Analysis of Terrain Modelling Methods in the Coastal Zone

Abstract

ResumeGeospatial data are increasingly used to model the terrain in the coastal zone, in particular in shallow waterbodies (with a depth of up to 1 m). In order to generate a terrain relief, it is important to choose a method for its modelling that will allow it to be accurately projected. Therefore, the aim of this publication is to analyze the terrain modelling methods in the coastal zone. For the purposes of the research, five most popular methods for terrain modelling were described: Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW), Modified Shepard's Method (MSM), Natural Neighbor Interpolation (NNI), kriging and spline. Each of the methods has been described in a uniform way in terms of: the essence of its operation, mathematical expression and application examples. The advantages and disadvantages of each of the methods for terrain modelling are also discussed. It should be stated that the choice of the method for the terrain modelling of a shallow waterbody is not unambiguous, as it depends on the type of data recorded during bathymetric and photogrammetric measurements.

Land and Seabed Surface Modelling in the Coastal Zone Using UAV/USV-Based Data Integration

“…GRID models are created as a result of interpolation, i.e., the process of estimating an unknown value between known values using specific interpolation methods. Then, GRID nodes are generated, which form a structure of regular rectangles (usually squares) with a fixed resolution [2]. In total, 28,990 points of the land surface recorded by the UAV and 5136 points of the seabed terrain recorded by the USV were used to create a grid of squares.…”

“…To generate topo-bathymetric models of the coastal zone, we decided to use the most commonly used terrain interpolation methods, among which, the following can be distinguished [2,38]:…”

“…The coastal zone is an area that includes the sea coast and adjacent parts of the land and sea, where the mutual interaction of these environments is clearly marked [1][2][3]. Based on data provided by the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), it appears that the coastal zone is one of the most dynamically changing regions on Earth [4], in particular, in the coastal zone [5,6].…”