 0,
+    held: 2,
+  });
+});
+
+test('terrain that is not loaded yet is not remembered as an answer', (t) => {
+  const { height, reads, world } = terrain(t, { surface: () => undefined });
+  assert.deepEqual(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06), {
+    cell: '42.36,-71.06',
+    height: null,
+    prior: null,
+  });
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height, null);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2, 'each request asks again');
+  world.surface = () => 12;
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height, 12 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(height.terrainStats().held, 1);
+});
+
+test('a tile that leaves the globe keeps the height it gave', (t) => {
+  const { height, clock, world } = terrain(t, { surface: () => 30 });
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height, 30 + LIFT);
+  world.surface = () => undefined;
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS * 20;
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height, 30 + LIFT);
+});
+
+test('new points stop being read once a window has spent its budget', (t) => {
+  const costMs = 5;
+  const { height, reads, nextWindow } = terrain(t, {
+    costMs,
+    surface: (lat, lon) => Math.round(lon * -1000),
+  });
+  const affordable = Math.ceil(TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS / costMs);
+  // One point per floor cell (0.001° apart), more than the window affords.
+  const answers = [];
+  for (let i = 0; i < affordable + 3; i++)
+    answers.push(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06 - i * 0.001).height);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, affordable);
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    answers.slice(affordable),
+    [null, null, null],
+    'a point in a cell never read waits',
+  );
+  assert.ok(reads.length * costMs < TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS + costMs, 'the overrun is one read at most');
+
+  // A new point in a cell that was read borrows that cell's height.
+  const borrowed = height.requestHeight(42.36004, -71.06);
+  assert.equal(borrowed.height, 71060 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, affordable, 'borrowing reads nothing');
+  assert.equal(height.terrainStats().borrowed, 1);
+
+  // The next window reads the points that waited, and the borrower its own.
+  nextWindow();
+  for (let i = affordable; i < affordable + 3; i++)
+    assert.equal(
+      height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06 - i * 0.001).height,
+      Math.round((-71.06 - i * 0.001) * -1000) + LIFT,
+    );
+  assert.equal(reads.length, affordable + 3);
+});
+
+test("a vehicle's own position is read even when the window is spent", (t) => {
+  const { height, reads } = terrain(t, { costMs: TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS });
+  height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06);
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.37, -71.07).height, null, 'a trail point waits');
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.38, -71.08, null, TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER).height, 100 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2);
+});
+
+test('undrawn trail history leaves most of the budget to the paths markers are drawn along', (t) => {
+  const costMs = 1;
+  const { height, reads } = terrain(t, { costMs });
+  // New points, one per floor cell: history first, as a pass offers them.
+  let lon = -71;
+  const ask = (need) => height.requestHeight(42, (lon -= 0.001), null, need).height;
+  const history = Array.from({ length: 30 }, () => ask(TERRAIN_NEED.BACKGROUND));
+  const read = history.filter((h) => h !== null).length;
+  assert.equal(read, TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS / 4, 'history stops at a quarter of the budget');
+  const path = Array.from({ length: 30 }, () => ask(TERRAIN_NEED.PATH));
+  assert.equal(path.filter((h) => h !== null).length, TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS - read, 'the path takes the rest');
+  assert.equal(ask(TERRAIN_NEED.BACKGROUND), null);
+  assert.equal(ask(TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER), 100 + LIFT, 'a marker is still read');
+  assert.equal(reads.length, TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS + 1);
+});
+
+test('held points keep their last height while re-reads are over budget, and the longest-held are re-read first so none starves', (t) => {
+  const costMs = TERRAIN_REFRESH_BUDGET_MS / 2;
+  const { height, reads, clock, world, nextWindow } = terrain(t, { surface: () => 50 });
+  const points = Array.from({ length: 40 }, (_, i) => [42.36, -71.06 - i * 0.001]);
+  for (const [lat, lon] of points) height.requestHeight(lat, lon);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 40);
+
+  world.costMs = costMs;
+  world.surface = () => 80;
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS;
+  reads.length = 0;
+  const pass = () => points.map(([lat, lon]) => height.requestHeight(lat, lon).height);
+  const first = pass();
+  const perWindow = Math.ceil(TERRAIN_REFRESH_BUDGET_MS / costMs);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, perWindow, 'one window re-reads its budget and no more');
+  assert.deepEqual(first.slice(0, perWindow), Array(perWindow).fill(80 + LIFT));
+  assert.deepEqual(first.slice(perWindow), Array(40 - perWindow).fill(50 + LIFT), 'the rest keep their last height');
+
+  // Pass after pass, a window apart: the budget moves down the list instead
+  // of returning to the first points, whose reuse time runs out again long
+  // before the last ones have had a turn (40 points, ${perWindow} a window).
