Experimental flights using a small unmanned aircraft system for mapping emergent sandbars
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Abstract
The US Geological Survey and Parallel Inc. conducted experimental flights with the Tarantula Hawk (T-Hawk) unmanned aircraft system (UAS ) at the Dyer and Cottonwood Ranch properties located along reaches of the Platte River near Overton, Nebraska, in July 2013. We equipped the T-Hawk UAS platform with a consumer-grade digital camera to collect imagery of emergent sandbars in the reaches and used photogrammetric software and surveyed control points to generate orthophotographs and digital elevation models (DEMS ) of the reaches. To optimize the image alignment process, we retained and/or eliminated tie points based on their relative errors and spatial resolution, whereby minimizing the total error in the project. Additionally, we collected seven transects that traversed emergent sandbars concurrently with global positioning system location data to evaluate the accuracy of the UAS survey methodology. The root mean square errors for the elevation of emergent points along each transect across the DEMS ranged from 0.04 to 0.12 m. If adequate survey control is established, a UAS combined with photogrammetry software shows promise for accurate monitoring of emergent sandbar morphology and river management activities in short (1–2 km) river reaches.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Experimental flights using a small unmanned aircraft system for mapping emergent sandbars |
| Series title | Great Plains Research |
| DOI | 10.1353/gpr.2015.0018 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Year Published | 2015 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | University of Nebraska--Lincoln. Center for Great Plains Studies |
| Publisher location | Lincoln, NE |
| Contributing office(s) | National Research Program - Central Branch |
| Description | 14 p. |
| First page | 39 |
| Last page | 52 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nebraska |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |