LiDAR in extreme environment: surveying in Antarctica

• Published in: ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
• Main Authors: D. Abate, S. Pierattini, G. Bianchi Fasani
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2013
• Subjects: Technology; T; Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General); TA1-2040; Applied optics. Photonics; TA1501-1820; Terra Nova Bay; Mario Zucchelli; Mario Zucchelli Station; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/isprsannals-II-5-W2-1-2013; https://doaj.org/article/abbf6e1e7d1e416daedd2a654a58040f

This study was performed under the patronage of the Italian National Research Programme in Antarctica (PNRA) with the aim to realize a high resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the moraine named "Boulder Clay" which insists approximately 7 km far from the Italian Research Base "Mario Zucchelli Station" in the Terra Nova Bay area. The DEM will be included in the project for the construction of two runways to be used as support facilities for the scientific research campaigns which take place on regular basis each year. Although the research efforts to realize a detailed cartography of the area is on-going, for the specific aim and urgency of this project it was decided to perform a laser scanning survey in this extreme environment in order to obtain contour lines describing the terrain elevation each 50 cm and volume analysis. The final result will be super imposed on a photogrammetric DEM with contour lines each 2.5 m and satellite images. This paper focus both on the final scientific data and on all the challenges have to be faced in such extreme and particular environment during the laser scanning survey.