| Title | Applications of unmanned aerial vehicles for mapping coastal processes and intertidal marine habitats |
| Download | Download (whole publication) |
| |
| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Ierodiaconou, D; Murfitt, S; Allan, B; Bellgrove, A; Rattray, A; Kennedy, D; Howe, S; Schimel, A; Young, M |
| Source | Program and abstracts: 2017 GeoHab Conference, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; by Todd, B J ; Brown, C J; Lacharité, M; Gazzola, V; McCormack, E; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8295, 2017 p. 60, https://doi.org/10.4095/305860  Open Access |
| Links | GeoHab 2017
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| Year | 2017 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Meeting | 2017 GeoHab: Marine Geological and Biological Habitat Mapping; Dartmouth, NS; CA; May 1-4, 2017 |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| Related | This publication is contained in Program and abstracts: 2017
GeoHab Conference, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| File format | pdf |
| Subjects | marine geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; environmental geology; geophysics; engineering geology; Nature and Environment; mapping techniques; oceanography; marine environments; coastal studies;
conservation; marine organisms; marine ecology; resource management; biological communities; environmental studies; ecosystems; intertidal environment; climate; remote sensing; photogrammetric surveys; storms; modelling; coastal erosion; sands;
beaches; reefs; biota; seafloor topography; marine sediments; sediment dispersal; Algae; Biology; Climate change; monitoring; unmanned aerial vehicles |
| Illustrations | geophysical images |
| Program | Offshore Geoscience |
| Released | 2017 09 26 |
| Abstract | To address increasingly complex research questions and global challenges (e.g. climate change and biodiversity loss), the development, refinement and need of new technology for monitoring marine coastal
environments is increasing rapidly. Rapid advances in low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology now allow for collection of centimetre resolution aerial imagery and topography suitable for assessing change in coastal ecosystems. We
demonstrate the utility of UAV-based photogrammetry to quantify storm-driven sediment dynamics on sandy beaches and assess biotic communities on intertidal platforms by comparing on ground measurements to those that can be achieved with UAVs.
Aerial imagery collected before and after major storm events is ideal for the assessment of coastal landscape change. High-resolution aerial imagery and digital surface models were acquired and change-detection techniques used to quantify change
in the beachface following a high-magnitude event. An average beach erosion of 12.24 m3/m with a maximum of 28.05 m3/m was observed, and the volume of sand cut from the beachface and retreat of the foredune are clearly illustrated. Following the
storm event, erosion was estimated at 7,256± 504 m3 along 550 m of beach.
We also tested the utility of UAV remote sensing of intertidal reef platforms to traditional on-ground quadrat surveys for monitoring intertidal marine protected areas
(MPA), and investigated the role of UAV derived geomorphological variables in explaining observed intertidal algal and invertebrate assemblages. Sub centimetre aerial imagery and digital surface models were acquired from intertidal reef platforms,
and on-ground quadrat surveys collected intertidal biotic data for comparison. UAV's provided reliable estimates of dominant canopy-forming fucoid alga such as Hormosira banksii, however understorey species were often obscured and underestimated. UAV
derived geomorphic variables showed elevation and distance to seaward platform edge explained 19.7% and 15.9% of the variation in algal and invertebrate assemblage observed.
We demonstrate the benefits of low-cost UAVs through rapid data
collection, full coverage census, and generation of UAV geomorphic derivatives for characterising intertidal biological variation and sediment dynamics in the coastal zone. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
The sixteenth annual GeoHab Conference was held this year (2017) at the Waterfront Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia,
Canada. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 305860 |
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