+  const turns = new Map();
+  for (const point of reads) turns.set(point, 1);
+  const cycle = Math.ceil(40 / perWindow);
+  for (let passes = 1; passes < cycle; passes++) {
+    nextWindow();
+    reads.length = 0;
+    pass();
+    for (const point of reads) turns.set(point, (turns.get(point) || 0) + 1);
+  }
+  assert.equal(turns.size, 40, 'every point was re-read in one cycle');
+  assert.ok([...turns.values()].every((count) => count === 1), 'and none twice before the others once');
+  assert.ok(cycle * TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS > TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS, 'the cycle is longer than the reuse time, so the first points were stale again');
+  assert.deepEqual(pass().slice(-1), [80 + LIFT]);
+});
+
+test('once the camera and the tiles have settled a height is kept until either changes', (t) => {
+  const { height, state, globe, reads, clock, world } = terrain(t, { surface: () => 10 });
+  const read = () => height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height;
+  assert.equal(read(), 10 + LIFT);
+  // Still settling: the point falls due and is read again.
+  world.surface = () => 20;
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS;
+  assert.equal(read(), 20 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2);
+  // Read after the settle time: kept, however long the view stays put.
+  world.surface = () => 99;
+  for (let i = 0; i < 50; i++) {
+    clock.now += 60_000;
+    assert.equal(read(), 20 + LIFT);
+  }
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2);
+
+  // The camera moves: the globe may draw the point from a finer tile.
+  state._viewer.camera.positionCartographic = { longitude: 0, latitude: 0, height: 250 };
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS;
+  assert.equal(read(), 99 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 3);
+
+  // Settled again, then a tile starts loading with the camera still.
+  world.surface = () => 101;
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS;
+  assert.equal(read(), 101 + LIFT);
+  clock.now += 60_000;
+  assert.equal(read(), 101 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 4);
+  world.surface = () => 105;
+  globe.tilesLoaded = false;
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS;
+  assert.equal(read(), 105 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 5);
+});
+
+test('a flat globe answers without reading terrain', (t) => {
+  const { height, reads } = terrain(t, {
+    provider: new Cesium.EllipsoidTerrainProvider(),
+  });
+  assert.deepEqual(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06), {
+    cell: '42.36,-71.06',
+    height: LIFT,
+    prior: null,
+  });
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 0);
+});
+
+test('a hidden globe reads no terrain and clear() forgets what was read', (t) => {
+  const { height, reads, globe } = terrain(t);
+  height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06);
+  height.clear();
+  assert.equal(height.terrainStats().held, 0);
+  height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2, 'a cleared layer reads again');
+  globe.show = false;
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.5, -71.5).height, null);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2);
+});
+
+test('the points kept stay bounded', (t) => {
+  const { height } = terrain(t);
+  const total = TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX + 5_000;
+  for (let i = 0; i < total; i++)
+    height.requestHeight(10 + Math.floor(i / 1000) * 0.001, 20 + (i % 1000) * 0.0001);
+  const { held, reads } = height.terrainStats();
+  assert.equal(reads, total);
+  assert.ok(held <= TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX, `${held} held`);
+  assert.ok(held >= TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX * 0.7, `${held} held`);
+});
+
+test('a fleet rereading every trail fix reads each point once, not once per request', (t) => {
+  const { height, state, parts, reads } = terrain(t);
+  t.mock.timers.enable({ apis: ['setTimeout'] });
+  // 600 vehicles with 40 fixes each, 25 m apart along a street.
