Water Level Measurements from Drones: A Pilot Case Study at a Dam Site

Ridolfi, Elena; Manciola, Piergiorgio

doi:10.3390/w10030297

Cited by 59 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…UAV measurements of water depth (i.e., elevation of the water surface above the bed) can enrich the set of available hydrological observations along with measurements of water surface elevation (WSE), i.e., elevation of the water surface above sea level (Bandini et al, 2017;Ridolfi and Manciola, 2018;Woodget et al, 2015), and surface water flow (Detert and Weitbrecht, 2015;Tauro et al, 2015aTauro et al, , 2016Virili et al, 2015).…”

Section: F Bandini Et Al: Bathymetry Observations Of Inland Water Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technical note: Bathymetry observations of inland water bodies using a tethered single-beam sonar controlled by an unmanned aerial vehicle

Bandini

Olesen

Jakobsen

et al. 2018

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. High-quality bathymetric maps of inland water bodies are a common requirement for hydraulic engineering and hydrological science applications. Remote sensing methods, such as space-borne and airborne multispectral imaging or lidar, have been developed to estimate water depth, but are ineffective for most inland water bodies, because of the attenuation of electromagnetic radiation in water, especially under turbid conditions. Surveys conducted with boats equipped with sonars can retrieve accurate water depths, but are expensive, time-consuming, and unsuitable for unnavigable water bodies.We develop and assess a novel approach to retrieve accurate and high-resolution bathymetry maps. We measured accurate water depths using a tethered floating sonar controlled by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a lake and in two different rivers located in Denmark. The developed technique combines the advantages of remote sensing with the potential of bathymetric sonars. UAV surveys can be conducted also in unnavigable, inaccessible, or remote water bodies. The tethered sonar can measure bathymetry with an accuracy of ∼ 2.1 % of the actual depth for observations up to 35 m, without being significantly affected by water turbidity, bed form, or bed material.

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Section: F Bandini Et Al: Bathymetry Observations Of Inland Water Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technical note: Bathymetry observations of inland water bodies using a tethered single-beam sonar controlled by an unmanned aerial vehicle

Bandini

Olesen

Jakobsen

et al. 2018

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…This limitation could be eliminated in urban environments, especially during flood events, as the water level can be measured by using the known height of random objects [70]. In addition, a UAV can provide water level measurements, especially in constructed canals and dams where the depth is known, and this enables us to measure, also, the water discharge if appropriate ground reference points are available [71]. Another limitation is that the surface velocity errors are affected by wind and rain drops, so the measurements are difficult in such weather conditions [72].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

UAVs for Hydrologic Scopes: Application of a Low-Cost UAV to Estimate Surface Water Velocity by Using Three Different Image-Based Methods

Koutalakis

Tzoraki

Zaimes

2019

Drones

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Stream velocity and flow are very important parameters that must be measured accurately to develop effective water resource management plans. There are various methods and tools to measure the velocity but, nowadays, image-based methods are a promising alternative that does not require physical contact with the water body. The current study describes the application of a low cost unmanned aerial vehicle that was selected in order to capture a video over a specific reach of Aggitis River in Greece. The captured frames were analyzed by three different software (PIVlab, PTVlab, and KU-STIV) in order to estimate accurately the surface water velocity. These three software also represent three different image-based methodologies. Although there are differences among these three methods, the analysis produced similar trends for all. The velocity ranged between 0.02 and 3.98 m/s for PIVlab, 0.12 and 3.44 m/s for PTVlab, and 0.04 and 3.99 m/s for KU-STIV software. There were parts, especially in the existing vegetation, where differences were observed. Further applications will be examined in the same or different reaches, to study the parameters affecting the analysis. Finally, the image-based methods will be coupled with verification measurements by a current meter to produce more rigorous results.

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“…Affected by rainfall infiltration, tailings recycling water, dry beach face evaporation, and other factors, the position of the phreatic line in the tailings pond suffers in various ways in the DW cycles [1,17,18]. Therefore, in the numerical analysis mode, the determination of the position of the phreatic line under DW cycles plays an important role [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Figure 4 shows the diagram for calculating the tailings dam's phreatic line.…”

Section: Methods For Calculating the Tailings Dam's Phreatic Line Undementioning

confidence: 99%

The Stability of Tailings Dams under Dry-Wet Cycles: A Case Study in Luonan, China

Wang

Zhan

Wang

et al. 2018

Water

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Instability of tailings dams may result in loss of life and property and serious environmental pollution. The position of the tailings dam's phreatic line varies due to continuously changing factors such as rainfall infiltration and discharge of tailings recycling water. Consequently, tailings dams undergo dry-wet (DW) cycles, accompanied by the appearance of a hydro-fluctuation belt. With dynamic development of the physical and chemical properties of tailings sand in the hydro-fluctuation belt, the stability of tailings dams is uncertain. In this study, direct shear tests were performed on the tailings sand collected from a tailings dam in Luonan, through which the shear strength parameters of tailings sand with DW cycles were obtained. Then, a method that efficiently calculates the phreatic line of the tailings dam under DW cycles was proposed. In addition, based on laboratory tests and the proposed phreatic line calculation method, we used a finite element program to evaluate the stability of the tailings dam that experienced different DW cycles. The calculated results showed that: (i) the damage effects of DW cycles gradually weakens as the number of DW cycles increases.(ii) With the increasing of DW cycles, the maximum displacement of the tailings dam increases from 0.5 mm to 22 mm, and the area of maximum displacement expanded mainly at the toe of the tailings dam and at the front edge of the hydro-fluctuation belt. (iii) The tailings dam safety factor decreases continuously with increasing DW cycles. This study may provide a novel method for analyzing the stability of tailings dams under different DW cycles as well as an important reference for improving tailings dam stability.

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Water Level Measurements from Drones: A Pilot Case Study at a Dam Site

Cited by 59 publications

References 48 publications

Technical note: Bathymetry observations of inland water bodies using a tethered single-beam sonar controlled by an unmanned aerial vehicle

Technical note: Bathymetry observations of inland water bodies using a tethered single-beam sonar controlled by an unmanned aerial vehicle

UAVs for Hydrologic Scopes: Application of a Low-Cost UAV to Estimate Surface Water Velocity by Using Three Different Image-Based Methods

The Stability of Tailings Dams under Dry-Wet Cycles: A Case Study in Luonan, China

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