Mapping Topography Changes and Elevation Accuracies Using a Mobile Laser Scanner

Abstract

Laser measurements have been used in a fluvial context since 1984, but the change detection possibilities of mobile laser scanning (MLS) for riverine topography have been lacking. This paper demonstrates the capability of MLS in erosion change mapping on a test site located in a 58 km-long tributary of the River Tenojoki (Tana) in the sub-arctic. We used point bars and river banks as example cases, which were measured with the mobile laser scanner ROAMER mounted on a boat and on a cart. Static terrestrial laser scanner data were used as reference and we exploited a difference elevation model technique for describing erosion and deposition areas. The measurements were based on data acquisitions during the late summer in 2008 and 2009. The coefficient of determination (R 2 ) of 0.93 and a standard deviation of error 3.4 cm were obtained as metrics for change mapping based on MLS. The root mean square error (RMSE) of MLS-based digital elevation models (DEM) for non-vegetated point bars ranged between 2.3 and 7.6 cm after correction of the systematic error. For densely vegetated bank areas, the ground point determination was more difficult resulting in an RMSE between 15.7 and 28.4 cm. OPEN ACCESSRemote Sens. 2011, 3 588

Monitoring Riverbank Erosion in Mountain Catchments Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning

“…Therefore, in order to cope with these issues, TLS has often been employed in combination with other techniques. A possible solution has been proposed in Vaaja et al [91] and Hackney et al [66], who employed a mobile laser scanning (MLS) system to map changes (erosion/deposition) in riverine topography. In case the MLS sensor is installed on a car, only vehicle-accessible sites are suitable for the application of this technology.…”

Hybrid processing of laser scanning data

“…The analysis of the current state of research in this area has shown that there are a large number of publications dedicated to tasks of construction of digital models of buildings, the detection of the surface of the earth and the reconstruction of the road surface, detection and recognition of road facilities on the basis of MLS data [5,7,8].…”

Fusion of Mobile Laser Scanning and Panoramic Images for Studying River Environment Topography and Changes

“…Compared to traditional ALS, MLS is better suited to mapping smaller areas with a higher point density . The method can also be used to acquire very precise multi-temporal data for change detection (e.g., Vaaja et al, 2011). The geometry of MLS is dependent on the location of the sensor, and the pulse density varies as a function of the range.…”