sUAS Remote Sensing to Evaluate Geothermal Seep Interactions with the Yellowstone River, Montana, USA

Abstract

Small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) are becoming increasingly popular due to their affordability and logistical ease for repeated surveys. While sUAS-based remote sensing has many applications in water resource management, their applicability and limitations in fluvial settings is not well defined. This study uses a combined thermal-optic sUAS to monitor the seasonal geothermal influence of a 1-km-long reach of the Yellowstone River, paired with in-situ streambed temperature profiles to evaluate geothermal seep interactions with Yellowstone River in Montana, USA. Accurate river water surface elevation along the shoreline was estimated using structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetry digital surface models (DSMs); however, water surface elevations were unreliable in the main river channel. Water temperature in thermal infrared (TIR) orthomosaics was accurate in temperature ranges of tens of degrees (>≈30 °C), but not as accurate in temperature ranges of several degrees (>≈15 °C) as compared to in-situ water temperature measurements. This allowed for identification of geothermal features but limited the ability to identify small-scale temperature changes due to river features, such as pools and riffles. The study concludes that rivers with an average width greater than or equal to 123% of the ground area covered by a TIR image will be difficult to study using structure from motion photogrammetry, given Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) altitude restrictions and sensor field of view. This study demonstrates the potential of combined thermal-optic sUAS systems to collect data over large river systems, and when combined with in-situ measurements, can further increase the sUAS utility in identifying river characteristics.

Uncrewed Aerial Systems in Water Resource Management and Monitoring: A Review of Sensors, Applications, Software, and Issues

“…TIR data can be used to determine the water content of vegetation and is therefore very resourceful in adjusting local (precision farming) and global (sustainable management of water resources) irrigation water levels. Tese are very helpful in identifying fow features [52]. Termal imagers equipped with microbolometer sensors mounted on UAS can provide thermal imaging.…”

“…TIR cameras provide only a single band with very low image resolution [53]. Te low sensor resolution, together with a narrower feld of view (FOV), complicates the applicability of structure from motion algorithms with TIR images and potentially limits the scale at which UAS-based TIR imaging is suitable [52]. Te disadvantage of these sensors is that they require radiometric corrections and are plagued by temperature drift problems.…”

“…Tese include fow tracing, channel bathymetry, and thermal characterization of aquatic ecosystems [155]. Using a thermal imaging camera can help to monitor the seasonal geothermal infuence on the rivers [156]. UAV datasets, in synergy with other datasets, can be used to map bodies of water.…”

“…Te method of precise aerial photogrammetry [82,175] can be applied to UAS imagery to derive geomatic products that can be used as input for food modelling. UAS-based thermal imaging cameras have been used to monitor seasonal geothermal infuence on the rivers [52]. Calle et al [172] applied UAV photogrammetry to monitor short-lived river changes due to fooding.…”