+  const fleet = Array.from({ length: 600 }, (_, v) => ({
+    key: `bus-${v}`,
+    fixes: Array.from({ length: 40 }, (_, i) => ({
+      lat: 42 + v * 0.002,
+      lon: -71 + i * 0.0003,
+    })),
+  }));
+  for (const entry of fleet) {
+    state._vehicles.set(entry.key, entry);
+    state._visible.add(entry);
+  }
+  let requests = 0;
+  parts.trails.prepareEntry = (entry, collect) => {
+    for (const fix of entry.fixes) {
+      requests++;
+      const answer = height.requestHeight(fix.lat, fix.lon, entry);
+      if (collect) collect(fix, answer);
+    }
+  };
+  height.anchorFloors();
+  for (let i = 0; i < FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS; i++) t.mock.timers.tick(FLOOR_REREAD_MS);
+  assert.equal(requests, 600 * 40 * 2 * (FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS + 1));
+  assert.equal(new Set(reads).size, 600 * 40);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 600 * 40, `${requests} requests, ${reads.length} terrain reads`);
+  assert.ok(fleet.every((entry) => entry.heightM === 100 + LIFT && entry.heightResolved));
+});
+
+test('a reread cycle outlasts its attempts while trail points still wait for a read, then stops', (t) => {
+  const costMs = 4;
+  const { height, state, parts, reads, clock } = terrain(t, { costMs });
+  t.mock.timers.enable({ apis: ['setTimeout'] });
+  const entry = {
+    key: 'bus',
+    // One fix per floor cell, so nothing can be borrowed.
+    fixes: Array.from({ length: 60 }, (_, i) => ({ lat: 42, lon: -71 + i * 0.001 })),
+  };
+  state._vehicles.set(entry.key, entry);
+  state._visible.add(entry);
+  parts.trails.prepareEntry = (e) => {
+    for (const fix of e.fixes) height.requestHeight(fix.lat, fix.lon, e);
+  };
+  height.anchorFloors();
+  let passes = 1;
+  while (state._floorTimer && passes < 200) {
+    clock.now += FLOOR_REREAD_MS;
+    t.mock.timers.tick(FLOOR_REREAD_MS);
+    passes++;
+  }
+  assert.equal(new Set(reads).size, 60, 'every fix was read in the end');
+  assert.ok(passes > FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS + 1, `${passes} passes: the cycle kept going for the unread fixes`);
+  assert.ok(passes < 120, `${passes} passes: and stopped once none waited`);
+  assert.equal(state._floorTimer, null);
+});

src/layers/transit/ingestion.js

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import {
   transitVehicleKey,
   vehicleReportTimeMs,
 } from './policy.js';
+import { TERRAIN_NEED } from '../../services/terrainSurface.js';
 import {
   transitModeFor,
   transitModeResolved,
@@ -272,7 +273,12 @@ export function createIngestion({ state, services, parts, source }) {
         // DEM one, or a change of map regime, moves a parked vehicle too. A
         // cell still cold takes the lowest neighbour as a prior, as before.
         const priorHeightM = entry.heightM;
-        const height = parts.height.requestHeight(record.lat, record.lon);
+        const height = parts.height.requestHeight(
+          record.lat,
+          record.lon,
+          null,
+          TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER,
+        );
         if (height.height !== null) {
           entry.heightCell = height.cell;
           entry.heightM = height.height;
@@ -309,7 +315,12 @@ export function createIngestion({ state, services, parts, source }) {
           }
           continue;
         }
-        const height = parts.height.requestHeight(record.lat, record.lon);
+        const height = parts.height.requestHeight(
+          record.lat,
+          record.lon,
+          null,
+          TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER,
+        );
         // Keep the local prior separate from resolved historical floors.
         // A neighbouring cell is not a guaranteed lower bound.
         const prior = height.height === null ? height.prior : height.height;

src/layers/transit/policy.js

@@ -77,7 +77,6 @@ export const FLOOR_WARM_PER_POLL = 300;
 export const FLOOR_REREAD_MS = 900;
 /** Re-reads before a poll's cycle gives up and waits for the next poll. */
 export const FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS = 6;
-
 // --- Rendering ---
 /** On-screen glyph size in CSS px at the near end of the distance ramp. */
 export const MARKER_PIXEL_SIZE = 20;

src/layers/transit/trails.js

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
 } from '../../data/contactPlayback.js';
 import { createContactTrailRenderer } from '../../data/contactTrailRenderer.js';
 import { fixDistanceM } from './movement.js';
+import { TERRAIN_NEED } from '../../services/terrainSurface.js';
 import { transitStyleProfile } from '../../data/transitPresetStyle.js';
 
 const MODE_COLOR = {
@@ -72,8 +73,13 @@ export function createTrails({ state, services, parts, source }) {
       b = {};
     let vertices = 0,
       signature = '';
-    const floor = (point) => {
-      const answer = parts.height.requestHeight(point.lat, point.lon, entry);
+    const floor = (point, need = TERRAIN_NEED.PATH) => {
+      const answer = parts.height.requestHeight(
+        point.lat,
+        point.lon,
+        entry,
+        need,
+      );
       if (collect) collect(point, answer);
       return answer.height;
     };
@@ -99,12 +105,6 @@ export function createTrails({ state, services, parts, source }) {
           lon: a.lon + ((b.lon - a.lon) * i) / n,
         });
     }
-    for (let i = 0; i < entry.track.count; i++) {
-      readFix(entry.track, i, a);
-      const h = floor(a);
-      if (h !== null) correctHeight(entry.track, a.seq, h);
-    }
-    const order = [];
     const activeIndex = Math.max(
       0,
       Math.min(
@@ -112,6 +112,18 @@ export function createTrails({ state, services, parts, source }) {
         entry.sample.fromSeq - entry.track.baseSeq,
       ),
     );
+    for (let i = 0; i < entry.track.count; i++) {
+      readFix(entry.track, i, a);
+      // Fixes behind an unselected vehicle are kept but not drawn.
+      const h = floor(
+        a,
+        entry === selected || i >= activeIndex
+          ? TERRAIN_NEED.PATH
+          : TERRAIN_NEED.BACKGROUND,
+      );
+      if (h !== null) correctHeight(entry.track, a.seq, h);
+    }
+    const order = [];
     for (let i = activeIndex; i + 1 < entry.track.count; i++) order.push(i);
     if (entry === selected)
       for (let i = activeIndex - 1; i >= 0; i--) order.push(i);

src/services/groundFloor.js

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { createTerrainSurface } from './terrainSurface.js';
 /** Construct an instance-owned groundFloor service with explicit dependencies. */
 export function createGroundFloor({ terrain, signal }) {
   const { cachedRealEllipsoidalGround, resolveEllipsoidalGround } = terrain;
@@ -698,6 +699,8 @@ export function createGroundFloor({ terrain, signal }) {
     { once: true },
   );
   return {
+    // The terrain globe's loaded surface, read once per point for every layer.
+    terrainSurface: createTerrainSurface(),
     GROUND_FLOOR_LIFT_M,
     MESH_FLOOR_BELOW_PRIOR_M,
     MESH_FLOOR_ABOVE_PRIOR_M,

src/services/terrainSurface.js

@@ -0,0 +1,254 @@
+import * as Cesium from 'cesium';
+
+/**
+ * The height of the terrain globe's loaded surface at a point, kept per point
+ * and read within a time budget.
+ *
+ * `globe.getHeight` casts a ray against the mesh of the tile drawn under the
+ * point: geometry work, not a table lookup, and dearer the finer the tile. A
+ * layer that asks for every vehicle, trail fix or site on every pass asks the
+ * same few thousand points over and over, so the answers are kept and the
+ * reads are rationed. One instance serves every layer of an application, so
+ * the layers share one budget instead of each spending its own.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * While the camera moves or tiles load, a kept height is reused this long
+ * before the point is read again.
+ */
+export const TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS = 2_000;
+/**
+ * A height read once the camera has been still and the globe's tiles loaded
+ * for this long is kept until either changes: the globe draws a point from
+ * another tile only after one of them does.
+ */
+export const TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS = 5_000;
+/** Read budgets are counted over windows of this length. */
+export const TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS = 200;
+/**
+ * Milliseconds of terrain reads in one window. Past it a point never read
+ * takes the last height read in its ~111 m floor cell, or waits for a later
+ * request; a MARKER point is read regardless.
+ */
+export const TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS = 16;
+/**
+ * The share of that budget re-reads of kept points may use, the longest-kept
+ * first, leaving the rest for points never read.
+ */
+export const TERRAIN_REFRESH_BUDGET_MS = 12;
+/**
+ * How much a height matters to what is drawn, lowest first. BACKGROUND is a
+ * point nobody is looking at (the undrawn trail history of a vehicle) and may
+ * use a quarter of each budget; PATH is drawn geometry; MARKER is a thing's
+ * own position, read even when the window's budget is spent, since a marker
+ * without a height is not drawn.
+ */
+export const TERRAIN_NEED = Object.freeze({
+  BACKGROUND: 0,
+  PATH: 1,
+  MARKER: 2,
+});
+/** Points kept; the oldest quarter is dropped past it. */
+export const TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX = 60_000;
+
+/** A number unique to a point on a `scale`-per-degree grid. */
+function gridKey(lat, lon, scale) {
+  return (
+    (Math.round(lat * scale) + 90 * scale) * (360 * scale + 1) +
+    Math.round(lon * scale) +
+    180 * scale
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * @returns {{
+ *   height: (viewer: object, lat: number, lon: number, need?: number) => number|undefined,
+ *   observe: (viewer: object) => void,
+ *   waitingCount: () => number,
+ *   stats: () => {reads: number, reused: number, deferred: number, borrowed: number, held: number},
+ *   clear: () => void,
+ * }}
+ */
+export function createTerrainSurface() {
+  const point = new Cesium.Cartographic();
+  /** Point key → `{ h, at }`: the height read there and when. */
+  const heights = new Map();
+  /** Floor-cell key → the last height read anywhere in that cell. */
+  const cells = new Map();
+  let globeRead = null;
+  let windowAt = -Infinity;
+  let readMs = 0;
+  let refreshMs = 0;
+  // Per need (background, path): the oldest read among the points this window
+  // left for later, and the bound the next window re-reads up to.
+  const deferredAt = [Infinity, Infinity];
+  const refreshUpTo = [Infinity, Infinity];
+  let waiting = 0;
+  /** When the camera last moved or the globe was last loading tiles. */
+  let changedAt = -Infinity;
+  let cameraLon = NaN,
+    cameraLat = NaN,
+    cameraHeight = NaN;
+  const counters = { reads: 0, reused: 0, deferred: 0, borrowed: 0 };
+
+  function clear() {
+    heights.clear();
+    cells.clear();
+    globeRead = null;
+    windowAt = -Infinity;
+    readMs = refreshMs = 0;
+    deferredAt.fill(Infinity);
+    refreshUpTo.fill(Infinity);
+    changedAt = -Infinity;
+    cameraLon = cameraLat = cameraHeight = NaN;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * The globe redraws a point from another tile only after the camera moves
+   * or a tile arrives: note when either was last seen.
+   */
+  function noteChange(viewer, globe, now) {
+    const camera = viewer.camera?.positionCartographic;
+    if (
+      globe.tilesLoaded === false ||
+      camera?.longitude !== cameraLon ||
+      camera?.latitude !== cameraLat ||
+      camera?.height !== cameraHeight
+    ) {
+      changedAt = now;
+      cameraLon = camera?.longitude;
+      cameraLat = camera?.latitude;
+      cameraHeight = camera?.height;
+    }
+  }
+
+  /** The viewer's terrain globe, the one whose heights are held, or null. */
+  function terrainGlobe(viewer) {
+    const globe = viewer?.scene?.globe;
+    if (globe?.show !== true || typeof globe.getHeight !== 'function')
+      return null;
+    // Another globe's surface is another surface.
+    if (globe !== globeRead) {
+      clear();
+      globeRead = globe;
+    }
+    return globe;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Look at the camera and the globe's tile loading without asking for a
+   * height. The surface only sees a change when it is asked something, so a
+   * caller that asks nothing while tiles load (it waits for them) calls this
+   * on its own walk; otherwise the load would pass unseen and the heights
+   * kept from before it would never be read again.
