Using a micro-UAV for ultra-high resolution multi-sensor observations of Antarctic moss beds

• Published in: The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
• Main Authors: Lucieer, A, Robinson, S, Turner, D, Harwin, S, Kelcey, J
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: ISPRS 2012
• Subjects: Engineering; Geomatic Engineering; Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing; Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/isprsarchives-XXXIX-B1-429-2012; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/93127

This study is the first to use an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for mapping moss beds in Antarctica. Mosses can be used asindicators for the regional effects of climate change. Mapping and monitoring their extent and health is therefore important. UAVaerial photography provides ultra-high resolution spatial data for this purpose. We developed a technique to extract an extremely dense3D point cloud from overlapping UAV aerial photography based on structure from motion (SfM) algorithms. The combination of SfMand patch-based multi-view stereo image vision algorithms resulted in a 2 cm resolution digital terrain model (DTM). This detailedtopographic information combined with vegetation indices derived from a 6-band multispectral sensor enabled the assessment of mossbed health. This novel UAV system has allowed us to map different environmental characteristics of the moss beds at ultra-highresolution providing us with a better understanding of these fragile Antarctic ecosystems. The paper provides details on the differentUAV instruments and the image processing framework resulting in DEMs, vegetation indices, and terrain derivatives.