Application of unmanned aerial vehicle technology in geomorphological evolution of tidal flat
摘要
Tidal flats are fragile and delicate. Studies show that anthropogenic pressures and sea level rise due to climate changes have an effect and play a vital role in the morphodynamics of tidal flats worldwide. It is very important to understand the regularities and morphodynamic variations of tidal flats whilst investigating the external condition responses to tidal flats. Seasonal variations' regularity on tidal networks and dissects of Doulong River intertidal flats located in Jiangsu Province,China were analysed,observed and researched. With the applications of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) coupled with Structure-from Motion (SFM) algorithm,the Digital Elevation Modes (DEM) and orthoimage of the Doulong River intertidal flats were obtained. Results from the research clearly show the variations in tidal flats elevations are remarkable. With an increase as high as ±0.5 m within the period studied. The vertical and horizontal error of the tidal flats are less than 9 cm and 2 cm respectively. The tidal creek meanders are active with no regular changes in season throughout the year studied. The ratio of width to depth ranges from 10 cm to 25 cm during the development of a tidal creek. UAV technology provides a platform to monitor the variation trend of tidal flats elevation and the short-term evolution of small-scale tidal creeks. Thus,providing strong technical support for monitoring the short-term morphodynamic evolution of estuary and coast,which can be hard to sense by traditional remote sensing.