Open Journal of Modern Hydrology

Volume 3, Issue 1 (January 2013)

ISSN Print: 2163-0461   ISSN Online: 2163-0496

Google-based Impact Factor: 0.68  Citations  

Effect of Terrestrial LiDAR Point Sampling Density in Ephemeral Gully Characterization

HTML  XML Download Download as PDF (Size: 3049KB)  PP. 38-49  
DOI: 10.4236/ojmh.2013.31006    4,692 Downloads   8,402 Views  Citations

ABSTRACT

Gully erosion can account for significant volumes of sediment exiting agricultural landscapes, but is difficult to monitor and quantify its evolution with traditional surveying technology. Scientific investigations of gullies depend on accurate and detailed topographic information to understand and evaluate the complex interactions between field topography and gully evolution. Detailed terrain representations can be produced by new technologies such as terrestrial LiDAR systems. These systems are capable of collecting information with a wide range of ground point sampling densities as a result of operator controlled factors. Increasing point density results in richer datasets at a cost of increased time needed to complete field surveys. In large research watersheds, with hundreds of sites being monitored, data collection can become costly and time consuming. In this study, the effect of point sampling density on the capability to collect topographic information was investigated at individual gully scale. This was performed through the utilization of semi-variograms to produce overall guiding principles for multi-temporal gully surveys based on various levels of laser sampling points and relief variation (low, moderate, and high). Results indicated the existence of a point sampling density threshold that produces little or no additional topographic information when exceeded. A reduced dataset was created using the density thresholds and compared to the original dataset with no major discrepancy. Although variations in relief and soil roughness can lead to different point sampling density requirements, the outcome of this study serves as practical guidance for future field surveys of gully evolution and erosion.

Share and Cite:

H. Momm, R. Bingner, R. Wells, S. Dabney and L. Frees, "Effect of Terrestrial LiDAR Point Sampling Density in Ephemeral Gully Characterization," Open Journal of Modern Hydrology, Vol. 3 No. 1, 2013, pp. 38-49. doi: 10.4236/ojmh.2013.31006.

Cited by

[1] Effects of point cloud density, interpolation method and grid size on derived Digital Terrain Model accuracy at micro topography level
2020
[2] Comparison of terrestrial lidar, SfM, and MBES resolution and accuracy for geomorphic analyses in physical systems that experience subaerial and subaqueous …
2020
[3] Using UAV and LIDAR data for gully geomorphic changes monitoring
2020
[4] Field Investigation on Point Bar Dynamics and Planform Evolution in Meandering Rivers
2020
[5] The Optimal Lid Method for the objective definition of cross-section limits in ephemeral gullies
2019
[6] Gully erosion processes, disciplinary fragmentation, and technological innovation
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 2018
[7] Quantifying uncertainty of remotely sensed topographic surveys for ephemeral gully channel monitoring
Earth Surf. Dynam. Discuss., 2017
[8] Review of earth science research using terrestrial laser scanning
Earth-Science Reviews, 2017
[9] Quantifying uncertainty in high-resolution remotely sensed topographic surveys for ephemeral gully channel monitoring
Earth Surface Dynamics, 2017
[10] A Measurement Method for Rill and Ephemeral Gully Erosion Assessments
Soil Science Society of America Journal, 2016
[11] GIS-Based Detection of Gullies in Terrestrial LiDAR Data of the Cerro Llamoca Peatland (Peru)
Remote Sensing, 2013

Copyright © 2023 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.