Open AccessResolution and Accuracy of an Airborne Scanning Laser System for Beach Surveys
Author(s) -
Jason H. Middleton,
Charlotte Cooke,
Edward T. Kearney,
Peter Mumford,
Melissa A. Mole,
Greg J. Nippard,
Chris Rizos,
Kristen D. Splinter,
Ian L. Turner
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of atmospheric and oceanic technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.774
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1520-0426
pISSN - 0739-0572
DOI - 10.1175/jtech-d-12-00174.1
Subject(s) - lidar , remote sensing , ground truth , gnss applications , data set , terrain , environmental science , satellite , geology , global positioning system , computer science , geography , cartography , computer vision , artificial intelligence , telecommunications , aerospace engineering , engineering
Airborne scanning laser technology provides an effective method to systematically survey surface topography and changes in that topography with time. In this paper, the authors describe the capability of a rapid-response lidar system in which airborne observations are utilized to describe results from a set of surveys of Narrabeen–Collaroy Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, over a short period of time during which significant erosion and deposition of the subaerial beach occurred. The airborne lidar data were obtained using a Riegl Q240i lidar coupled with a NovAtel SPAN-CPT integrated Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and inertial unit and flown at various altitudes. A set of the airborne lidar data is compared with ground-truth data acquired from the beach using a GNSS/real-time kinematic (RTK) system mounted on an all-terrain vehicle. The comparison shows consistency between systems, with the airborne lidar data being less than 0.02 m different from the ground-truth data when four surveys are undertaken, provided a method of removing outliers—developed here and designated as “weaving”—is used. The combination of airborne lidar data with ground-truth data provides an excellent method of obtaining high-quality topographic data. Using the results from this analysis, it is shown that airborne lidar data alone produce results that can be used for ongoing large-scale surveys of beaches with reliable accuracy, and that the enhanced accuracy resulting from multiple airborne surveys can be assessed quantitatively.