Workflow for Using Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Traditional Geospatial Data to Delineate Agricultural Drainage Tiles at Edge-of-Field Sites
Links
- Document: Report (17.6 MB pdf)
- Data Releases:
- USGS data release — Low-altitude visible, multispectral, and thermal-infrared imagery from edge-of-field monitoring sites for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - Michigan Flume 2
- USGS data release — Low-altitude visible, multispectral, and thermal-infrared imagery from edge-of-field monitoring sites for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - Wisconsin Surface Water 3
- USGS data release — Low-altitude visible, multispectral, and thermal-infrared imagery from edge-of-field monitoring sites for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - Wisconsin Surface Water 4 and 5
- USGS data release — Low-altitude visible, multispectral, and thermal-infrared imagery from edge-of-field monitoring sites for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - Wisconsin Bioreactor
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
Managing nutrient and sediment runoff from fields that drain to the Great Lakes is key to mitigating harmful algal blooms. Implementation of best management practices on agricultural land is considered a critical step to improving water quality in these streams, however the effect of these best management practices is difficult to quantify. The purpose of this study was to use a suite of high-resolution imagery acquired with unmanned aircraft systems (including a combination of visible, multispectral, and thermal cameras) to better characterize edge-of-field (EOF) sites in Michigan and Wisconsin that are monitored in cooperation with the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. This high-resolution imagery (2.5–12-centimeter ground resolution) was used to delineate artificial subsurface drainage (tile-drain) networks and surface water flow paths that indicate contributing areas (that is, all area that drains to a monitored point) at these EOF sites, providing better characterization of each study site. Contributing areas for these sites ranged from 2.86 to 5.07 hectares and, among the sites, tile drains were identified as those that followed soil properties and those that were more densely patterned networks. These surveys also indicated that the contributing area monitored at the EOF sites may cross field boundaries and is not always coincident with the area underlain by subsurface drainage.
Suggested Citation
Webber, J.J., and Williamson, T.N., 2021, Workflow for using unmanned aircraft systems and traditional geospatial data to delineate agricultural drainage tiles at edge-of-field sites: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2021–5013, 18 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215013.
ISSN: 2328-0328 (online)
Study Area
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Purpose and Scope
- UAS Data Collection and Photogrammetry Methods
- Analysis and Interpretation of Imagery Products
- Site-specific Information Provided by UAS Surveys
- Limitations of Approach
- Summary
- References Cited
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Workflow for using unmanned aircraft systems and traditional geospatial data to delineate agricultural drainage tiles at edge-of-field sites |
| Series title | Scientific Investigations Report |
| Series number | 2021-5013 |
| DOI | 10.3133/sir20215013 |
| Year Published | 2021 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center |
| Description | Report: vii, 18 p.; Data Releases: 4 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin |
| Online Only (Y/N) | Y |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |