Application of Low-Cost UASs and Digital Photogrammetry for High-Resolution Snow Depth Mapping in the Arctic
The repeat acquisition of high-resolution snow depth measurements has important research and civil applications in the Arctic. Currently the surveying methods for capturing the high spatial and temporal variability of the snowpack are expensive, in particular for small areal extents. An alternative...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:442e53b4db324a42a8ebf77c128d0c10 2023-05-15T14:45:36+02:00 Application of Low-Cost UASs and Digital Photogrammetry for High-Resolution Snow Depth Mapping in the Arctic Emiliano Cimoli Marco Marcer Baptiste Vandecrux Carl E. Bøggild Guy Williams Sebastian B. Simonsen 2017-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9111144 https://doaj.org/article/442e53b4db324a42a8ebf77c128d0c10 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/9/11/1144 https://doaj.org/toc/2072-4292 2072-4292 doi:10.3390/rs9111144 https://doaj.org/article/442e53b4db324a42a8ebf77c128d0c10 Remote Sensing, Vol 9, Iss 11, p 1144 (2017) snow snow mapping snow depth Arctic remote sensing UAS digital photogrammetry Structure from Motion Science Q article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9111144 2022-12-30T20:18:59Z The repeat acquisition of high-resolution snow depth measurements has important research and civil applications in the Arctic. Currently the surveying methods for capturing the high spatial and temporal variability of the snowpack are expensive, in particular for small areal extents. An alternative methodology based on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) and digital photogrammetry was tested over varying surveying conditions in the Arctic employing two diverse and low-cost UAS-camera combinations (500 and 1700 USD, respectively). Six areas, two in Svalbard and four in Greenland, were mapped covering from 1386 to 38,410 m2. The sites presented diverse snow surface types, underlying topography and light conditions in order to test the method under potentially limiting conditions. The resulting snow depth maps achieved spatial resolutions between 0.06 and 0.09 m. The average difference between UAS-estimated and measured snow depth, checked with conventional snow probing, ranged from 0.015 to 0.16 m. The impact of image pre-processing was explored, improving point cloud density and accuracy for different image qualities and snow/light conditions. Our UAS photogrammetry results are expected to be scalable to larger areal extents. While further validation is needed, with the inclusion of extra validation points, the study showcases the potential of this cost-effective methodology for high-resolution monitoring of snow dynamics in the Arctic and beyond. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Greenland Svalbard Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Svalbard Greenland Remote Sensing 9 11 1144 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
snow snow mapping snow depth Arctic remote sensing UAS digital photogrammetry Structure from Motion Science Q |
spellingShingle |
snow snow mapping snow depth Arctic remote sensing UAS digital photogrammetry Structure from Motion Science Q Emiliano Cimoli Marco Marcer Baptiste Vandecrux Carl E. Bøggild Guy Williams Sebastian B. Simonsen Application of Low-Cost UASs and Digital Photogrammetry for High-Resolution Snow Depth Mapping in the Arctic |
topic_facet |
snow snow mapping snow depth Arctic remote sensing UAS digital photogrammetry Structure from Motion Science Q |
description |
The repeat acquisition of high-resolution snow depth measurements has important research and civil applications in the Arctic. Currently the surveying methods for capturing the high spatial and temporal variability of the snowpack are expensive, in particular for small areal extents. An alternative methodology based on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) and digital photogrammetry was tested over varying surveying conditions in the Arctic employing two diverse and low-cost UAS-camera combinations (500 and 1700 USD, respectively). Six areas, two in Svalbard and four in Greenland, were mapped covering from 1386 to 38,410 m2. The sites presented diverse snow surface types, underlying topography and light conditions in order to test the method under potentially limiting conditions. The resulting snow depth maps achieved spatial resolutions between 0.06 and 0.09 m. The average difference between UAS-estimated and measured snow depth, checked with conventional snow probing, ranged from 0.015 to 0.16 m. The impact of image pre-processing was explored, improving point cloud density and accuracy for different image qualities and snow/light conditions. Our UAS photogrammetry results are expected to be scalable to larger areal extents. While further validation is needed, with the inclusion of extra validation points, the study showcases the potential of this cost-effective methodology for high-resolution monitoring of snow dynamics in the Arctic and beyond. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Emiliano Cimoli Marco Marcer Baptiste Vandecrux Carl E. Bøggild Guy Williams Sebastian B. Simonsen |
author_facet |
Emiliano Cimoli Marco Marcer Baptiste Vandecrux Carl E. Bøggild Guy Williams Sebastian B. Simonsen |
author_sort |
Emiliano Cimoli |
title |
Application of Low-Cost UASs and Digital Photogrammetry for High-Resolution Snow Depth Mapping in the Arctic |
title_short |
Application of Low-Cost UASs and Digital Photogrammetry for High-Resolution Snow Depth Mapping in the Arctic |
title_full |
Application of Low-Cost UASs and Digital Photogrammetry for High-Resolution Snow Depth Mapping in the Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Application of Low-Cost UASs and Digital Photogrammetry for High-Resolution Snow Depth Mapping in the Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Application of Low-Cost UASs and Digital Photogrammetry for High-Resolution Snow Depth Mapping in the Arctic |
title_sort |
application of low-cost uass and digital photogrammetry for high-resolution snow depth mapping in the arctic |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9111144 https://doaj.org/article/442e53b4db324a42a8ebf77c128d0c10 |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Greenland Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Greenland Svalbard |
op_source |
Remote Sensing, Vol 9, Iss 11, p 1144 (2017) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/9/11/1144 https://doaj.org/toc/2072-4292 2072-4292 doi:10.3390/rs9111144 https://doaj.org/article/442e53b4db324a42a8ebf77c128d0c10 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9111144 |
container_title |
Remote Sensing |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
1144 |
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1766316989500882944 |