KEY WORDS: Airborne Lidar and optical imaging systems, aerial mapping

• Main Author: R. D. Sanchez
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Andreas; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.486.9805; http://www.cirgeo.unipd.it/cirgeo/convegni/mmt2007/proceedings/papers/sanchez_richard_1.pdf

High-resolution airborne Lidar and optical imaging systems with onboard data collection based on the Global Positioning System (GPS) and inertial navigation syste ms (INS) technology may offer the means to gather accurate topographic map information. As a follow-up to earlier investigations, in May 2005 an airborne integrated GPS-aided inertial Lidar and optical imaging system was used to collect data over the southern San Andreas Fault. A major thrust of this paper is to compare the positional accuracy of Lidar and optical imaging system points obtained from these investigations. Presented herein are the collective results of those horizontal and vertical accuracy measurements and concluding remarks about their potential for aerial mapping in Antarctica. The marked change in relief of the Grand Canyon is similar to the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. These changes provide an excellent test for measuring the potential of the GPS-aided inertial Lidar and optical imaging systems for aerial mapping. The San Andreas Fault poses a major earthquake hazard to the greater metropolitan areas in southern California and Lidar and optical imaging systems could provide information vital to post-disaster response. All together, these findings of positional accuracy yield important information on a new approach for aerial mapping in Antarctica and other remote areas of the world.