Geomorphological mapping with a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS): feature detection and accuracy assessment of a photogrammetrically-derived digital terrain model

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dc.contributor.authorHugenholtz, Chris H.
dc.contributor.authorWhitehead, Ken
dc.contributor.authorBrown, Owen W.
dc.contributor.authorBarchyn, Thomas E.
dc.contributor.authorMoorman, Brian J.
dc.contributor.authorLeClair, Adam
dc.contributor.authorRiddell, Kevin D. A.
dc.contributor.authorHamilton, Tayler K.
dc.date.accessioned2013-12-11T16:41:04Z
dc.date.available2013-12-11T16:41:04Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.descriptionSherpa Romeo green journal. Permission to archive accepted author manuscript.
dc.description.abstractSmall unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) are a relatively new type of aerial platform for acquiring high-resolution remote sensing measurements of Earth surface processes and landforms. However, despite growing application there has been little quantitative assessment of sUAS performance. Here we present results from a field experiment designed to evaluate the accuracy of a photogrammetrically-derived digital terrain model (DTM) developed from imagery acquired with a low-cost digital camera onboard an sUAS. We also show the utility of the highresolution (0.1 m) sUAS imagery for resolving small-scale biogeomorphic features. The experiment was conducted in an area with active and stabilized aeolian landforms in the southern Canadian Prairies. Images were acquired with a Hawkeye RQ-84Z Aerohawk fixed-wing sUAS. A total of 280 images were acquired along 14 flight lines, covering an area of 1.95 km2. The survey was completed in 4.5 hours, including GPS surveying, sUAS setup and flight time. Standard image processing and photogrammetric techniques were used to produce a 1 m resolution DTM and a 0.1 m resolution orthorectified image mosaic. The latter revealed previously un-mapped bioturbation features. The vertical accuracy of the DTM was evaluated with 99 Real-Time Kinematic GPS points, while 20 of these points were used to quantify horizontal accuracy. The horizontal root mean squared error (RMSE) of the orthoimage was 0.18 m, while the vertical RMSE of the DTM was 0.29 m, which is equivalent to the RMSE of a bare earth LiDAR DTM for the same site. The combined error from both datasets was used to define a threshold of the minimum elevation difference that could be reliably attributed to erosion or deposition in the seven years separating the sUAS and LiDAR datasets. Overall, our results suggest that sUAS-acquired imagery may provide a low-cost, rapid, and flexible alternative to airborne LiDAR for geomorphological mapping.en_US
dc.description.peer-reviewYesen_US
dc.identifier.citationHugenholtz, C. H., Whitehead, K., Brown, O. W., Barchyn, T. E., Moorman, B. J., LeClair, A.,...Hamilton, T. (2013). Geomorphological mapping with a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS): Feature detection and accuracy assessment of a photogrammetrically-derived digital terrain model. Geomorphology, 194, 16-24. doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.03.023en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/3338
dc.language.isoen_CAen_US
dc.publisherElsevieren_US
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Geographyen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Scienceen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Lethbridgeen_US
dc.publisher.urlhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.03.023
dc.subjectUnmanned aircraft systemen_US
dc.subjectHigh resolution geomorphic mappingen_US
dc.subjectTopographic change detectionen_US
dc.subjectSmall unmanned aircraft system (sUAS)en_US
dc.subjectDigital terrain model accuracyen_US
dc.titleGeomorphological mapping with a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS): feature detection and accuracy assessment of a photogrammetrically-derived digital terrain modelen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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