Monitoring geomorphologic processes from 3-D correlation of optical images and LiDAR data

California Institute Of Technology, Pasadena CA

Investigators

Abstract

The rapidly increasing volume of remote sensing data should, in principle, allow accurate monitoring Earth surface changes and help gather objective information about the impact of climate on landscape evolution. However, methods to exploit these data are lagging behind. This project aims to address this challenge through (1) development of a new method to co-register in three dimensions optical images (from satellites and aircraft) with LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data; and (2) test proof-of-concept applications to monitor sand dune dynamics. The team proposes to develop new methods to allow 3-D tracking of Earth surface changes due to geomorphic processes from high-resolution optical images and LiDAR data. The methods will be implemented as new tools in the COSI-corr software package. These techniques would provide key observational data to study aeolian processes (sand transport and dune dynamics in particular). The project includes application to at least one test case to demonstrate the performance of the proposed methods.