+   * @param {object} viewer
+   */
+  function observe(viewer) {
+    const globe = terrainGlobe(viewer);
+    if (globe) noteChange(viewer, globe, performance.now());
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * The loaded terrain's height at a point, in metres above the ellipsoid, or
+   * undefined when it is not known yet or the viewer has no terrain globe
+   * showing. A point read within the reuse time answers from memory, and so
+   * does one read after the camera and the globe's tiles had settled: the
+   * surface under it cannot have changed since. Past the window's budget a
+   * kept point keeps its last height and a new point borrows its floor
+   * cell's. Requests tend to come in the same order every pass, so re-reads
+   * go to the longest-kept points first: otherwise the first few would be
+   * re-read forever and the rest never.
+   * @param {object} viewer The Cesium viewer whose globe is read.
+   * @param {number} lat Degrees.
+   * @param {number} lon Degrees.
+   * @param {number} [need] How much the answer matters; see TERRAIN_NEED.
+   */
+  function height(viewer, lat, lon, need = TERRAIN_NEED.PATH) {
+    const globe = terrainGlobe(viewer);
+    if (!globe) return undefined;
+    const now = performance.now();
+    if (now - windowAt >= TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS) {
+      for (let i = 0; i < deferredAt.length; i++) {
+        refreshUpTo[i] = deferredAt[i];
+        deferredAt[i] = Infinity;
+      }
+      windowAt = now;
+      readMs = refreshMs = 0;
+      noteChange(viewer, globe, now);
+    }
+    const key = gridKey(lat, lon, 1e5);
+    const held = heights.get(key);
+    if (
+      held &&
+      (now - held.at < TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS ||
+        held.at >= changedAt + TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS)
+    ) {
+      counters.reused++;
+      return held.h;
+    }
+    const cellKey = gridKey(lat, lon, 1e3);
+    const marker = need === TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER;
+    // Background may use a quarter of each budget; drawn geometry the rest.
+    const share = need === TERRAIN_NEED.BACKGROUND ? 0.25 : 1;
+    const affordable =
+      marker && !held
+        ? true
+        : readMs < TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS * (marker ? 1 : share) &&
+          (!held ||
+            marker ||
+            (refreshMs < TERRAIN_REFRESH_BUDGET_MS * share &&
+              held.at <= refreshUpTo[need]));
+    if (!affordable) {
+      counters.deferred++;
+      if (held) {
+        if (!marker && held.at < deferredAt[need]) deferredAt[need] = held.at;
+        waiting++;
+        return held.h;
+      }
+      const borrowed = cells.get(cellKey);
+      if (borrowed !== undefined) {
+        counters.borrowed++;
+        return borrowed;
+      }
+      waiting++;
+      return undefined;
+    }
+    Cesium.Cartographic.fromDegrees(lon, lat, 0, point);
+    const rendered = globe.getHeight(point);
+    const spent = performance.now() - now;
+    readMs += spent;
+    if (held) refreshMs += spent;
+    counters.reads++;
+    // A tile that left the globe keeps the height it gave.
+    if (!Number.isFinite(rendered)) return held?.h;
+    if (held) {
+      held.h = rendered;
+      held.at = now;
+    } else {
+      if (heights.size >= TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX) {
+        let drop = TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX >> 2;
+        for (const old of heights.keys()) {
+          heights.delete(old);
+          if (--drop <= 0) break;
+        }
+        cells.clear();
+      }
+      heights.set(key, { h: rendered, at: now });
+    }
+    cells.set(cellKey, rendered);
+    return rendered;
+  }
+
+  return {
+    height,
+    observe,
+    /**
+     * Requests so far that were left unread or due a re-read. A caller that
+     * reads it before and after its own pass learns whether to come back.
