Topo-Bathy Lidar Sensor for Characterization of Shallow Freshwater Environments From A UAS Platform

Shallow waters of less than 10 meters constitute a wide variety of aquatic environments, such as ponds, lakes, rivers, estuaries, and coastal areas. Shallow-water 3D models of freshwater environments need validation. Many sensor technologies designed to measure these environments are challenged by this diverse environment and suffer in performance, access, navigation, deployment, viewing, sensor standoff distance, and possible damage by changing bottom topography, vegetation, or obstructions. The development of a topographic-bathymetric (topo-bathy) LiDAR for 3D mapping of shallow-water environments will be presented to address 3D measurement needs.

This new technology has demonstrated unprecedented centimeter-level range and horizontal resolution in estimates of water depth, river cross-sectional area, seamless land-water transitions, and detailed bottom topologies in shallow waters. The LiDAR can be deployed from a variety of platforms including UAS, fixed-wing aircraft, boats and even bridges or piers. Such an above-water capability enables access to dynamic and unnavigable water ways. Use cases will be presented illustrating this capability from a UAS platform for different river systems and an assessment will be provided on performance factors and applicability.