+     */
+    waitingCount: () => waiting,
+    /** Read counters since creation, for checks. */
+    stats: () => ({ ...counters, held: heights.size }),
+    clear,
+  };
+}

src/services/terrainSurface.test.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+import test from 'node:test';
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import * as Cesium from 'cesium';
+import {
+  TERRAIN_NEED,
+  TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS,
+  TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS,
+  TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS,
+  createTerrainSurface,
+} from './terrainSurface.js';
+
+/** A viewer over a terrain globe whose every read costs `costMs` of a clock the test owns. */
+function world(t, { costMs = 0, surface = () => 100 } = {}) {
+  const clock = { now: 5_000_000 };
+  t.mock.method(performance, 'now', () => clock.now);
+  const reads = [];
+  const model = { surface, costMs };
+  const globe = () => ({
+    show: true,
+    getHeight(point) {
+      const lat = Cesium.Math.toDegrees(point.latitude);
+      const lon = Cesium.Math.toDegrees(point.longitude);
+      reads.push(`${lat.toFixed(5)},${lon.toFixed(5)}`);
+      clock.now += model.costMs;
+      return model.surface(lat, lon);
+    },
+  });
+  const viewer = {
+    scene: { globe: globe() },
+    camera: {
+      positionCartographic: { longitude: 0, latitude: 0, height: 900 },
+    },
+  };
+  return { viewer, clock, reads, model, globe };
+}
+
+test('a viewer without a terrain globe showing has no terrain height', (t) => {
+  const { viewer, reads } = world(t);
+  const surface = createTerrainSurface();
+  viewer.scene.globe.show = false;
+  assert.equal(surface.height(viewer, 42, -71), undefined);
+  assert.equal(surface.height({ scene: {} }, 42, -71), undefined);
+  assert.equal(surface.height(null, 42, -71), undefined);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 0);
+});
+
+test('every caller of one surface shares its heights and its budget', (t) => {
+  const costMs = 2;
+  const { viewer, reads, clock } = world(t, { costMs });
+  const surface = createTerrainSurface();
+  // Two layers asking about the same street: the second reads nothing.
+  const transit = () => surface.height(viewer, 42.36, -71.06);
+  const rail = () => surface.height(viewer, 42.36, -71.06);
+  assert.equal(transit(), 100);
+  assert.equal(rail(), 100);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 1);
+
+  // And what one spends in a window the other cannot spend again.
+  const affordable = TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS / costMs;
+  let lon = -72;
+  const fresh = () => surface.height(viewer, 42, (lon -= 0.001));
+  for (let i = 0; i < affordable - 1; i++) assert.equal(fresh(), 100);
+  const before = surface.waitingCount();
+  assert.equal(fresh(), undefined, 'the window is spent, whoever asks');
+  assert.equal(surface.waitingCount(), before + 1);
+  assert.equal(
+    surface.height(viewer, 43, -73, TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER),
+    100,
+    'a marker is still read',
+  );
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS;
+  assert.equal(fresh(), 100);
+  assert.deepEqual(surface.stats(), {
+    reads: affordable + 2,
+    reused: 1,
+    deferred: 1,
+    borrowed: 0,
+    held: affordable + 2,
+  });
+});
+
+test("another globe's surface is read afresh", (t) => {
+  const { viewer, reads, clock, model, globe } = world(t, {
+    surface: () => 10,
+  });
+  const surface = createTerrainSurface();
+  assert.equal(surface.height(viewer, 42.36, -71.06), 10);
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS;
+  assert.equal(surface.height(viewer, 42.36, -71.06), 10);
+  clock.now += 60_000;
+  model.surface = () => 250;
+  assert.equal(surface.height(viewer, 42.36, -71.06), 10, 'settled: kept');
+  // The map source changed and the viewer has a new globe.
+  viewer.scene.globe = globe();
+  assert.equal(surface.height(viewer, 42.36, -71.06), 250);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 3);
+  assert.equal(surface.stats().held, 1);
+});
+
+test('observe() lets a caller that asks nothing while tiles load report the load', (t) => {
+  const { viewer, reads, clock, model } = world(t, { surface: () => 10 });
+  const surface = createTerrainSurface();
+  const read = () => surface.height(viewer, 42.36, -71.06);
+  read();
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS;
+  read();
+  clock.now += 60_000;
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2, 'settled and kept');
+
+  // Finer tiles load and finish while nobody asks for a height.
+  model.surface = () => 14;
+  viewer.scene.globe.tilesLoaded = false;
+  clock.now += 1_000;
+  surface.observe(viewer);
+  viewer.scene.globe.tilesLoaded = true;
+  clock.now += 3_000;
+  assert.equal(
+    read(),
+    14,
+    'the height kept from before the load is read again',
+  );
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 3);
+  surface.observe(null);
+  surface.observe({ scene: {} });
+});